Coffee & Milk Ice Cubes

Here’s the short but not too sweet version of the story: because watered down iced coffees and iced lattes suck.

I’m not usually the kind of girl who gets iced coffees or iced lattes during the summer, at all. I will order my hot lattes and gladly let my insides scorch and boil as my tastebuds enjoy the flavor of perfectly roasted beans and hot steamed milk. Lattes are my jam.

This past summer, however, I have been delving into the world of iced coffee drinks. Not that I’ve never had them before, they just haven’t been my go-to. Instead of sitting in an air-conditioned room all day long, I’ve been enjoying the sunshine and spending time outside, hence I need the iced coffee for relief.

Now that I care more about iced coffee and iced lattes than ever before, it’s become a concern to me that the ice waters down the drink. Usually, I can drink a small iced drink without the ice even melting (I’m just that fast) but for a large drink, I can definitely taste the difference.

I get that coffee ice cubes that have been popping up all over the internet and in certain coffee shops are meant to solve the problem, and I appreciate that, but depending on the drink you get, it could still throw off the balance of the drink.

Hence, coffee + milk ice cubes. Not only are they fun to look at, they tend to keep the balance I like to establish in my iced coffee (half milk, half coffee) at equilibrium.

Coffee + Milk Ice Cubes:

Makes 8 large ice cubes

Ingredients:

1 cup black coffee of your choice
1 cup milk of your choice, or half and half

I used 2% milk because that is my go-to milk. The white layers came out a little translucent because the water froze clear. For a more “solid” white, use half and half or whole milk.

Directions:

Make 1 cup of black coffee, then chill in the refrigerator until it is at least at room temperature. The chillier, the better.

Fill the first layer of your ice cube tray with milk and then freeze. Once the first layer has frozen (in about two hours) add a layer of coffee. Alternate until the tray is filled to the top.

Tips:

Use the same coffee you plan to use in your drink. If you have different types, you will likely throw off the taste.
Make sure the coffee is chilly! Don’t use hot coffee. You’ll probably melt the ice cube tray and also thaw anything else that has already chilled.
If you plan on drinking cold brew, use cold brew coffee to make the ice cubes.
If you like sugar in your lattes, you might choose to add sugar to your ice cubes.
Use equal measurements for each ice cube to get neat, even layers (say a 1/2 tablespoon of liquid per layer) if you don’t have a clear tray or a tray with level markings like mine.

My ice cube tray was part of the Oh Joy! For Target collection that was released in spring, and it is unfortunately no longer available. Any ice tray you have should work! If you follow the tips for neat, even layers you should be solid.

Enjoy your coffee and the rest of the hot days we have left! Below I just put the ice cubes in milk and it was splendid. —