Learn how to make iced coffee at home, complete with the cold brew coffee concentrate and final mixture. Fashioned after the Tim Horton’s&trade iced coffee.
So I set out to figure out how to make Tim Horton’s™ style iced coffee at home. And by gosh, I think I’ve come pretty darned close! Here’s how …
Ingredients and Substitutions
Coffee Grounds – use your favourite ground coffee brand.
Instant Dissolving Sugar – this is a super-fine sugar that will dissolve instantly in cold liquids. (Regular sugar won’t dissolve in cold liquids). Look for it in the sugar section at the grocery store or at Bulk Barn. If you can’t find it, you’ll have to substitute a sugar syrup, which involves heating regular sugar with water and then using the syrup to sweeten the iced coffee.
Recipe Tips
You can play around with the proportions of coffee concentrate and water to taste, as well as the amount of added cream and milk.
You may be surprised by the amount of sugar, but trust me, if you’re looking for a clone of Tim Horton’s™ Iced Coffee, you’ll need that much.
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Get the Recipe: How to Make Iced Coffee at Home
Ingredients
For the coffee concentrate:
- 32 oz cold water, (4 cups)
- 1 cup ground coffee, (good quality coffee- anything you’d brew up to drink hot)
For the Iced Coffee:
- 1/2 cup coffee concentrate, (from above)
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup cold water
- 2 teaspoons instant dissolving sugar, *See Note below
- 1/4 cup half and half cream, 10% bf
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 ice cubes
Instructions
- Make the coffee concentrate: Combine cold water and coffee grounds in a container. Stir to moisten all the grounds. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to steep for 12-24 hours. Place a coffee filter into a wire strainer and strain, discarding grounds. Transfer coffee concentrate to a glass jar and refrigerate. It will keep for several weeks in the fridge (but it won't last that long ;)
- To make an iced coffee: In a large glass, combine coffee concentrate, water, sugar, half and half and milk. Stir well. Add ice cubes and enjoy!
- You can play around with the proportions of coffee concentrate to water, to taste. The 1/2 cup of water makes an iced coffee a little stronger but mellows out nicely as the ice melts. If you prefer it a little lighter, add the 2/3 cup of water or more from the start. The same goes for the added cream and milk. You can use as much or as little of both or either as you like, to your taste.
- Note: *Instant dissolving sugar is available in the sugar section of most grocery stores or at most Bulk Barns and is a special sugar that is made to dissolve easily in cold liquids.
- Note that regular sugar will not dissolve in cold liquids, so can’t be substituted as is. All is not lost though. Just make a simple syrup by bringing 1 cup water to a boil and adding 1 cup sugar and stirring until completely dissolved. Remove from heat, let cool and then store in a jar to add to your coffee as needed. (Can double or triple this recipe)
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I thought tims made their iced coffee from hot coffee and not cold brew for some reason. Is it the same thing?
Hi Jacklyn and yes, I think tims does use their brewed coffee. The recreating tims is really in reference to the sweetness/creaminess of their iced coffee, rather than strictly using their same method. I find cold-brewed coffee concentrate a wonderfully easy way to always have an iced coffee at hand, without the need to brew a pot.
This recipe is fantastic, it’s delicious!! I use the fancy creamers and it gives it a perfect flavor. Thank you so much! My wallet has been happier as well since I found this!
So glad you enjoyed it and the flavoured creamers is a great idea!
I also have a recipe that works well, if you have a Keurig. I use the Tim’s Kcup and set the machine on the second largest cup size. Pour into a mug, mix in your cream or milk and sugar exactly how you like it hot. Then put in the fridge for 5 mins. to cool. I use a mason jar, fill it 3/4 with large ice cubes and pour the coffee in after I give it a quick stirring. I take this to work with me everyday. Am I saving money? Probly not, but the line ups at Tim’s are enough for me to avoid them by any means.
Sounds great Chris! Thanks for sharing it :)
You can also use agave nectar- or if you’re feeling really Canadian- maple syrup to sweeten instead of making the simple syrup :)
Yes you can! Thanks for adding that :)
I have a question about making the coffee portion. It is already perked coffee? Can you use instant coffee? I noticed you said to strain the coffee. Please let me know. thanks
Hi Jane, The coffee part is cold brewed coffee concentrate. It’s nice to use if you make a lot of iced coffee because you make it a batch and refrigerate, then it’s cold and ready any time. That said, you can use brewed, cold coffee (or instant). Just eliminate the water in the iced coffee recipe.
Do I perk the coffee first or take the unperked coffee and add the cold water?
You just take the un-perked coffee grounds and add them to cold water.
Hey there! Just made my coffee concentrate and my sugar syrup! Can’t wait to try it! Just a question, how much of the syrup should i add? and also can i add everything together in a big container and then just keep it in my fridge? or do i have to make it every time?
Hi Brett. The amount of sugar syrup is really to taste and depends also on the size of your glass. Add a bit at a time until it tastes good to you. And yes, you can make a big container and keep it in the fridge.
Wow! This coffee is truly, truly, truly outrageous (in a good way)! “Woahh!” I said to myself after trying this, “What a gem!” Thank you so much! I wish I had known about this at the beginning of the summer, but better late than never!
Glad you enjoyed it, Hannah. It’s my summer staple!