You don't need an espresso machine for café-style cold coffee. You need strong coffee that mixes into cold milk, ice and something to shake or blend it in. Here are three ways, from quickest to thickest.
What you need for 1 glass
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
STIR Speciality Coffee Concentrate | 20 ml (2 measuring spoons) |
Cold full-cream milk | 150 ml |
Sugar | 2 tsp, to taste |
Ice | 5–6 cubes |
Method 1: Shaken cold coffee (2 minutes)
Add 20 ml of STIR, the sugar and 150 ml of cold milk to a shaker, jar or bottle with a lid.
Shake hard for 20 seconds until it's frothy.
Pour over ice and serve.
No shaker? Stir the sugar into the concentrate first so it dissolves, then add cold milk and ice. Full recipe: cold coffee.
Method 2: Thick café-style cold coffee (blender)
Blend 20 ml of STIR, 150 ml of cold milk, 2 tsp of sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for 30 seconds.
Add a few ice cubes and blend again for 10 seconds.
Pour into a chilled glass. Drizzle chocolate syrup inside the glass first if you like.
For thickness without ice cream, add a tablespoon of milk powder. See thick café-style cold coffee and cold coffee without ice cream.
Method 3: A jug for guests
The ratio is 1 part STIR to 8 parts milk. For 6 glasses:
Mix 120 ml of STIR with 960 ml (about 1 litre) of cold milk and sugar to taste in a jug.
Keep it in the fridge until guests arrive.
Stir again and pour over ice.
Full recipe: cold coffee for a party.
Why not just use instant coffee?
Instant coffee doesn't dissolve well in cold milk, so you have to whisk it with hot water first, which melts your ice. A liquid concentrate mixes straight in and tastes closer to café coffee. More on this in instant coffee vs coffee concentrate.
Fixes for common problems
Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
Tastes watery | Use full-cream milk and less ice, or add 5 ml more STIR |
Too bitter | Add a little more milk or sugar |
Not frothy | Shake harder, or blend for 20 seconds |
Sugar won't dissolve | Mix it into the concentrate before adding cold milk |
Too thin | Add ice cream or 1 tbsp milk powder and blend |
Make it your own
Add 2 crushed biscuits for an Oreo cold coffee, use jaggery instead of sugar, or switch to STIR Filter for an iced filter coffee. For a dairy-free version, use oat or almond milk: vegan cold coffee.
FAQs
Can I make cold coffee without ice cream? Yes. Methods 1 and 3 don't use any. For thickness, add milk powder and blend.
Can I make it ahead? Yes. Mix the coffee, milk and sugar and keep it in the fridge for the day. Add ice only when serving.
How much does a glass cost at home? About ₹38–43 of STIR per glass, depending on the pack size (a 200 ml pouch at ₹425 makes 10 glasses), plus milk and sugar. That's well under a café price.
Where do I buy STIR? STIR Speciality delivers across India. One 200 ml pouch makes about 10 glasses.
