Sip Your Way Into Summer with Starbucks

May 17, 2012

If there’s one thing that’s synonymous with summer, it’s iced coffee. Okay, maybe there are some other things that are synonymous with summer, but sometimes there’s nothing better than a perfectly brewed cup of iced coffee. Few things are as refreshing and energizing, so we’re going to devote today’s blog post to one of our favorite retailers, Starbucks, and one of our favorite summer beverages, iced coffee.

First thing’s first: We’re going to share a great recipe for iced coffee, because if there’s one thing we here at KickItBack are all about, it’s saving you money. Nobody wants to spend $5 for a cup of iced coffee, so why not take the time to make your own at home? It’s incredibly easy and super delicious!

We should point out a couple of things first:

1. You can’t simply brew hot coffee, then pour that coffee over ice. The ice will melt, diluting the overall strength of the coffee. Doing it this way will produce a smoother, richer coffee concentrate that’s best for iced coffee.
2. Brewing cold coffee can take up to 12 hours, so start this project over the weekend to ensure that you’ll be enjoying iced coffee for the rest of the week.

Without further adieu:

1. Use a large bowl, pitcher, or any other large container
2. Pour a pound a medium ground coffee into the container (stronger the better!)
3. Add 8 quarts of cold water
4. Stir to ensure all coffee gets wet
5. Cover the container and let steep for 8-12 hours (overnight is perfect!)
6. Using cheesecloth to strain the coffee concentrate into another large container (preferably the one you’ll serve from)
7. Make sure to pour slowly, as the liquid will take a while to strain through the cheesecloth
8. You can use a spoon to press the grounds to force more liquid into the new container
9. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until cold

If you cover the coffee tightly it can last you at least a couple of weeks! Add cream or milk (or a couple tablespoons of condensed milk if you want a Vietnamese variation) and some sugar to taste! It just doesn’t get any better on a hot summer day.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about one of our favorite retailers: Starbucks!

You can’t escape Starbucks. They’re on every corner in every town. But that’s not a bad thing, Starbucks brews some of the best coffee money can buy. Add to that their selection of iced and blended drinks, teas, and snacks, and there’s really not much reason to leave!

Everyone knows they can pick up their favorite drinks at their local Starbucks, but did you know you could pick up your favorite non-perishable items online? Head over to Starbucks to pick your favorite coffee beans, teas, syrups, equipment like coffee presses, coffee makers and espresso machines, grinders, drinkware like cups and mugs, tumblers, travel mugs and more!

If you’re looking for something to put your freshly brewed iced coffee in, check out the Cold Cup. It comes in three different sizes: 12 ounces ($6.95), 16 ounces ($8.95), and 24 ounces ($10.95), and you can even customize it with a personal message on the inside liner ($9.95 for 16 oz)!

The best part? When you shop at Starbucks using KickItBack, you will earn an additional 3.5% cash back on your purchase.

Let us know how your iced coffee experiment works, and tell us if you’ve got any tips or additions to our recipe in the comment, and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up on hottest deals!

Filed under: Product Spotlight,Retailer Profiles,Weekend

Tags: cash back shopping, coffee, cold cup, iced coffee, starbucks