This copycat Tim Hortons Iced Coffee recipe is cold, refreshing, and the perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer's day. It's made with only a handful of ingredients and tastes even better than the original!
Are you a fan of Tim Hortons? Try my Tim Hortons Chocolate Chip Muffins, Tim Hortons Broccoli Soup, and Timbits next!
Tim Hortons Iced Coffee is one of Canada's most iconic cold beverages. It's perfect for beating the summer heat and giving you a quick energy boost. If you're walking down a busy downtown street, chances are you'll see someone holding this drink.
My recipe is made with four ingredients and comes together in less than 5 minutes (assuming you already have ice on hand). You can easily customize the strength of the coffee, sugar, and milk to your liking!
⭐ My Copycat Guarantee
I'll only post a copycat recipe if I believe it tastes the same (or better) than the original. I'm very proud of my copycat recipes. People have very specific expectations for how they should turn out, so I work extra hard in developing these recipes.
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☕ What is it?
Tim Hortons Iced Coffee is a beverage consisting of Tim Hortons' Premium coffee blend, chilled and served over ice. It's fully customizable, just like a regular coffee, with your preferred level of sweetness and dairy. Tim Hortons offers a variety of syrups that can be mixed in, like vanilla, mocha, and caramel.
Tim Hortons makes iced coffee by brewing its premium coffee blend at a high temperature, chilling it, and then serving it over ice. While it's a pretty straightforward process, many people struggle to get a coffee that's potent and not watered down at home. Usually, this comes down to not using strong enough coffee or pouring too much boiling liquid over ice.
Continue reading to learn all of my secrets for making the best iced coffee at home!
🧐 Instant or Ground coffee?
Firstly, what's the difference?
Instant coffee is, as you might have guessed, a form of coffee that can be made instantly. It's produced by brewing coffee and extracting the water-soluble materials, which are then dried. It's a good option for people that want to make coffee easily and quickly.
On the other hand, ground coffee isn't processed beyond the beans being washed and roasted. Ground coffee must be brewed, usually by adding water and allowing the beans to steep, percolate, or pressurize. It's a more time-consuming process, but the flavor is generally regarded as being more robust and flavorful.
I use instant coffee granules for my Tim Hortons Iced Coffee recipe, but either method will work. It just depends on how serious you are about your coffee and how much time you have.
🧂 Ingredients
- Instant Coffee - For the perfect copycat, use Tim Horton's Premium Instant Coffee, but honestly, any brand will work. You can also use ground coffee, so I recommend Tim Horton's Original Blend.
- Ice - I mean, it wouldn't be called an iced coffee without it, right?
- Milk - You can add milk to your preference, but personally, I find it tastier with a good amount of it. I recommend about ¾ of a cup.
- Sugar - I recommend about one teaspoon, but you can adjust to your own preferences.
- Boiling water - Required to dissolve the coffee granules and sugar.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Make coffee
In a glass, combine ¼ cup of boiling water, 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules, and 1 teaspoon of sugar, and mix until the sugar dissolves. Allow it to cool for a couple of minutes in the refrigerator.
If you're using beans, you can brew them using your preferred brewing method. Follow the instructions on the packaging, but double the number of beans so the coffee is more concentrated since it'll be slightly diluted by the ice.
💭 Tip
If you're a coffee geek and interested in getting a smoother, less bitter flavor, check out my cold brew method in the Variations section.
Step 2. Add Ice + Milk
Add a handful of ice cubes (about 5-6) to the glass, then fill it with ¾ cup of milk. Stir until it's combined, and the coffee has cooled down. How simple was that?
💭 Top Tips
- Brew the coffee strong since the ice will dilute the flavor slightly. If you're using instant coffee, this means using two teaspoons, which is double the amount.
- Use boiling water when making the iced coffee so that the coffee granules and sugar dissolve properly.
- Adjust the sugar and milk to your preferences. The recipe card contains my recommended amounts, but everyone has their own perfect coffee-sugar-to-milk ratio.
👨🏻🍳 Variations
- Cold brew - Cold brewing produces a smoother, less bitter taste. Mix 100 grams of ground coffee with ½ cup of water in an air-tight container. Allow it to sit at room temperature for twelve hours or overnight, then use it immediately.
- Vanilla/Mocha - Add ½ teaspoon of Vanilla or Mocha syrup to kick it up a notch.
- Coffee cubes - You can replace regular ice cubes with ice cubes made from brewed coffee, resulting in an extremely potent glass.
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Storing: Store leftover Tim Hortons Iced Coffee in an air-tight container (so it doesn't absorb the odors in the fridge) in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Tim Hortons doesn't sell cold brew coffee, a type of coffee brewed at a lower temperature for a longer period (usually around 12 hours), resulting in a smoother, less bitter taste. Instead, Tim Hortons' iced coffees are made by brewing their regular coffee blends with hot water, chilling it, and then serving it over ice.
Tim Hortons' Iced Capp is made with a base of coffee and cream and is processed in a frozen beverage machine, which stirs and agitates the mixture at a low temperature to create a slushie-like texture. On the other hand, Iced coffee is brewed coffee that is chilled, then stirred with ice, and it's not typically made with cream.
The biggest culprit to watery iced coffee is mixing a large amount of hot coffee with ice. The ice quickly melts, diluting the flavor. To avoid this, use only ¼ cup boiling water when mixing the coffee granules and sugar in my recipe. This reduces the amount of boiling liquid that comes into contact with the ice and milk, preventing the coffee from becoming too watered down.
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Did you enjoy this recipe? Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment. I'd love to hear your feedback!
📋 Recipe
Tim Hortons Iced Coffee
Ingredients
Coffee
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 5-6 ice cubes
- ¾ cup milk
Instructions
- In a glass, combine boiling water, instant coffee granules, and sugar, and mix until the sugar dissolves. Allow it to cool for a couple of minutes in the refrigerator.
- Add ice cubes to the glass, then add the milk. Stir until combined, and enjoy!
Notes
- Brew the coffee strong since the ice will dilute the flavor slightly. If you're using instant coffee, this means using two teaspoons, which is double the amount.
- Use boiling water when making the coffee so that the coffee granules and sugar dissolve properly.
- Adjust the sugar and milk to your preferences. The recipe card contains my recommended amounts, but everyone has their own perfect coffee-sugar-to-milk ratio.
Anonymous
Tastes quite well