Iced Coffee Rosé
Starting off Ramadan with a brand new refreshing drink — Iced Coffee Rosé! This is a smooth and sweet iced coffee topped with a subtle yet delicious rose cream. The secret ingredient here is a luscious homemade rose syrup which I use to form the base of the coffee, as well as to make the pink whipped cream topping.
If you are from California, you may recognize this drink by its name and the way it looks. It is one of the featured drinks from Philz Coffee. We are no coffee snobs but we have truly been spoiled by the quality coffee beans from Philz. Our morning doesn’t start until we have a sip of either Jacob’s Wonderbar, Tesora, Silken Splendor or Philtered Soul. Now you know our favorite coffee beans!
Iced Coffee Rosé was all the hype when it came out three years ago. So when a friend insisted I must try this amazing new summer drink at Philz, of course I had to. To my pleasant surprise, this was iced coffee with a wave of nostalgia! I may have even yelped out “oh my god this is coffee with falooda flavor!”. I was so amused, I had to go home and recreate this drink right away. I did some experiments and narrowed it down to this particular measurements. It does feel identical to what I had at Philz. We loved it so much, I ended up making it again and again. Honestly, it is going to be such a treat after a long day of fasting!
Last year we showcased Strawberry Rooh Afza Dalgona for Ramadan. Till date, it is one of our most viewed and loved recipe all across social media. One of the key ingredients in that drink is Rooh Afza, and if you're South Asian you know Ramadan is incomplete without it. And just like that, this year we are also featuring Rooh Afza in a brand new take, recreating a cult-favorite drink hailing from our very own California.
This is a three part recipe — making the rose syrup, the coffee and the rose cream topping. All of these can be made in bulk and way ahead of time. The rose syrup can last for 2 weeks, while the fresh brewed coffee and the whipped cream will last about 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe | Serving Size: 1
I am going to be honest, I kinda eyeballed my way through this while experimenting. It depends on how sweet, floral and milky you like your coffee to be. But for the sake of sharing the recipe, I will try my best to narrow down the measurements but I always suggest taste testing the iced coffee and rose cream as you make them.
Making the Rose Syrup
Rooh Afza — 1/4 cup
Simple Syrup — 1/4 cup
Rose Water — 3-4 drops
Combine all the ingredients in a bottle and shake vigorously. The syrup will dilute into a lighter pink color.
Note: Simple syrup is just 1 part water and 1 part sugar. Also if you cannot find Rooh Afza, Torani Rose Syrup or Monin Rose Syrup are good alternatives. You can use them directly as is, or substitute it for Rooh Afza in the above recipe and give it an extra oomph like I have. Rooh Afza tends to be floral and fruity at the same time which is why I added few more drops of rose water to enhance the rose flavor. If you are using Torani or Monin, it might be better to leave out the rose water. We could accidentally make perfume instead of iced coffee.
Making the Rose Whipped Cream
Yes, the coffee beans are great but the real secret to the coffee from Philz is actually in the cream. Unlike their competitors, Philz does not use half-and-half — instead they use a form of heavy whipping cream also known as manufacturing cream.
Actually, let me put it into perspective by explaining the fat content — half-and-half is 10-15%, whipping cream is 30-36%, heavy cream is 36-40% and manufacturing cream is 40%. That extra fat content makes the coffee taste oh so delicious and sometimes even leaves little fat droplets floating on top of the coffee.
But manufacturing cream is extremely hard to come by so if you can find heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, that will do for this recipe.
Heavy Whipping Cream — 1 cup
Rooh Afza — 1/8 cup
Combine heavy whipping cream and rooh afza in a bowl, using an electric mixer whisk on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
Making the Coffee
Fresh Brewed Coffee — 4 oz, preferably medium or light roast
Make coffee like the way you normally do at home. Not an espresso, just good old simple coffee using whatever machine of your choice — drip machine, french press, moka pot, chemex, aeropress etc. Since our go to cofffee beans is from Philz, I like to use Tesora or Dancing Water for this recipe. You do not have to get your hands on Philz coffee beans, choose any light or medium roast coffee of your preference.
Fun Fact
Philz specializes in single-cup, pour-over coffee drinks. They do not have any espresso-based drinks or blended drinks, like mochas, cappuccinos, lattes, etc. Also, it has recently come to my knowledge that Philz is famous for aerating the coffee, which actually enhances the flavors even more.
Aerating, or introducing air to the coffee, creates smoothness and rounds out the bitterness of the coffee, making for a smoother, and creamier cup. It also gets the coffee to a drinkable temperature so you don’t end up burning your tongue while trying to enjoy a cup of coffee.
How to aerate the coffee?
An aeropress or a moka pot will get you the closest to how Philz is supposed to taste due to the higher pressure. If you only have access to a drip machine or pour over, there is a trick you can implement to aerate the coffee. Brew coffee as you normally do then use two mason jars to pour the freshly brewed coffee back and forth a few times, allowing air to be introduced to it. This will allow more of the sweetness of the grounds to come through, while also cooling it off.
Bringing It Together
Rose Syrup — 2 tbsp
Ice
Milk — 4 oz
Coffee — 4 oz
Rose Cream
Dried Rose Petals — for garnish, it’s optional
In a tall glass, layer each ingredients in the order mentioned above. Stir the drink to combine all the ingredients. Enjoy!
A Friendly Reminder
For many coffee enthusiasts, the day is not complete without enjoying a cup of coffee. I know many of you will struggle with not being able to have coffee throughout the day but perhaps this can be a treat to look forward to during Iftar!
Keep in mind caffeine does present unique challenges during the month of daylong fasts. Due to it’s diuretic nature, I personally recommend drinking maximum one cup of caffeinated drink per day during sahur or iftar.
You can also swap out the coffee for a decaffeinated version and still treat yourself to some yummy iced coffee. If you are not a coffee person, you may also substitute it for your favorite black tea and make it an Iced Chai Rosé.
