Make Coffee Ice Cubes for Better Iced Coffee

Want iced coffee that stays strong to the very last sip? Then say hello to coffee ice cubes.

I am the tortoise, not the hare, when it comes to coffee. I sip slowly, but I always finish my cup - even when that means grimacing on the last diluted, watery dregs at the bottom of my iced coffee.

No more! Now that coffee ice cubes are in permanent residence in my freezer, my days of sad iced coffee are over.

Coffee ice cubes are such a simple, obvious solution to the problem of watery iced coffee that I'm a little embarrassed it took me this long to give it a try.

Don't be me. Make yourself a batch of coffee cubes asap.

Start with cold brew coffee. Coffee made this way is so much smoother and less bitter than hot-brewed coffee that's left to cool. I usually make a double-batch at the start of the week, make a few trays of ice cubes, and then stash the rest in the fridge for my morning coffee.

You can use any ice cube tray you like, though I'm particularly fond of the perfectly square cubes you get using these silicon trays from Tovolo.

If you need to use your tray for other things (like, you know, normal water-based ice cubes) just pop out the coffee cubes and store them in a freezer container or zip-top bag. They'll keep for several weeks this way before starting to develop stale flavors from the freezer environment, though my bet is that they'll be long gone and replaced with a new batch before then.

Besides your iced coffee, you can also use these coffee ice cubes in smoothies, cocktails, or blitz them in a blender to make a quick coffee granita to serve for dessert.