Vanilla Coconut Iced Coffee

In this post, I’m sharing a simple date-sweetened coffee creamer. This was done alongside a giveaway with Kicking Horse® Coffee, which included ground coffee and a porcelain tumbler with lid. The giveaway is now closed, but I hope that you will enjoy this creamer and cold brew recipe.

To be honest, I wasn’t always a coffee lover. Like most, I started drinking coffee during university as a way to stay awake and study for a few extra hours at night. At that time, I was forcing myself to drink coffee, sometimes pinching my nose to do so. I should mention that I was drinking a cheap instant coffee I found at my parents’ place. That certainly didn’t help! However, things changed in my second year of university. I blame my microbiology and bio chemistry classes. I started buying better tasting coffee and I now appreciate each cup for its unique taste. My favorite way to drink coffee? No sugar and just a small splash of oat milk. I make it at home every morning using a French press and now I can’t live without it. Coffee is what got me through my dietetic internship.

A few months ago, I picked up a bag of Kicking Horse® coffee from the grocery store. I had been eyeing it for the last few years and I finally decided to try it. I think it’s safe to say that Shaun and I quickly fell in love with it. It’s now our go-to coffee, not only for its delicious flavor, but also because the coffee is 100% certified organic, fairtrade and shade grown. They’re located in Invermere, British Columbia and I love supporting local products. Kicking Horse® was in fact named Canada’s fairtrade product of the year in 2016 and the #10 best workplace in Canada by Great Place to Work in 2016.

And now I’ve got a little coffee recipe for you to try.

I shared a post a while back about how to make cold brew. Now, I’m sharing one of my favorite ways to use cold brew: This Vanilla Coconut Iced Coffee. It may seem time consuming, but I promise, it’s very easy! All you need to do is plan a little ahead and take two minutes the night before to combine your ground coffee and cold water. You then let it steep all night or for 12-24 hours. The next day, strain the coffee using a fine mesh sieve, a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (congratulations, you’ve made cold brew!). Next is making the creamer by blending coconut milk, dates and vanilla in a high-speed blender. You then strain it the same way you did the cold brew. Finally, to make the iced coffee, simply pour some cold brew and creamer over ice. Done! There are many small steps, but by making larger batches of the cold brew and creamer, you can enjoy iced coffee throughout the week.

Vanilla Coconut Iced Coffee

A simple date-sweetened iced coffee to satisfy your coffee cravings on warm summer days. Just add cold brew, ice and a this blended coconut creamer flavored with vanilla and dates.

Course Drinks

Cuisine vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 0

Steeping Time 12

Total Time 12 15

Servings 1

Ingredients

Cold Brew

1/3 cup ground coffee (I used Kicking Horse Coffee)
1 cup cold water

Coconut Creamer

2 cups low-fat coconut milk
2 Medjool dates, pitted
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Instructions

Prepare the Cold Brew

In a glass container, combine ground coffee and water. Let steep overnight or for 12-24 hours.
Strain the coffee using a fine mesh sieve, a cheese cloth or a nut milk bag. You could even use a French press. Strain it a few times as needed to remove all the coffee grounds.

Make the Coconut Creamer

In a high-speed blender, blend coconut milk, dates and vanilla.
Strain the milk the same way you did the cold brew.

Prepare the Iced Coffee

In a glass, combine ice, cold brew and creamer as desired.

Notes

Make sure to use boxed low-fat coconut milk and not canned, as the canned milk will turn into clumps when mixed with cold brew and ice.

You can make a larger batch of cold brew to use throughout the week. Simply combine ground coffee and water in a 1:3 ratio. Store the cold brew in the fridge for up to a week. For more details on making cold brew at home, check out this post.

Keep the leftover creamer in the fridge. I also love to use it in oatmeal.

For anyone who’s interested, Kicking Horse® coffee is available at retailers across Canada and the US, as well as Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

You can also find Kicking Horse on Facebook, Instagram and X.