Although most coffee drinkers think of coffee as a hot beverage, cold coffees are slowly becoming popular in coffee shops.
They are the ideal refreshing beverage to have during a hot day or after a strenuous workout.
Iced coffee and dessert coffee drinks such as Frappuccinos are an example of these coffees. These coffee drinks are made using cold ingredients such as ice cubes and ice cream that make them delicious and refreshing.
There are also cold coffees that most people have not heard of, such as coffee coolers. When you hear the term “coffee cooler,” you may think it refers to devices that cool coffee.
That’s not the case. Although insulated coffee cooling devices are great, coffee coolers are actually cold beverages.
These caffeinated cold drinks are pretty popular in Summer. Most people prefer them to rich beverages such as Frappuccinos because they are low in calories.
You can take as many coffee coolers as you like on a hot day without worrying about your figure. What makes them so good? Let’s find out.
What Makes the Best Coffee Cooler?
The best-tasting coffee cooler should be made with excellent coffee as a base. Most people prefer to make coffee concentrate using the cold brew method whenever they want to prepare these beverages.
You may also add other ingredients to coffee coolers based on your preferences to give it a different flavor. Some examples are vanilla syrup, almond extract, and frozen yogurt.
Looking at this array of ingredients, you may be forgiven for thinking a coffee cooler is a shake. Although these beverages are similar, coffee coolers have a lighter consistency.
You’ll only find a thick coffee cooler if ingredients such as bananas or protein powder (often added to coffee cooler recipes) are added to it.
The essential ingredients in coffee coolers are ice cubes and strong cold coffee. The ice cubes keep these beverages cold and refreshing, while the coffee keeps them richly – caffeinated.
You may ask,”What’s the difference between a coffee cooler and iced coffee?” That’s a question that many coffee addicts ask because ice cubes are added to both beverages.
Well, coffee coolers are different from regular iced coffee drinks because they contain hot cocoa. Different versions of cocoa, such as Ovaltine and Nesquik, are used to prepare coffee coolers to give them a unique flavor.
There are also those who use chocolate-flavored peanut butter in their coffee cooler recipe to increase its nutritional value and thicken it.
When ingredients like fruit, yogurt, protein powder, or peanut butter are added to a coffee cooler, it becomes the perfect pre-workout drink or meal replacement beverage.
That’s why most people think of coffee coolers as the perfect energizing drink to have when it’s hot outside. Here’s how to make them.
How to Make Coffee Coolers
You can prepare coffee coolers manually by brewing coffee and adding other ingredients to it, including ice cubes.
There are also those who use machines such as coffee chillers in the coffee cooler brewing process.
A coffee chiller is made to cool down a cup of brewed coffee instantly. It eliminates the need for a refrigerator which is important when making iced coffee beverages.
Using a coffee chiller helps if you want to create the most flavorful coffee when preparing a coffee cooler beverage. Cooling down coffee fast locks in the flavor notes and caffeine, ensuring you get an excellent brew.
When you have a coffee chiller at home, you can prepare and take coffee coolers and other forms of cold coffee, such as iced coffee, anytime.
Otherwise, you would have to store the coffee cooler in the fridge overnight or for some hours to get it as cold as you like.
Here is a simple recipe you can use to make a coffee cooler at home.
Coffee Cooler Recipe
Ingredients
3 cups strongly brewed French roast coffee
1 cup hot cocoa
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup steamed whole milk
2 Tbsp of sugar/low-calorie sweetener
1 cup ice cubes
Procedure
- Combine the coffee, cocoa, spices, almond extract, and whole milk. Blend these ingredients in a blender until you have a smooth beverage.
- Keep your coffee cooler in the fridge for at least three hours to chill, then top it up with ice cubes.
- Enjoy your coffee cooler as you sit out in the sun.
You can also make a protein-rich coffee cooler. These beverages are popular mainly because most people prefer to thicken their coffee coolers with nutritious ingredients. Here is a recipe.
Protein Coffee Cooler Recipe
Ingredients
3 shots of Espresso
2 Tbsp chocolate-flavored protein powder
A cup of steamed whole milk
A cup of hot cocoa
A Tsp low-calorie sweetener
A cup of ice cubes
Cinnamon powder
Procedure
- Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend them to a smooth consistency.
- Pour the protein coffee cooler in a jug and keep it in the fridge for 3 hours.
- Serve the coffee cooler in a tall glass with lots of ice cubes in it.
- Sprinkle some cinnamon powder on your cold nutritious beverage and drink it with a long straw.
How to keep your coffee cooler cold
Although a coffee cooler is a great beverage, some people avoid preparing it because the ice in it melts too fast.
A watered-down coffee drink tastes horrible. You don’t get a caffeine kick from it, and any flavors you’ve used, such as syrup, become nonexistent.
All you taste is water and some notes of coffee from your beverage. That’s when you set it aside and reach for another drink.
That wouldn’t be necessary if you had an insulated iced coffee cup (which is also referred to as a coffee cooler by some people).
It’s a vacuum-sealed cup made of materials like stainless steel that keeps cold coffee beverages such as a coffee cooler chilled for hours.
These insulated coffee cups come in handy during summer when you need to carry a cold coffee beverage everywhere. They are reusable, easy to clean and fit nicely into most coffee cup holders.
So the next time you need a device to keep your coffee cooler and other iced coffees cold, an insulated coffee cup is the best container to use.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to make a coffee cooler drink, why don’t you experiment with different flavors?
You can add syrups such as caramel, butter pecan, and blueberry to your coffee cooler recipe for an exciting taste.
Having plain coffee coolers can get boring after a while. Creating different recipes will ensure you enjoy a variety of coffee coolers all summer long.
Whatever you choose to do, a coffee cooler is one of the best beverages to have during a hot day. And if you can’t prepare a coffee cooler beverage at home, there are always coffee shops around that sell them.
For example, coffee chains such as Caribou have a reputation for creating signature coffee coolers for their customers during Summer. You can always get a coffee cooler from there whenever you need a refreshing cold beverage.
Also read: Why Millennials Crave Cold Coffee?
