This impressive looking layered iced coffee frappé is ridiculously easy to make! The ingredients are incredibly simple and this drink can be whipped up in just a couple of minutes! All you need is coffee and water and a jar and a glass with ice and milk! If you love iced coffee, you're going to love this!
What Is A Coffee Frappé?
Not to be confused with the famous Starbucks Frappuccino® which is cappuccino and ice blended together, this type of coffee frappé originated in Greece where, as the story goes, a Nescafé employee did not have any hot water to make himself an instant coffee. So he came up with this idea of combining instant coffee granules and water in a bottle and shaking it and the rest, as they say, is history!
Ingredients
- Instant coffee granules
- Water
- Ice Cubes
- Milk (or your choice of non-dairy milk)
- Sugar or sweetener (if desired)
Instructions
Add water to a jar. Add the instant coffee granules. Secure the lid onto the jar.
Shake the jar for about a minute to dissolve the instant coffee.
Shake vigorously to get a lot of foam.
Add the milk to a serving glass. Add enough ice cubes to fill about half the glass, making sure the ice level is higher than the milk. Give the coffee one last shake in the jar before slowly pouring it into the serving glass.
Hint: To get the three layers (milk, coffee, and foam), pour the coffee slowly into the glass and try to aim the pour directly over an ice cube versus directly into the milk. Otherwise, two layers is okay, too!
Variations
- Use brewed coffee - Substitute the water and instant coffee with the same amount of brewed coffee and shake as normal. Note that it will not foam as much and the foam will not last as long as using instant coffee granules.
- Mocha - in addition to (or instead of) sugar, add a tablespoon of hot chocolate mix to the jar and shake it with the coffee (not cocoa for baking).
- Dairy-free - Replace the milk with your favorite non-dairy milk.
- Skip the milk - Make it a 2-layer drink with just the coffee and foam
- Cold, but ice-free - Add ice cubes to the jar with the coffee shake them together. This will chill the coffee down super fast! Then strain the coffee into your glass without the ice cubes. This works easily with a cocktail shaker.
Some coffee frappé recipes call for the coffee, water, and milk to be shaken all together. However, I found that you don't get as nice a foam if you add the milk, so I prefer to shake only the coffee and water. If you've had a different experience with shaking with milk, let me know in the comments below!
I also prefer using simple syrup to sweeten the coffee after it has been poured into the glass versus adding sugar to the jar to shake with the coffee. I can control the sweetness better with the simple syrup, and I do not have to worry about any granulated sugar not being dissolved in the shaking process.
Equipment
All you need is a jar with a lid that seals well so that you don't lose any coffee while you're shaking it.
As for serving glasses, this recipe makes enough to fit a 16oz. glass.
FAQ
Yes! Instead of water and instant coffee, use the equivalent amount of espresso or brewed coffee and shake! You will still get the foam, but not as much.
Yes! Substitute the milk in the recipe with your favorite non-dairy milk.
Yes! Add the sugar (or your preferred sweetener) to the jar before shaking to sweeten the drink. Shake for a good minute to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
You can, but you will not get the same frothy foam.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Looking for more refreshing drink recipes? Give these a try!
Recipes To Enjoy With Your Coffee Frappé
You really can't beat the combination of chocolate with coffee, and here are some of my favorite chocolate recipes to pair with the iced coffee:
You probably have already have the ingredients necessary to make this iced coffee frappé, so there's no reason not to try it! If you love iced coffee, you're going to love how quick and easy this drink is to make and how awesome it looks!
~ Lisa.
Iced Coffee Frappé
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- ¾ cup room temperature water
- ⅓ cup milk
- Ice cubes
- Sweetener of choice (optional)
Instructions
- In a canning jar (or any similar jar with a good seal), add the water and instant coffee granules. If using a sweetener, add it as well.
- Seal the jar securely and shake vigorously for about a minute to dissolve the coffee and to generate a thick foam.
- Add milk to a drinking glass. Add the ice cubes.
- Give the jar one more quick shake before slowly pouring the coffee into the glass.
Notes
- A mason or canning type jar is a perfect jar to use since the seals on the lid are quite good. A cocktail shaker also works.
- You can substitute he instant coffee and water with an equivalent amount of brewed coffee, but it will not foam as much.
- Depending on the size of your drinking glass, you may need to play with the proportions of ice, milk, and coffee.
- Add the ice to the serving glass after the milk so the ice cubes don't melt from the milk being poured over them.
- Add enough ice so it is higher than the level of the milk in the glass.
- If using granulated sugar to sweeten, add it to the jar and shake it with the coffee to dissolve the crystals. Shake for a minute or more.
- Shaking the coffee with water and milk will not produce as much, if any, foam.
- Evaporated milk makes for a slightly richer coffee. Just make sure it is chilled.
- Substitute the milk with your favorite non-dairy milk if you are dairy-free.
** This post was originally published on July 8th, 2019 and republished May 6th, 2024 with a new name, updated recipe, new photos, and new writing.
Jason says
Literally obsessed with how it's easy and delicious. been my go to morning drink! (with a little brown sugar simple syrup)
Hi Jason! Thanks so much for making the recipe...so glad you like and that you've been starting your days with it!
Sabrina says
Yum! So easy, delicious and refreshing. This is wonderful and also a much needed caffeine boost when kids are home alllll summer, thanks!
Thanks, Sabrina! Caffeine is definitely a good thing over a summer break when the kids are home!
Jessica says
I love iced coffee and the simplicity of this recipe! Perfect for summer afternoons 🙂
Absolutely! We've been enjoying these quite often with the warm weather!
Julia says
I absolutely love iced coffee in the summer and this one looks fantastic!!!
Me, too, Julia! Thanks!