Add This to Your Coffee to Give It a Light, Summery Twist

Sipping on a freshly brewed iced coffee is one of the great pleasures of the warmer months. Good news: There’s a way to make it even better! If you’re interested in a small twist on your classic cold drink that’ll give it an extra summery flavor, it’s time to try adding citrus into the mix.

This recipe comes highly recommended by writer Rachel Fairbank, and it’s essentially creating your own version of an orange coffee soda, which originally came courtesy of Steadfast Coffee in Tennessee.

This recipe couldn’t be simpler. Once you chill your coffee or make a cold brew the way you typically do, mix a ratio of equal parts iced coffee and equal parts orange soda in a glass. (You can just pick up whatever soda is at the grocery store or splurge on a higher-end version!) After that, mix the two together and add a twist of orange peel and/or a sprig of mint to the combination for a little added flavor and garnish. That’s it! You’ll have a tangy drink that keeps you caffeinated and provides that crisp, bubbly aftertaste from all of those carbonated bubbles. Writer Mary Elizabeth Williams even described it as “Tootsie Roll-like” in taste given its strange citrusy sweetness mixed with the bitterness of coffee.

What’s great about this recipe too is that it’s so versatile. You can change the ratios of your beverages to make the final product more citrus-y or keep that original iced coffee taste. Plus, while the original recipe calls for orange soda, you can try swapping it for any kind of citrus juice or beverage of your choice. Maybe that’s just adding a little fresh-squeezed lemon or orange juice, or a lemon- or orange-based carbonated drink like seltzer or even Sprite.

Want to take your iced coffee to the next level? Check out these three ways to keep your beverage from getting too watery, so you’ll have that ultra-concentrated coffee taste every time! What could be better on a hot summer’s day?