Coffee on ice is a cold coffee drink whose preparation is, in Italy, typical of Salento. Its origin is Spanish and it was already established in Salento at the beginning of the 17th century: in fact, it derives from the "Café del Tiempo" typical coffee of Valencia, where it is still served with a slice of lemon. In the early nineteenth century in Otranto, too, hot coffee was served either with a green lemon peel or with mint and pieces of ice.
To prepare it, one starts with regular espresso coffee, which should be sweetened to taste in a small cup. You then pour the sweetened coffee while still hot into a glass filled with large ice cubes just taken from the freezer to avoid watering it down. In this way, the coffee cools instantly and retains its original aroma. The drink should be consumed immediately.
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