Rich, dark and strong artisan coffee isn’t something usually associated with summer, but since South Africa has caught the coffee bug – and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon – we’ve searched for spots where you can get your java fix without steaming up your sunnies. Some are sweet and milky, some are fierce and some are pretty unusual… Behold our list of fabulous iced coffees.

Café Nood (Claremont)
Combat a hot day with an iced latte (R20) made with crushed ice, your choice of full-cream, low-fat or soy milk and a double shot of Strictly Coffee’s West African blend espresso.

Carlucci’s (Tableview)
This deli offers a single iced coffee made with Chilla coffee powder – a premium blend of African and South American coffee beans – mixed with ice, a dash of fat-free milk and a pinch of sugar (R30).

Crush (City Bowl)
Enjoy an iced coffee frappe made with organic Puro fair trade coffee blended with milk and ice (R23.50). Customers can choose to substitute regular milk with vegan-friendly almond or soy milk.

Crush. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Haas Collective (City Bowl)
This popular coffee shop and gallery gives its signature single-origin coffee blend the summer treatment to make the iced latte, which features a double shot of Haas coffee blended with ice and full-cream milk (R24).

Hard Pressed (Foreshore)
Grab iced coffee with your choice of blocks of ice and milk or ice cream with a single or double shot of espresso for R20. If you’re after something a little more off the wall, try the Amy, a double shot with white chocolate chips, peanut butter and ice cream.

Motherland Coffee (City Bowl)
All iced coffees are charged with a single or double shot of freshly roasted Motherland Original blend, a Fairtrade-certified 100% Arabica coffee blended with Ethiopian Sidamo and Rwandan beans from the Rubavu/Rutsiro districts. Order a traditional ice latte with milk, ice and espresso; a blended iced latte made with milk, crushed ice, espresso and white chocolate powder; or the Frozen Tourist, prepared with your choice of vanilla, white chocolate, caramel or hazelnut syrup blended with espresso, milk, crushed ice, white chocolate power and topped with cream and chocolate shavings. They also serve a black coffee float, which is an iced Americano topped with vanilla ice cream. Their prices range from R19.50 to R37 and all iced coffees are available as a 350ml or 500ml serving.

Origin (City Bowl)
Pick your favourite coffee beverage (cappuccino, flat white, Americano) made with Origin’s signature house blend for them to turn into an iced coffee drink. Alternatively, go for something sweeter with a Vietnamese iced coffee made with Origin espresso, condensed milk and milk, and churned in an iced machine until creamy, frothy and refreshing. All coffees are R25.

Pulp Kitchen (Tygervalley)
Prepared with a double shot of Deluxe espresso, Pulp Kitchen’s two refreshing iced coffee drinks include the Cool Beans (R25) made with low-fat milk and crushed ice, and their classic iced coffee (R24) made with fresh cream, milk and a dash of honey.

Rosetta Roastery (Woodstock)
And now for something completely different: this artisanal coffee shop serves up a cold-brewed coffee (R25) prepared using a Japanese Kyoto ice dripper. The top chamber is filled with iced water which drips down into the middle chamber containing coarsely ground Ethiopian Knots Yirgacheffe coffee. The extracted coffee beverage then trickles into the bottom chamber through a filter, the whole process taking four to eight hours in total. When brewed in this method, the coffee takes on a liquor-like, almost distilled quality with a caramel sweetness. It is served chilled and black over ice.

Tribe (Woodstock)
Try their double flat white iced coffee bomb, infused with a double shot of espresso and blended with ice, locally sourced milk, and a flavour bomb of chocolate and added spices. Alternatively, their single-origin Indonesian iced coffee is a delight on a hot day with hints of fruit and chocolate. All prices are related to coffee costs.

Tribe Coffee. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Truth (City Bowl)
Cool down with a Truth iced coffee (R25) prepared with a shot of their Vengeance blend of Brazilian and Guatemalan beans. This blend has hints of chocolate and hazelnut, and when combined with cold milk, ice cubes and a dash of condensed milk, makes for the perfect iced coffee.

Winelands

Bean in Love (Paarl)
Try their classic iced coffee infused with a double shot of espresso, 100ml milk, ice and 50g of white chocolate powder (R28). The espresso used is a house blend made with freshly roasted beans from El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Ethiopia and Nicaragua.

The Coffee Roasting Company (Somerset West)
Sample their house blend of 100% Arabica espresso blended with condensed milk and full cream milk (R25 for 250ml; R30.50 for 500ml).

Hazz Coffee Roastery and Espresso Bar (Stellenbosch)
These master roasters offer iced coffee made with a double shot of their signature blend of Arabica coffee, mixed in a blender with ice and milk until light and frothy (R19).

Hazz Coffee Roastery and Espresso Bar. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Mill Coffee House (Stellenbosch)
Ice cream lovers will adore this spot’s iced gelato coffee, made with a double shot of Caffe Tomeucci Italian coffee, two tablespoons of ice cream, half a cup of milk and ice cubes (R25).

Sacred Ground (Franschhoek)
This coffee shop proves that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication with a classic iced coffee prepared with a single or double shot of Bean There’s single-origin Ethiopian blend espresso, ice and locally sourced milk (R22).