Mess of Sunshine: Iced Coffee Bliss

Let me just start by explaining my love for iced coffee. It is a love that runs deep inside me. It runs through my veins and wakes me up in the morning. It is a relationship that caused me to dish out the big bucks to purchase it often.

That love has changed recently, and I very much like it. I have brought the love home, to my very own kitchen, and I will just say that it is one of the best relationship choices I have ever made.

All you need to start this love at home is 1/2 a 1 lb. bag of your favorite coffee and water! Cheap and easy, just how we like it... Okay, too much.

You'll also need two very large bowls (one with a lid), a strainer, paper towels, and a pitcher or two (enough to hold a gallon of coffee).

Here is my coffee. It is my all time fave for iced coffee. It's strong. It's glorious. It tastes wonderful even when watered down. However, I accidentally bought the whole bean, so I had to grind it up. This was a first for me!

Note: If you buy Starbucks coffee, save the bag! You can take the bag in to a Starbucks and get a free tall coffee. Always a plus. :)

Here I go, grinding my coffee into oblivion. Let me tell you, I no longer thought of this as a mistake. Grinding the whole beans up gave my kitchen SUCH a strong coffee scent that it was completely worth it!

Take the coffee grounds and mix them with 1 gallon of water until all of the grounds are wet.

Yum. Coffee mud. Love it.

Cover that up and let it sit for at least 8 hours. The longer, the stronger, the better. I usually leave it overnight.

Here is the weird, messy, fun part. Line a strainer with paper towels. Put the strainer over your other bowl. Pour your coffee through the strainer so the grounds stay in the paper towels but the coffee goes into the bowl.

Pour this in your pitchers, refrigerate, and love.