Ingredients
Method
Step 1: Prepare the coffee
- Grind the coffee beans coarsely, as for a French press.
- Put the grounds in a 51-ounce (12-cup) French press or a large clean glass jar. Pour in about 1 cup of the cold filtered water and stir gently with a wooden spoon until all of the grounds are wet, then add the rest of the water. Leave some space at the top for the plunger.
- Cover the press or jar with a lid or a small plate and refrigerate for 12 hours.
- Take the press out of the refrigerator and uncover it. Fit the plunger lid with the plunger pulled all the way up, then push it down slowly and evenly as far as it will go. For coffee steeped in a jar, pour it through a cloth or paper coffee filter set in a mesh strainer over a second clean container.
Step 2: Prepare the coffee base
- In a clean container, stir together 177 grams (3/4 cup) of the coffee and the half and half or a substitute. Cover and refrigerate.
- Freeze the rest of the coffee in ice cube trays until solid, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Step 3: Blend the drink
- Put the ingredients into the blender pitcher in the order listed: coffee base, sugar, xanthan gum if using, then the coffee ice cubes.
- Blend on high, or on the setting the blender's manufacturer recommends, for 45 to 60 seconds, until smooth and as thick as desired. Pour into a 16-ounce glass and serve right away.
Notes
Equipment: a kitchen scale, a 51-ounce (12-cup) French press or a large lidded glass jar, a clean container for the coffee base, 2 ice cube trays and a high-powered blender. The recipe was developed in a Vitamix with a 32-ounce container.
Each drink fills a 16-ounce glass to the brim and weighs about 385 grams. The thicker version, made with 120 grams of base, is a little smaller.
One batch of coffee makes enough base for 2 regular or 3 thick drinks, plus coffee ice cubes for about 4 drinks.
Storage: keep the coffee base covered in the refrigerator and use it within 2 days. Once the coffee cubes are frozen, move them to a sealed freezer bag and use them within about 1 month.
The amount of coffee base controls the thickness: less makes the drink thicker, more makes it thinner.
Xanthan gum is a thickener that keeps blended drinks, sauces and dressings from separating. A dash is 1/8 teaspoon; many sets of small measuring spoons include a dash spoon.
Sweetener substitutes, all to taste: liquid stevia, monk fruit drops or a coffee syrup labeled sugar-free replace the cane sugar without adding sugar; honey, agave, maple syrup and regular flavored coffee syrups change the flavor but are still sugars. The half and half keeps its natural milk sugar either way.
Half and half substitutes: whole milk, skim milk or whipping cream, or a non-dairy option such as almond (or another nut) milk, soy, coconut, oat, rice or hemp milk, or nondairy creamer. The consistency may differ with a substitute.
Any roast can be used, and decaf beans or a regular/decaf mix lower the caffeine.