5 Reasons Why Iced Coffee is the Perfect Summer Drink

You love your caffeine but soda just isn’t cutting it, and who wants to drink something hot on a sweltering summer’s day?  Drinkers need not despair, however.  Iced coffee has gained popularity over the past decade thanks to franchises like Starbucks and Seattle’s Best.  (Even fast food joints McDonald’s and Burger King are getting in on the action).

Popular throughout the world, iced coffee is a staple of countries as far-reaching as India, Chile and Canada, but Americans are crazier for the iced drink than most.

Below are 5 reasons iced coffee is the perfect summer drink.

It’s Cold

Easily the most obvious reason, downing a 16-ouncer of smooth iced coffee will quickly refresh its drinker even on the hottest days.

Easy to Make

Iced coffee is basically coffee poured over ice.  You can make any variety – latte, mocha, espresso or your standard morning brew.  You can serve the coffee already chilled or poured hot over the ice.  One recipe popular in India involves mixing Nescafe in a blender to create a smoothie.

The most popular method of making at-home iced coffee, however, is to brew a pot of your favorite traditional coffee (or even a single-serve coffee pod), pour it into pitcher and refrigerate until cool.  Then pour the drink into a glass filled with ice and voila!  Iced coffee.

Unique

While popular in various commercial coffee establishments, few people endeavor to make iced coffee at home.  If you are having guests over, you can be fairly sure there won’t be duplication with the beverages.  Iced coffee looks impressive and difficult to make, but isn’t – it’s the best recipe for an impressive party.

Easily portable

This is fairly self-explanatory, but iced coffee is as easy to transport as soda, water or any other beverage.  Throw it in a cup and you’re ready to go anywhere – be it to barbeque or a Little League game.

Invigorating

There’s no better way to get your daily caffeine rush than with a cup full of iced coffee.  And though caffeine has many critics, studies suggest it may have a number of health benefits as well, such as increasing memory (and combatting Alzheimer’s), easing depression and upping stamina.

But a word of warning:  Watch out for your waistline on some of the commercially available iced coffees.  A few of the calorie contents can get mighty high.  For example, the McDonald’s Frappe Mocha tops out at 560 calories and 24 grams of fat!

Katie Fetting-Schlerf is a Seattle-based writer who prefers everything mocha.  With the assistance of her handy K Cup Brewer, she makes brilliantly awesome iced coffees year round (but especially in the summer).

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Posted by Katie Fetting on August 14, 2012. Filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry