What Does The Iced Coffee Button On Keurig Do? A Mystery Solved!

Curious coffee lovers often ask: what does the iced coffee button on Keurig do? Other than it helps to make a better quality iced coffee, my fellow coffee aficionados want a more detailed answer.

Here is the quick answer, it brews a strong coffee and then adds cold water to cool the drink down to ensure that your ice melts slower into drink due to the reduced temperature.

Keep reading for the more detailed answer.

What Does The Iced Coffee Button On Keurig Do?

When you press the Iced coffee button or over ice option, your Keurig coffee maker will use the optimal settings to brew your coffee using hot water initially and then switch to cold water when at the exact right time when you have the perfect extraction without spoiling the flavor.

The use of cold water helps to minimize the melting of your ice as your coffee is slightly colder and helps to prevent your coffee from tasting watery and weak.

Effectively speaking, the resulting coffee is very similar to café Americano, except it is not shots of espresso that are brewed but a similarly strong coffee which is then watered down with the addition of cool water.

Read: Which Keurig is best for iced coffee?

How Does Keurig Iced Coffee Setting Work?

The Keurig Iced coffee setting on your Keurig coffee maker works by starting off brewing your coffee at high temperature using hot water to extract the high temperature flavor compounds and caffeine and get them into your cup.

An internal sensor knows when the perfect amount of coffee has been brewed and then switches to cool water to reduce the temperature of the brewed coffee and effectively reduce the amount of ice that melts from your coffee.

If you are familiar with coffee brewing methods for various coffee beverages, you may recognize that this is the same as café Americano, black coffee with cold water added. The only slight difference is a Keurig machine is not brewing espresso shots and then adding water.

It is using a very similar coffee to water ratio when it is hot brewing.

Keurig K-Supreme Over Ice Setting

The Keurig K-Supreme, K-Supreme Plus and K-Supreme Plus SMART over ice setting functions in the same way as the iced button on other Keurig models.

It effectively brews Café Americano over an awaiting tumbler of ice that you have placed below it.

Using this function brews a particularly strong coffee that is then cooled with cold water with the advantage and purpose of reducing the melting of the ice in your iced coffee.

Notable, the Keurig K-Supreme Plus SMART is much better at producing an iced coffee of a lower temperature than the Keurig K-Supreme Plus.

Read: How to descale Keurig iced coffee maker

Making Iced Coffee With A Keurig Iced Coffee Maker

Keurig has solved the problem of melting ice with their Hyperchiller which is a flask like device sold separately for about US$20.

The Hyperchiller uses two walls of ice separated by walls of stainless steel. It is the gap between them where you pour your hot coffee. The contact with the cold walls results in thermal transfer which chills your hot coffee and since your coffee is not in direct contact with the ice, your coffee will not get diluted by melting ice.

How To Make Iced Coffee With A Keurig And Iced Coffee And HyperChiller

Start by freezing your HyperChiller which should take 12 hours the first time that you use it and 6 hours each time thereafter.

When your HyperChiller is ready, put the lid in the open position and place it under your Keurig machine.

Place the K-Cup of your choice in your Keurig coffee maker and select the smallest drink size and press iced button or over ice and brew your coffee.

Your coffee will be brewed into your HyperChiller, and when finished, put your HyperChiller lid into the closed position, cover the lid and shake well for a minute and then pour your coffee over ice.

Your coffee will already be very cold before you transfer it over ice in a tall glass, and thus you will get a significantly reduced melting of your ice while you sip your coffee.

It is worth having two or three HyperChill tumblers if you enjoy iced coffee as you will ensure that you always have one that is perfectly cold and ready to use.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Does The Iced Coffee Button On Keurig Do?

What Does The Strong Button On Keurig Actually Do?

The strong button on your Keurig machine makes a stronger and bolder tasting cup of coffee. If you enjoy a coffee with a more intense taste, use the strong button on your Keurig coffee maker.

How Do You Brew Over Ice With A Keurig Button?

To make delicious iced coffee with your Keurig machine, start by making coffee ice cubes. Brew coffee with the K Cup pod of your choice; a dark roast is best. Pour this coffee into your ice cube tray and put your coffee and ice cube tray into a ziplock bag.

The use of the Ziplock bag is to prevent any scents and flavor of nearby food being absorbed by your coffee as it is freezing.

Brew a second coffee using a dark roasted K Cup coffee pod and press the iced coffee button on your coffee machine.

When your coffee is ready, add regular ice cubes into a mason jar or cocktail shaker, pour your hot brewed coffee into it and shake for a minute. This is instantly coffee your coffee. Add your coffee cubes to make the perfect iced coffee.

Does An iced Coffee Maker Come Out Cold?

No, iced coffee does not come out coffee. Iced coffee is brewed coffee that has been chilled with ice. It is not brewed with cold water or iced water.

Cold brew coffee, a completely different brewing method is made using cold water and takes 24+ hours to make.

Read: Keurig iced coffee

Does The Strong Button On Keurig Make More Caffeine?

The term strong coffee in the coffee industry does not always refer to making coffee that has more caffeine. The term Strong coffee can also mean a coffee that is stronger tasting with bolder and more intense flavor.

How Is Cold Brew Different From Iced Coffee?

Cold brew coffee is a brewing method that intentionally extracts the low flavor compounds using ice-cold water and brewing overnight and in your fridge for best results.

The result is a well-rounded, balanced and low acid coffee.

Iced coffee is hot brewed coffee that is extracted at a high temperature and is chilled with ice. It extracts all the high temperature flavor compounds.

Can I Use My Own Coffee In A Keurig?

Yes, you can buy a reusable K Cup and fill it with your own coffee grounds. You can add any ground coffee of your choice. You can use high-end premium single origin coffee or regular coffee as long as you use the correct grind size. Medium to medium fine is a great coffee grind size to use for K cups.

Can Any Coffee Be Used For Cold Brew?

Yes, you can use any coffee to make cold brew coffee as long as it is at least medium dark to dark roast, as this roast profile produces the best tasting cup of coffee. A coarse ground coffee is best for cold brew.

What Size Button For Iced Coffee On Keurig?

The Keurig iced coffee button will brew the perfect iced coffee in less than a minute. It will brew a 4-ounce cup of coffee. of which you add ice to.

Final Thoughts – What Does The Iced Coffee Button On Keurig Do?

That question that was swirling around your head, what does the iced coffee button on Keurig do has been answered, and you have been introduced to a cool (pun intended) device by Keurig to make much better iced coffee, the HyperChiller and how to use it for instantly cooling hot coffee and making a perfect iced coffee with a significantly reduced melting of the ice.

Even if you are not a big fan of iced coffee a HyperChiller is handy to have for those pick nicks and for instantly cooling down all kinds of hot or warm drinks.

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location