How to Make Blended Coffee Drinks in a Ninja Blender
Over a month ago, a commenter on my Ninja Recipes page asked if I had any ideas for making non-foamy blended coffee with the Ninja blender.
Truth is, I am a coffee purist – I drink it black without anything added — and have never developed a taste for blended coffee drinks. After all, winters in Seattle are long, and hot coffee is usually more suitable for the season!
But, I was intrigued by this question and set off to see what I could come up with. Then, we through a monkey wrench in our lives by deciding to get our house ready to sell, so I was distracted from my project.
But, now that we are out of the crazy phase of house-selling prep, I am getting back to addressing questions about the trusty Ninja. I am also trying to figure out how to live in two places without duplicating everything we own. It’s a delicate balance that I hope we do not have to do for long, but, you just never know. The Ninja is in Bend, so, while I had a few minutes the other evening, I went back to my blended coffee project to figure it out for good.
The main complaint from the commenter was that when mixing the coffee drinks, the milk makes a lot of foam. Today, I present you with a formula for making just about any blended coffee drink you want, and not getting the “foam” problem. This is not a coffee milkshake, but just a simple blended coffee drink with simple ingredients you likely have on hand.
The low-foam route lies in how you go about it. If there are any blended coffee lovers out there, I would like to know if you think this method works for you!
Steps to Making a Blended Coffee Drink in Your Ninja Blender:
- Brew a small pot of extra strong coffee – I made 2 cups with double the normal amount of beans
- Let the coffee cool
- Pour coffee into an ice cube tray. I don’t have ice cube trays, so I used these little Ziploc containers that are round and only filled them 1/4 full (you probably have some of these!).
- Freeze the coffee until it hardens
- Remove the coffee cubes from the tray and store them in a zip-top bag
When you are ready to make your blended coffee, pull 4-5 ice cubes out of the freezer and let them sit for 5 minutes to soften up a little (this is important so you get a smooth blended consistency without ice chips). Just put them in the cup or mug you intend to use to thaw out just a bit.
Making the Coffee – For Two Servings
Ingredients:
- 4-5 frozen extra strong coffee ice cubes
- 1/2 cup water (slightly shy)
- 1 cup cold milk
- Your choice of flavorings – sugar, vanilla syrup, chocolate syrup at at rate of 1 tsp per drink (or, your preference on amount)
Method:
- Add the coffee ice cubes to your Ninja blender along with a shy 1/2 cup water
- Blend on one until you have a smooth, creamy consistency (I used power level “1” for about 20-30 seconds)
- Pour the blended coffee into cups or mugs, and stir in any sweetener or flavor you wish to use, such as sugar, or vanilla or chocolate syrup
- Add cold milk to the cups or mugs at a rate of up to 1/2 cup for each drink and stir
- Note: You could alternatively throw all the ingredients above into the blender and just mix it all up to your heart’s content – you just may have more foam than you desire
This method seemed to work for me – not too much foam at all, though I am admittedly not an iced coffee connoisseur to know how much is “too much” and how much is “just right.”
If you try this, I’d like to know how it works out for you!
