The Easily Avoidable Mistake That Leads To Flavorless Iced Drinks

Although there's something undeniably lovely about a warm, steaming mug of coffee, iced drinks are a hot commodity. Major coffee companies — like Starbucks, Maxwell House, and Keurig — have seen a rise in the sales of cold coffee products. Even as shops are upping their game on iced drink offerings, there are more and more products on the market that are geared toward helping you make a perfect iced coffee at home.

Getting a great glass of iced coffee isn't as easy as just pouring your regular brew over ice, and not accounting for ice melt means you'll end up with a drink that's not going to do your coffee justice. At all. Get your ratios wrong and you'll water down your drink to end up with something bland instead of flavorful.

Fortunately, there's a very easy way to prevent this from happening, and guarantee your iced drink is going to be just as delicious on the last sip as it was on the first: Brew your coffee at a much different ratio than you're used to. While most hot coffee is brewed with a recommended ratio of 16 grams of water for every 1 gram of grounds, opt for less water (or more coffee). Switch that ratio up to 12:1, or double the strength with 8:1. That will help account for melting ice, and there's a few other things to consider when it comes to making that perfect iced coffee.

The best iced coffee recipe could be thought of as making a coffee concentrate. In addition to brewing a stronger drink, there are a few other ways you can make sure melting ice doesn't ruin the flavor. Coffee and tea expert Jee Choe explained to Daily Meal that some of the biggest mistakes made with iced lattes are also some of the easiest to correct. She noted that the order in which you assemble your drink is important, especially if you're using something like hot espresso. Add that, then milk to cool it, then your ice. It'll melt slower, and that will make a big difference.

Choe also suggested using bigger pieces of ice to slow melting even more. We have another suggestion, too. You can absolutely brew a pot of coffee, let it cool, and then make into coffee ice cubes that won't water down your coffee at all when they start to melt.

While we've been talking mostly about coffee, the general rule of making drinks stronger when you're planning on serving them over ice applies elsewhere. If you're brewing tea with the intention of turning it into iced tea, brew it stronger than you would if you were going to be pouring yourself a hot cup. A stronger drink will also ensure that the coffee (or tea) flavors still come through after you add sweeteners, milk, or any other flavorings you like.