Iced Iced Latte

For someone who drinks her coffee hot most of the time, I make a pretty fantastic iced latte. Now, I didn’t reinvent the wheel here but I think I’ve found a pretty close-to-perfect way of bringing together coffee, milk and ice for a refreshing, caffeinated summer treat.

In this recipe, nothing is more important than the quality of your ingredients. From a decent shot of espresso to your favourite milk alternative to the syrup of your choice: the quality of ingredients will make or break your efforts. So choose wisely!

Of course, you could chuck all the best ingredients together and still end up with a decent drink, but do you really wanna risk it?

No. You don’t.

Follow the technique described below and your iced latte won’t just taste amazing, it will also have a super smooth, super creamy mouthfeel. It really is worth the effort.

If you don’t have the means to make a decent shot of espresso at home then I’m afraid this recipe won’t be of much use to you. So this is either your sign to get an iced coffee from your favourite independent coffee shop today, or invest in a new coffee machine.

If you can make a good shot of espresso at home and can’t wait to get started, make sure you also have the following at the ready: milk alternative, ice cubes, syrup of your choice (if using) and a cocktail shaker (or large glass jar with screw top lid). If you checked yes for all of the above, you may begin.

Ingredients

Double shot of espresso

10-20ml syrup of your choice

200ml milk alternative of your choice

6 ice cubes

Method

Step 1 Prepare your favourite drinking jar (should hold about 12oz or 350ml) with three large ice cubes.

Step 2 Put another three ice cubes, your choice of milk alternative and your choice of syrup (if using) into a cocktail shaker.

Step 3 Pull a fresh double shot of espresso and add it to the cocktail shaker. Try pouring the liquid directly onto one of the ice cubes — the quick drop in temperature will keep the coffee from tasting bitter.  

Step 4 Seal the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. The goal is to cool down the contents as quickly as possible before the ice cubes melt.

Step 5 Through a small sieve or cocktail strainer, pour the mix into your drinking glass, holding back the half-melted ice cubes — we don’t want them to water down our drink.

Step 6 The deed is done. Now find a sunny spot, a reusable straw and enjoy the fruits of your labour!

Notes on Ingredients

Coffee

I created this recipe for espresso-based iced lattes, so espresso is the type of coffee you should use. More specifically, a double shot of espresso (between 35 grams and 45 grams of liquid). I use this medium-dark roast, which goes well with oat and soya milk.

Milk Alternative

Since milk makes up most of this recipe, it’s important to choose one that tastes great cold and on its own. For baking or cooking sometimes the choice of milk doesn’t matter so much, but here you shouldn’t skimp around. Some of my favourite milk alternatives, which I’ve mentioned before in other recipes, are Minor Figures Barista Oat (Organic), Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend, Oatly Barista and Bonsoy. My favourite affordable milk alternative for this iced latte is Lidl’s Unsweetened Soya Drink by Vemondo. I only discovered this gem recently and AM SHOOK at how good it tastes!

Syrup

We came up with this iced latte recipe whilst running our coffee truck during the pandemic and used a selection of three syrups from Shott: caramel, vanilla and hazelnut. They’re super flavourful, not too sweet and they got us a ton of great feedback from customers.

Unfortunately, you can’t find Shott syrups in UK supermarkets. However, you can buy them online. If you’re in the UK, this is a good place to buy, but you can also find them elsewhere.

If you can’t get your hands on a good quality syrup and you want your iced latte right now, Monin and other brands will do. They will also do if you’re not a big fucking food snob like me. But if you are and you can endure a little wait, I highly recommend Shott syrups.

Don’t forget though, you can make this recipe without any syrup at all. If you’re using a delicious milk alternative and good coffee, your iced latte will taste fantastic anyway.

If you simply want some additional sweetness, add your preferred amount of sugar/sweetener to the espresso before adding it to the shaker.