flavored ice cubes

Beat the heat and avoid watered-down drinks with an assortment of flavored ice cubes.

This is the time of year when iced coffee and tea starts to replace my favorite hot beverages. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in San Francisco with some afternoons being quite warm over the past few weeks. Nothing beats the heat like an ice cold glass of freshly brewed tea or coffee. To avoid cold beverages from becoming watered-down I keep an assortment of flavored ice cubes on hand in the freezer.

I currently have a selection of green tea, chai tea, and coffee ice cubes in my freezer to pair with all of my favorite cold drinks. To get the most out of my ingredients, I like to re-brew tea leaves to make my iced tea cubes and run my morning coffee grounds through the french press a second time to make my iced coffee cubes. If you have a Keurig, K-Cups brewed on the largest brew size are also perfect for filling two small ice cube trays.

Simply fill ice cube trays with unsweetened coffee or tea and freeze for four to six hours. Remove ice cubes from trays and store, uncovered, in plastic bins in the freezer until ready to use. To serve, fill glass with flavored ice cubes and pour over your favorite cold beverage.

GADGETS
Cubette Mini Ice Cube Trays

NOTES
The plastic cubette mini ice cube trays are my favorite for making flavored ice cubes. If having difficulties removing ice from trays, simply run the back under hot water for a few seconds before gently twisting ends of trays to remove ice.