With spring upon us, or around the corner depending on where you live.  It is time to start thinking about some iced beverages.  There are a few ways to go about making good iced coffee.  I do not recommend simply pouring hot coffee over ice, you will end up with a very watered down drink.  You can brew a good strong pot of coffee (see Home Brewing Coffee posts) and then take the coffee off of the heat right away and let it come to room temp before pouring over ice.  You could even use a little extra coffee to make it stronger, this helps balance out once the ice melts a little.

One of my favorite things to do in the hot weather is to make coffee ice cubes.  Just brew up some coffee, pour it into your ice trays and freeze as normal.  Then you can just put them in a glass, add a little more coffee and some Coffee House Inspirations creamer and enjoy.  Or throw all those ingredients into a blender for a smooth coffee shake, try Vanilla Latte creamer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

My favorite coffees to use for iced beverages tend to come from the East African growing regions, such as an Ethiopian Yergacheffe or Kenya AA.  I also enjoy a nice Guatemala Antigua.  The flavors of these coffee tend to be bright and sweet without being overpowering.  Thus making them ideal for a cool refreshment.

Yes thats right, I said espresso and creamer.  And I will probably incur the wrath of every other barista out there.  But the fact of the matter is, espresso can go very well with a drop of creamer.  If you have an espresso machine at home go ahead and try it out.  Pull a double shot of espresso and just add a little bit of you favorite Coffee House Inspirations flavor to it.  Be sure to just add a little bit at a time as it goes a long way in such a small amount of espresso.  I personally like about 1/2 a teaspoon of Vanilla Latte flavor in a double shot of espresso.  And be quick, that espresso starts to loose its pizazz about ten seconds after you pull the shot.