Indian Cold Coffee
Cold coffeekold KOF-fee
A thick, frothy, milky blended coffee, sweet and very cold, sometimes with a scoop of ice cream whizzed in. In India cold coffee means this, not iced coffee, and it is made with instant coffee on purpose.
At a glance
- Coffee : milk
- 1:40
- Active time
- 5 min
- Total time
- 5 min
- Makes
- 2 glasses
- Serve
- Cold, frothy
- Kit
- Blender
Ingredients
Note: Instant is not a compromise here. It dissolves completely in cold milk, and the café versions all use it.
Method
-
Dissolve the coffee
Stir the instant coffee and sugar into the hot water in the blender jug until there are no granules left.
Coffee granules do dissolve in cold milk, slowly. Dissolving them in a little hot water first is faster and guarantees no specks.
-
Whip it briefly
Blend the coffee syrup on its own for ten seconds. It lightens and starts to foam.
This is a quick version of the beaten coffee trick, and it gives the finished drink a better froth.
Blend 10 seconds -
Milk, ice and ice cream
Add the cold milk, ice and ice cream if using. Blend on high for thirty to forty-five seconds until thick and very frothy.
Blend 30 to 45 seconds -
Chocolate in the glass and pour
Drizzle chocolate syrup around the inside of two tall glasses if you like, then pour in the cold coffee so the froth sits on top. Serve with straws, straight away.
Why this works
The froth is the defining feature, and it comes from milk proteins. Blending cold milk at high speed drives air into it, and the whey and casein proteins unfold around the bubbles and hold them. Cold milk foams better than warm in a blender because its viscosity is higher, which slows the liquid draining away from the bubbles. Ice helps by keeping everything cold during blending, since a blender warms its contents surprisingly fast.
Instant coffee is the right choice for this drink rather than a shortcut. It dissolves completely, so there is no grit, and it carries surface-active compounds that help stabilise foam. That is the same reason it whips into dalgona and beaten coffee. Whipping the coffee syrup alone for a few seconds before adding the milk gives the foam a head start.
Ice cream adds fat, sugar and more emulsifiers, and turns the drink into something close to a milkshake. Fat on its own tends to collapse foam, but ice cream's stabilisers and its cold temperature more than compensate, which is why the café version is the thickest.
In India cold coffee became a café staple with the spread of chains like Café Coffee Day, founded in Bangalore in 1996, which made it one of the first coffeehouse drinks most young Indians ordered. It was already a standard at college canteens and juice stalls, made in exactly this way, and it remains the default answer when someone in India says they want a cold coffee.
Variations
- With ice cream: two scoops of vanilla, the café version.
- Mocha cold coffee: a tablespoon of cocoa or chocolate syrup in the blender.
- With brewed coffee: 60 ml of cold, strong brewed coffee in place of the instant and water. Less frothy.
- Hazelnut: a tablespoon of hazelnut syrup.
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Questions
Why is my cold coffee not frothy?
The milk was not cold enough, or there was not enough blending. Use fridge-cold milk, add ice, and blend on high for at least thirty seconds.
Can I use brewed coffee instead of instant?
Yes, about 60 ml of strong, cold brewed coffee. The flavour is better, but the froth is weaker, because instant coffee helps stabilise the foam.
Is cold coffee the same as iced coffee?
Not in India. Cold coffee means a blended, frothy milk coffee. Iced coffee usually means coffee poured over ice.
Can I make cold coffee without a blender?
Shake it hard in a large sealed jar with ice for a minute. It will be less thick, but frothy enough.