Featured Iced Coffees

Summer is almost here and that means it’s time for some refreshing and seriously flavorful iced coffee. If you taste several different varieties of coffee brewed on ice, you’ll notice that each one has it’s own distinct flavor and personality. Just as with coffee brewed using other methods, a well-made iced coffee will have nuances in flavor that make drinking the summer fave a real treat.

Beginning this Summer, Alterra is featuring a different iced coffee recommendation each month, based on samplings and feedback from everyone here at our Humboldt headquarters – from the roasting team to baristas to office staff. Certain varieties really jumped out at us as coffees that lend themselves well to ice brewing and Kenya AA Nyeri is one of our favorites. Lush, ripe acidity, peach and currant all shine through when this classic Nyeri is serve chilled.  The smooth, buttery body combines with the fruity flavors to provide an intense yet balanced cup. 

Would you like to learn how to brew a great iced coffee the Alterra way?  Read on!

Iced Coffee Brewing Instructions
Here’s the method used in our own cafes for brewing delicious coffee over ice:

This method can be referred to as “double strong over ice” meaning we start with our standard brewing weight (.44lbs of coffee for 1 gallon of water) and halve the amount of water to produce a coffee that is twice the strength. We brew the double-strong coffee into a gallon pitcher half-filled with ice, thereby balancing the extra strong brew. Once the brewing cycle is finished we allow the coffee to cool for 15-30 minutes before serving it over ice. You can store your iced coffee in the fridge, but as with any brew it is best to enjoy this recipe fresh daily.

Have questions or feedback? We would love to hear from you! Email us at to let us know what you think.