I officially have a new favorite coffee drink and I need to shout it from a mountain — muddled mint iced coffee! Where has this delightfully refreshing drink been my whole life?!
I was on a spiced honey latte kick for quite a bit, but sadly, my Iconic Cocktail spiced honey elixir has finally run dry.
I have always been a fan of minty coffees in general and have tried many avenues of achieving the perfect one at home. From store-bought mint syrups to that time I tried to make my own (nasty), to all of the various coffee creamers I purchased but have been looking for the right product. I’ve even tried making my own mint creamer with straight-up peppermint flavoring and yikes — let me warn you a little of that goes a long way.
Basically, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect mint coffee drink (to no avail). I love a peppermint mocha around the holidays so I will have to give this new method a try when the holidays come around! I am so excited to share this with you, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been!
Muddled mint iced coffee ingredients
The best part about this recipe is that it’s by far the easiest and most accessible way I’ve tried so far. My in-laws have an old bed of mint that keeps growing and growing, which I’m very thankful for. For as much as I hear about mint being hard to kill and growing like a week, I have a really hard time keeping mine alive!
I recently learned about muddled mint iced coffee on an episode of Food Network’s Girl Meets Farm which features food blogger Molly Yeh. I was inspired by the concept so I had to give it a whirl too. My life has been forever changed and I already can’t wait to have guests over at my house so I can offer them a glass of garden-fresh muddled mint iced coffee.
This recipe is easy and comes together quickly. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Iced coffee or espresso
- Sweet cream creamer*
- -or- Simple syrup + milk
- Chocolate syrup (if you like a mocha)
- Fresh mint leaves
- Muddler
*Re: sweet cream creamers vs using milk + simple syrup… I’ll be honest, my favorite version is the sweet cream creamer from Trader Joe’s. It’s a more popular flavor now, Chobani has one that I would call a close second. You can make your own simple syrup, I used store-bought simple syrup but it was just too sweet and I barely used any.
The best part of making this recipe is picking fresh leaves of mint straight from the source. It’s almost like a little ritual now. You can, of course, buy some at the store or a farmer’s market.
I’m an espresso drinker so I’ll share how I make my drink, but you could easily sub in a cold brew or iced coffee.
How I make a muddled mint iced coffee
Start with some fresh mint in a glass. My leaves are small so I probably did 6-8 small leaves. You can do 3-4 larger ones, just feel it out depending on how much you like mint.
- First I make my espresso shot (or two). If you want to add chocolate, add it to the hot espresso and stir well. Immediately stick it in freezer to cool down.
- While that’s cooling, I muddle the mint well, releasing the leaves’ essential oils.
- Then, I pour in a splash of my creamer and give it a good swirl.
- Next, I fill my glass about half way crushed ice, swirl again.
- Lastly, I get my cooled espresso and pour over ice and give a final swirl.
- If feeling fancy, top with a little pinch of mint or whipped cream.
Because, I’m essentially making a fancy iced espresso here, my glass is typically only half full. If you’re using a cold brew or iced coffee, you can use however much you want — fill away!
Does this coffee drink sound like something you would enjoy? Let me know if you make it!
