Judging by my love of both pumpkin and lattes, you’d think I’d be all about some Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes.

But surprise, surprise, I’m not. I think they’re disgusting.

But let’s be clear. I love pumpkin.

And I really, really love lattes. Or anything coffee.

I make a lot of pumpkin things. I won’t bore you with anymore…just yet. But I will let you in on a little secret of mine.

Iced Coffee.

Fall is the perfect time of year for many reasons, one of which is the ability to be comfortable while wearing jeans and still drinking an iced coffee drink.

Only problem is, I don’t have a barista living in my kitchen.

Or do I?

The secrets to the perfect iced coffee:

Step 1. Cold brew coffee. It takes a little forethought, but so does driving to Starbucks.

I was always a little confused why Starbucks didn’t make decaf iced coffee, since they always have a pot of decaf sitting around anyways. This, my friends, is why. It’s a whole different animal- it’s a stronger brewed, less acidic-y coffee. {For the record, you can get a decaf iced Americano and it’s the same as a decaf iced coffee. I think it’s even 10 cents less.}

Mix 1 1/3 cup coffee grounds with 8 cups cold water. Be sure to choose good coffee- crappy coffee grounds make even crappier iced coffee. Stir and place in the fridge overnight.

In the AM, straining the liquid out of the coffee grounds. I find it easiest to throw a coffee filter on top of a strainer and let it do it’s thing. Ok, I’ll be honest- I really hover over it and pick the coffee filter up and squeeze the liquid out because I’m rather inpatient.

You can skip this next step, but I hear it’s all the rage. You want to be in on the trendy things, right?

Step 2. Whip up some vegan sweetened condensed milk. I suppose you could also just crack a can of the pre-made stuff, but that’s awfully sugary for my liking. Apparently iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk {and even extra cream} is called Vietnamese iced coffee. Who knew?!

Boil a can of coconut milk with a tablespoon or so of agave nectar. {More if you like it sweet- I don’t.} When the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer or slight rolling boil, and let it cook away. Reduce the coconut milk by about half or two thirds. Remove from heat and chill.

Step 3. Fill up your glass with ice cubes. Or, be sneaky like me, and make coffee ice cubes with leftover coffee. It makes it even less likely to get all watered down.

Step 4. Pour in your cold brewed coffee.

Top with your homemade sweetened condensed milk. Adjust coffee-to-cream ratio per your liking. {This was probably too much coffee.}

Stir, sip, and sit back and relax.

Good news is, you only have to go through the whole process occasionally- you’ll have enough cold brewed coffee and sweetened condensed coconut milk to last you a few glasses. You can always make extra up front too. {Or just use milk or cream.}

{A sippy straw is, of course, completely necessary.}

On a side note, if you feel like it, you can vote for me in the Nature Made Better You contest- I’m in the top 20! Or you can go leave a comment on the entry post.

AND find out what it’s like being 21 weeks pregnant.