Coffee Break: Iced Coffee, Northwest Style

I've been known to tease people, especially friends back East, about buying bottled coffee drinks and McCafe. Since I'm not the type of guy to tease people without offering some good advice, I thought I'd share my recipe for iced coffee. Here in the Pacific Northwest, where we tend to be coffee connoisseurs, we do our iced coffee Americano style, and we use espresso. Yes, we do.

That's espresso, not expresso!

Fresh ground beans - a must!!

My trusty little Starbucks Barista machine, and a glass with sugar awaits

Before packing: the ground beans must be packed down before brewing.

About two shots. I usually just fill a small syrup pitcher.

Easy-peasy. Just pour the hot espresso into a glass, with sugar if you like. Stir, and the hot espresso will dissolve the sugar. Add several scoops of ice and stir. The ice will melt and dilute the espresso to the strength of coffee. I like to add a little milk if I've got it, or even some water to top it off. Taste as you go.

Fill with ice after sugar is dissolved. Ice melts and dilutes to coffee strength.

"Stir it up; little darlin', stir it up."

Milk is good, or just top it off with a little cold water, and stir. Enjoy!

So that's all there is to it. Best glass of iced coffee you'll ever have, made fresh. It took me a while to catch on to the ritual of being a home barista, but after a while, buying coffee at Starbucks, Dutch Brothers, or the local mom and pop drive-thru espresso hut can burn a hole in the wallet. And after telling you all about it, right here right now, I'm still sippin' on my drink. So, I hope you've enjoyed this Portland, Oregon coffee break. Try it, you'll like it!