Easy Fresh Mint Iced Coffee

Welcome back!  It's been two months since I last posted and it's probably been one of the busiest 60 day stretches in a long time.  I've been dabbling in a lot of fun experiments but haven't had a chance to get them all in print yet.  I'll start again with the spur of the moment concoction boiling up in my kitchen.  I saw this recipe on Pinterest for Fresh Mint Iced Coffee and was intrigued!  I love mint and I love coffee!  It sounded refreshing and summery.  Yum!

I was all set to make it but felt a little deflated after reading the recipe.  It wasn't difficult but it seemed time consuming with all the prep.  Was I really going to prepare coffee concentrate and coffee ice cubes the day before and sieve mint leaves in the morning before work?


With this in mind, I decided I could get on board with a fresh mint simple syrup and using it in place of the raw sugar I normally add to my coffee.  That means I won't get a mouthful of sugar through my straw plus it's a healthier, more natural alternative to the chock-full-of-garbage flavored coffee creamers.  Here is the recipe I came up with that was adapted from www.howsweeteats.com:

Fresh Mint Simple Syrup
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. sugar (you can use organic sugar or the raw sugar for a mild molasses flavor)
15 springs of fresh mint (add more mint if you like a stronger flavor)
1 tsp. of vanilla extract

The original recipe calls for vanilla beans but this significantly inflates the price of preparation since a small bottle with two vanilla beans is $18 a pop at my grocery store.  Use them if you are a purist but the vanilla extract worked just fine especially since the vanilla flavoring is secondary (even tertiary) to the coffee and mint.  Add the sugar and water to a medium sauce pan and bring to a slow boil, or until sugar is dissolved.  Add mint sprigs and vanilla.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.  Pour into a small jar or bottle and refrigerate.  Stores for 1-2 weeks.

*Side note- those Good Seasons salad dressing carafes are perfect storage containers for this!  They are reusable and have a pour spout.  

Prepare your iced coffee as usual.  For me this means filling a tumbler cup with ice and allowing the k-cup or filter k-cup to brew over it.  Add the Fresh Mint simple syrup to taste and follow with your choice of cream, half & half or milk.

Variation:  add to a blender and top with whipped cream for a homemade minty frappuccino!  

This was easy to prepare and was delicious!  (and my house smelled amazing while the simple syrup was simmering!)  I'll use the base of this recipe for other flavored syrups in the coming weeks.


photo credit: howsweeteats.com