13/11/2022
The history of iced coffee
For the first iced coffee we have to go back to 1840, in Algeria. The first iced coffee was called mazagran (or masagran). It was a cold and sweet coffee drink invented by the French army during the Battle of Mazagran. At the time, the French army was engaged in fighting Arab and Berber forces as part of the 17-year conquest of Algeria.
When the milk ran out, they added water to their coffee and decided to drink the coffee cold to combat the heat. Other soldiers near Mazagran were also served a similar type of coffee, made from coffee syrup mixed with water. Iced coffee was born.
On their return to Paris, Mazagran's soldiers suggested to the café owners to serve this new type of coffee to customers. They advised that this coffee should be served in a tall glass. From that moment on, this coffee was officially called mazagran.
The iced coffee we know today usually consists of espresso, filtered coffee or coffee syrup mixed with ice cubes and milk. Iced coffee gained popularity when Starbucks introduced frappuccino, frappe (chilled in ice) + cappuccino, in 1995.