Pouring liqueurs over easy to make Coffee Ice Cubes – photo by Cheri Loughlin
Pouring liqueurs over easy to make Coffee Ice Cubes – photo by Cheri Loughlin

Recently frozen coffee ice cubes on Pinterest caught my eye. I don’t know about you, but most mornings in my home begin with a pot of fresh brewed coffee. At the end of the morning there is usually a little left in the bottom of the pot. I use a Capresso coffee maker that comes with a stainless steel thermal carafe. The carafe keeps my coffee hot and fresh for hours. It seems such a waste to pour fresh coffee down the drain. So when I saw the coffee ice cubes on Pinterest the creative wheels in my head started turning, leading me along a creative path to wonderful drinks I could make with frozen coffee cubes.

Making Coffee Ice Cubes

Coffee Ice Cubes are easy to make using fresh brewed coffee or left over coffee. - photo by Cheri Loughlin
Coffee Ice Cubes are easy to make using fresh brewed coffee or left over coffee. – photo by Cheri Loughlin

Really, what’s not to love?! Making coffee ice cubes is easy. Just pour fresh coffee into ice cube trays. Cover with plastic wrap so crumbs or odors from the freezer don’t get trapped in the ice. It takes roughly 4 to 6 hours for the coffee ice cubes to freeze. Take the cubes out of the tray and place them into a freezer safe container. Seal until ready to use. Make some more!

Recommended Ice Cube Trays

Tovolo Perfect Cube Ice Trays make uniform square ice. I just think that's cool! But use whatever ice tray you prefer. There are lots of great choices. - photo by Cheri Loughlin
Tovolo Perfect Cube Ice Trays make uniform square ice. I just think that’s cool! But use whatever ice tray you prefer. There are lots of great choices. – photo by Cheri Loughlin

I use Tovolo Perfect Cube Ice Trays. The Tovolo trays are easy to use, flexible and I can throw them in the dishwasher when I’m done. I also love that the Tovolo makes perfect little squares. But use whatever ice tray you like the best. The OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray also looks like it might be a good choice, but I haven’t used that one. It has an easy-release sliding lid so liquids won’t slosh out while carrying the tray from counter to freezer. It’s also stackable with the built in lid. You can’t do that so easily with the Tovolo tray.

Coffee Ice Cube Drink Ideas

Try Coffee Ice Cubes in Black Russians, White Russians or throw Coffee Ice Cubes in the blender with Mudslide ingredients and Vanilla Ice Cream for a wonderful recipe variation. - photo by Cheri Loughlin
Try Coffee Ice Cubes in Black Russians, White Russians or throw Coffee Ice Cubes in the blender with Mudslide ingredients and Vanilla Ice Cream for a wonderful recipe variation. – photo by Cheri Loughlin

There are many drink possibilities with coffee ice cubes. One of my biggest pet peeves about iced coffee drinks is how watered down they get before getting halfway through the drink. The first no-brainer is to start replacing regular ice with coffee ice cubes in any iced coffee recipe whether it contains alcohol or no alcohol. Instead of watered down iced coffee, the melting coffee cubes give more coffee flavor to the drink.

Add coffee ice cubes to traditional cocktails such as Black Russians and White Russians.

Use coffee ice cubes instead of regular ice for coffee flavored blender drinks like a frozen Mudslide or slushies.

Dreamy Iced Coffee

Dreamy Iced Coffee using easy to make Coffee Ice Cubes. Recipe & photo by Cheri Loughlin, Corporate Mixologist & Photographer
Dreamy Iced Coffee using easy to make Coffee Ice Cubes. Recipe & photo by Cheri Loughlin, Corporate Mixologist & Photographer

Dreamy Iced Coffee – created by Cheri Loughlin, The Intoxicologist

6 to 8 Coffee Ice Cubes

2 ounces Unsweetened Almond Milk

1-1/2 ounce Irish Cream Liqueur

1/4 ounce Hazelnut Liqueur

Whipped Cream & Shaved Chocolate – optional garnish

Fill tall glass with coffee ice cubes. Add almond milk. Top with liqueurs. Stir. Top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate if desired. Relax with a good book while your coffee ice cubes melt into sheer liquid pleasure. [I used Carolans Irish Cream. It’s a little less sweet and less thick than Baileys Irish Cream. The Irish Cream measurement might need to be altered a little bit depending upon the brand you use.]

Frozen Blender Variation: Place coffee ice cubes and liquids in blender. Add 1 to 2 Tablespoons Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. Blend until smooth. It might be necessary to add a tiny bit more almond milk in case the mixture is too thick. Pour into tall glass or decorative glass. Top with dollop of whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon – str8upcocktails @ gmail.com – ©2013 Cheri Loughlin-The Intoxicologist, All Rights Reserved.

Coffee Ice Cubes for Iced Coffees & More

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