Coffee with ice: here’s how it’s done

From Vietnam to Salento via Australia and Chile. Ice coffee has come a long way to Italy where we prepare it in a unique way.

Coffee with ice, in Italy is also called Leccese coffee (because it found fertile ground in the Apulian city), but in reality there is a difference between the two even if in both cases it is a fresh preparation, typically summer , whose origin is quite ancient.

We can say, without fear of contradiction, that coffee with ice went around the world before arriving in Italy and, although there are many variations, the two ingredients that are never missing are espresso and ice .

How to prepare coffee with ice

1. First prepare the coffee with the machine or with the moka . The important thing is to choose a quality blend . We advise you against using the soluble one, unless you are in a real hurry. Then sweeten to taste with granulated or brown sugar.
2. Let it cool completely.
3. Add the ice , mix and enjoy: your iced coffee is ready!

To avoid watering down the coffee you can prepare ice cubes with the coffee and use them instead of normal ice. If you prefer to sweeten your coffee when it is cold we recommend using sugar syrup . Alternatively you can enjoy the whole thing bitter. Some like to "spike" their coffee with ice by adding amaretto or whiskey cream.

Iced coffee lovers can also prepare one or more pots of coffee, wait for them to cool and then pour into a bottle , diluting with water. You will therefore always have a sip of this summer version of this concentrate of energy available. As for sugar, the choice on type and quantity is yours.

Alternatively we recommend you try shaken coffee whose preparation is similar but allows you to obtain a beautiful foam.

The origins of iced coffee

It was apparently first brewed in Vietnam , one of the largest coffee producers. The drink was called Cà phê đá and was prepared with coarsely ground coffee, ice and condensed milk.

It then arrived in South America, precisely in Chile , where it was enriched with many other ingredients, giving life to a high-calorie drink called Cafè Helado . Much appreciated by gourmands, it consists of espresso, coffee powder, Chantilly cream, spices (cinnamon, vanilla bean seeds), dulce de leche and chopped dried fruit such as almonds or hazelnuts. If that's still not enough, you can add some vanilla ice cream !

In Australia , however, coffee with ice is transformed into a sort of milkshake served with cream and ice cream. It is probably from here that the fashion for the famous frappuccino and all the sugary drinks that are served cold was born.

In Europe, to be precise in Spain , coffee with ice loses all the additional ingredients and is transformed into a simple drink prepared solely with coffee, ice and citrus fruits: it is the Cafè del Tiempo .

Lecce coffee, the history of the Italian variant

It is in Salento that ice coffee reaches the peak of success, above all thanks to the Quarta family of Salento roasters. We are in the mid-20th century and Antonio Quarta owned the only bar in the city that distributed pickled ice .

The idea of ​​combining coffee with this type of ice was born by chance, which is also much more resistant than cubes and can even be reused. To complete the fresh drink , almond milk is added, which is essential for giving the coffee its characteristic flavour. So the main difference between Lecce coffee and ice coffee comes out: almond milk is in fact used instead of sugar to make the drink sweeter.