Top 5 Summer Coffee Recipes

When you make your own refreshing coffee drinks at home, you get to add a creative spin on your favorite beverages. 

A cup of Joe is a staple of morning routines all around the world. According to the National Coffee Association, 64% of Americans drink at least one cup of coffee every single day — and the United States ranks as only the 25th highest country in the world when it comes to coffee consumption.

In this guide, we've created a list of the best five breakfast and dessert summer coffee drinks of 2020.

1. Cold Brew

You can easily turn your daily brew into a summer coffee drink by replacing hot brewed coffee with a cold alternative. Of the cold coffee drinks, cold brew brings the smoothest taste and beats ice coffee's caffeine content. 

Iced coffee is as simple as its name — it's regular coffee that has been chilled.

Cold brew, on the other hand, never uses hot water — and because it takes longer to brew, you end up with a less acidic and bitter tasting coffee and a whole lot more caffeine. If you're afraid you'll get too intense of a caffeine buzz or the brew ends up being too strong for you, just dilute it with cold water or creamer when serving.

It's easy to make at home — the most important ingredient is time. However, since you can make a week's worth of coffee at once, it's easier than ever to get your coffee in the morning. Here are the steps for making cold brew at home: 

1. Create a mixture that is four parts water and one part coffee grounds. To make four cups of coffee, use four cups of water and one cup of grounds. Course grounds work best to give you the richest flavor.
2. You can steep the coffee in any container, but glass works best. Using filtered water also gives you the cleanest brew. 
3. Let the brew sit for 12 to 24 hours. The stronger you want the coffee, the longer you should let it steep.
4. Once it's done brewing, filter the coffee through a regular colander — the smaller the holes, the better. If you'd like, keep the grounds and make a honey and coffee face mask. 
5. Filter the coffee one more time through a coffee filter.
6. Dilute with water, ice or any creamer or non-dairy product you prefer to find the taste you're looking for. 
7. For the freshest taste, keep the coffee no longer than one week in your refrigerator. 

2. Iced Coffee

Iced coffee is a beloved favorite, but if you don't take the right precautions, you could end up with a weak, diluted drink. Follow these tips to make the best iced coffee:

• Use coffee ice cubes: When you brew coffee, make some extra and freeze it in ice cube trays. This way, when you make iced coffee, the ice won't dilute the taste when it melts. 
• Brew stronger coffee: When you're making coffee you intend to put in the fridge for iced coffee, put in extra coffee grounds, depending on how strong you like your coffee. If you use ice or creamer, your coffee won't turn out weak. 

Once you make the coffee, let it cool down on the counter. Then, place it in the fridge until it cools. Whenever you want iced coffee, pour yourself a glass and add some ice. You can also add one of the ingredients below to make some unique coffee drinks:

• Lavender
• Vanilla simple syrup
• Cinnamon
• Sweetened condensed milk 
• Fresh mint
• Rosewater and cardamom
• Nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and cloves — the ingredients for a pumpkin spiced latte!

If you're looking for an extra twist, just add the coffee, the ice and the ingredients of your choice into the blender for a frozen drink.

3. Iced Latte

While an iced latte might be one of the most popular cafe beverages, you might have a hard time replicating one at home. You might think that since you don't have an espresso machine, you can't enjoy your favorite flavored latte at home. 

However, with some creativity, you can re-create this unique coffee drink with ingredients commonly found in your home kitchen.

The two main ingredients to any latte are the espresso and foamy milk. To replicate espresso without a dedicated espresso machine, make a small amount of coffee with your brewing method of choice. Use the same amount of coffee grounds, but less water. Now, you've got coffee to rival the strength of traditional espresso.

Next, you need to get your milk nice and frothy. To make frothy milk, pour your milk into a mason jar, close the top tightly and shake it vigorously until frothy.

Pour your homemade espresso into a glass filled with ice. If desired, add a few tablespoons of your desired flavoring. You can add something traditional like chocolate sauce to make a mocha latte, or get creative and make a gingerbread latte. Then, slowly pour the frothed milk over your creation and enjoy!

4. Reese's Peanut Butter Mocha Milkshake

How can you make a delicious dessert even better? You add coffee, of course! Just be sure to use decaf if you plan on heading to bed soon after!

When enjoying your summer evenings, make a chocolate peanut butter milkshake even more delectable by adding a cup and a half of freshly brewed coffee. All you need to do is toss all of these ingredients in the blender, and you've got yourself a delicious treat:

• 2 cups of chocolate or vanilla ice cream
• 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of coffee
• 2 regular-sized Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped roughly

Did the milkshake turn out too thick? Add a bit more coffee. Like it extra chocolatey? Add a handful of chocolate chips or some chocolate syrup.

Blend, top with whipped cream and enjoy!

This recipe adds alcohol to the mix for a dessert that's got it all:

1. If you don't have an espresso machine, brew an extremely strong pot of coffee or make cold brew with the recipe above. However you make the strong coffee, keep it in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the cocktail.
2. In a glass, place one or two scoops of vanilla bean or coffee ice cream.
3. Pour one and a half ounces of coffee, espresso or cold brew over the top.
4. Add 3/4 ounce of Irish whiskey and 1/2 ounce of Bailey's Irish cream on top.
5. If you're feeling fancy, add chocolate-covered espresso beans, chocolate shavings, chocolate sauce or whipped cream for a garnish. Enjoy immediately. 

Start Your Coffee Creations With the Right Bean

No matter how creative you get with your coffee recipes, the base of every good at-home coffee drink is the right beans. No amount of bells and whistles can mask the aroma and taste of a substandard roast.

Give your drinks the authentic cafe taste with Barnie's Coffee. With our wide variety of specialty blends you get delivered right to your door, you can get creative with adding another layer of flavor to your coffee creations. Search our catalog today and start brainstorming your own twists on classic summer coffee recipes.