Mint-Chocolate Iced Coffee

I love coffee. I mean, like “why don’t you marry it” kind of love. Maybe love isn’t the right word. It’s more like an addiction. A physical addiction. If I don’t have any in the morning, or even if I don’t have quite enough, I will get a headache. For a long time I didn’t get headaches, so I was convinced I was addicted to the ritual, not the caffeine. Well, it’s happened. It’s official. Downward spiral.

I drink my coffee usually iced. I just prefer it that way. I like strong coffee with a tiny bit of half and half and absolutely NO SUGAR. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a sweetened coffee “cocktail” or Frappuccino. I just don’t like plain coffee with sugar. And I was never very crazy about mint flavor, unless it has chocolate with it, like a peppermint patty. This drink doesn’t have an overwhelming mint flavor. It’s just enough to make it refreshing and make your mouth feel kind of icy.

For the chocolate syrup, I used an Alton Brown recipe. It was very easy and definitely better than store bought chocolate syrup. You can find the recipe at foodnetwork.com, and it’s called Cocoa Syrup. I halved the recipe. Oh, and you could probably use mint extract instead of fresh mint leaves, you just wouldn’t want to use too much, or it may end up tasting like toothpaste. I would say no more than 1 1/2 teaspoons, but it’s to taste, obviously. Do whachyu want, whachyu want with your coffaay! Yeah, it happened. Lady Gaga wooooooo!!

Oh, and just in case you aren’t sure how to make coffee ice cubes, it’s just like making water ice cubes, except…with…coffee? Just take some extra coffee you have and pour it into the ice cube tray and freeze. Boom. Coffee ice cubes.

Mint-Chocolate Iced Coffee

Makes approximately 5 cups

Ingredients:

About 4 coffee ice cubes

About 4 regular ice cubes

1 1/2 cups cold coffee

1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup chocolate syrup, or more/less to taste

5 mint leaves

2 stevia packets

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy. To make the swirls of chocolate syrup around the glass, either use a squeeze bottle or spoon to “slash” the chocolate around the inside surface while rotating the glass. Put a few ice cubes (either regular or coffee) in the glass and pour the coffee over. That’s it!