The Perfect Iced Coffee

In light of the scorching hot weather here in Southern California, I thought it would be nice to write about our currently-best-selling item, the iced coffee.

I think that the best iced coffee is brewed via the "filtron cold water system" method. To brew something in hot water in order to serve it cold just didn't sound right to me. Anyway they sell this filtron device for home use, but for commercial use, the thing looks ridiculous. It's huge. Like a water-cooler gone wrong. I brew 4 gallons of coffee concentrate at a time, but the system can easily do more. 

The idea behind the brewer is that you throw in a set amount of coarsely grounded coffee into a pot of water, and let it sit for 24 hours. The process is long, but it's definitely worth it. with the help of a cloth filter, you are able to extract a coffee concentrate that tastes wonderfully smooth, like Shaft. Or David Hasselhoff. 

When it's served, however, I think that the quality of the ice can also add to the iced coffee experience. At my cafe, I went through some pains to get the best ice machine that I could find. It's made by a company called Kold Draft, and to quote a colorful friend of mine, they make, "huge, C-cup-sized" ice cubes. Aside from such insightful commentary, one other advantage to big ice cubes is that they take longer to melt, thus allowing the coffee to stay colder for longer in this 110+ degree heat, and not have it get diluted with the water from the ice. 

Huge ice cubes in a huge, 20 ounce glass. 

Best way to beat the summer heat.