Hot day here so I pulled an updosed shot (19.5gm) of espresso directly onto a couple of ice cubes in a demi-tasse. Added a dollop of cold milk.

I expected nothing... and I was blown away by the richness, the mouthfeel, the flavours, and the sweetness. I really expected it to taste thin and a little sour but it didn't at all. By the end, there were still remnants of the two cubes so they weren't fully melted.

So I made another one with different beans. Another amazing drink.

I did freeze the cubes in a cleaned tray wrapped in a plastic bag to keep away any odours.

I did a quick search here but other methods seemed to involve syrups, brewing with ice, or extra steps like pulling the shot then pouring it over ice.

Anyhow, you might give it a try.

No but I sure will now!!!

Love it man!

Rob

On a certain level I feel like pulling a shot straight onto ice is sacrilege, as I fear the shock of the ice against the hot extraction changes the composition of the oils & flavor compounds and is not helpful to the quality of the shot. I admit I have no evidence to support this; just something that came up in my training a long time ago and stuck with me. I'm not saying it can't be delicious, it's just not something I'd generally do. But here's what I do do... Cafe Freddo!

Fun, stylish & delicious:

Fill a small or medium martini shaker 1/3 or halfway with solid, large cubes of ice.
Add a double-shot (or more) espresso.
Add a dash of simple syrup. 1/4tsp maybe.
shake shake shake! Vigorously! Keep shaking til the shaker is so cold your hand aches.
Strain into a 5oz snifter. The super-foamy shot may be too thick for the strainer-top of the shaker, so you might want to crack the lid of the shaker and strain through the side.

It should start off looking like pure beige foam, which settles into a clearly defined coffee topped with a rich, thick foamy head, so thick & delicious you really could eat it with a spoon.

This is absolutely one of my favorite treats of summer.

I hear this is one of Nick Cho's favorite drinks!

happycat wrote:Hot day here so I pulled an updosed shot (19.5gm) of espresso directly onto a couple of ice cubes in a demi-tasse. Added a dollop of cold milk.

I expected nothing... and I was blown away by the richness, the mouthfeel, the flavours, and the sweetness. I really expected it to taste thin and a little sour but it didn't at all. By the end, there were still remnants of the two cubes so they weren't fully melted.

So I made another one with different beans. Another amazing drink.

I did freeze the cubes in a cleaned tray wrapped in a plastic bag to keep away any odours.

I did a quick search here but other methods seemed to involve syrups, brewing with ice, or extra steps like pulling the shot then pouring it over ice.

Anyhow, you might give it a try.

It's funny you mention it! Maybe it was the weather today in Montreal but I was just thinking about trying that this afternoon after work. The only thing is I didn't have any ice ready. I will be pretty tiny though with the size of a Caravel's shot. Maybe I could pull two shots in a row and then pour on ice. We'll see...

I'm in Montreal too...

I've found that insulated espresso/capp glasses (I got mine from Ares in Montreal) can keep a shot hot while I make another one, particularly if I cover it.


.... although you'll lose some oils in the cup you pour from....

SpromoSapiens wrote: not something I'd generally do.

Odd to quote myself, I know, but rather than edit the other post I figure I'll just say that in retrospect I realized that I didn't really clarify the difference as I'm still throwing fresh shots onto ice. I guess there's a conceptual difference in my head because A) I don't pull the shots directly onto the ice, and B) rather than just sip a shot on the rocks, I'm violently obliterating the shot into something totally else (although not as violent as a blender. It's still a suave, manually-made beverage). Again I don't mean to imply a hard line on ice practices, I bet it's all good. (In fact to further illustrate my hypocrisy: my go-to method for iced coffee is a hot, fresh aeropress pressed straight into a pint glass full of ice & then add fixin's.) I'm just sayin' the freddo is an awesome drink and you'll impress your friends when you make one in front of them. Cafe customers love it.

I admit to some confusion about the distinctions, the "shocking" of the espresso and the sacrilege. Espresso on ice has all the richness and spectrum of flavours you'd expect from hot espresso... only it's a different experience. In fact I have a bad habit of drinking my siphons too hot-- I don't seem to have the patience to wait for it to cool down and let the flavours come out... when I do accidentally, it's a much better experience. I'd hesitate to add anything to my espresso on ice but a splash of milk because I'd lose all those amazing flavours and oils I've worked so hard to roast, grind, distribute, tamp and pull.

Anyhow, the Coffee Gods have so far refrained from zapping me down, and the experience was so good I finally broke down and did a bulk order of greens from Sweet Marias despite the cross-border implications in order to have plenty more of this experience over the hot summer. I hate being hot... so this seems like a great plan for the sweltering humid summers here in what Americans think is Igloo land.

I generally do the same thing except for when I am making iced coffee for the misses. She takes hers sweetened, so I pull the shot into a demitasse, add sugar, stir, then throw it with ice and milk in a small glass.

It has been early for iced coffees here in Mtl. Especially considering we had all that snow only a few weeks ago.

First time with cafe freddo, and it was delicious. Made with sweet marias new classic blend. Im anxious to try a more fruit forward coffee as the beverage was nice and light, overall great drink.