I Tried Banana Iced Coffee, and, Honestly, It’s Incredibly Good

Many weekday mornings, I wake up and have a cup of coffee and a banana. The pairing gives me enough energy to get the kids on the bus, take a short walk, and work through the first round of emails. While I’ve consumed coffee and bananas at the same meal, it never dawned on me to put the two together. 

Recently I saw Nicki, of nickimarieinc, try TikToker Ellie Gervais’ recipe for banana coffee. Both of their reactions were of genuine delight. Bananas are among the most magical of ingredients. You can mix them with eggs to make golden-brown two-ingredient pancakes or blend them frozen in a food processor to make a delicious ice cream-style dessert. They are naturally sweet and have a smooth and creamy consistency, so a blended banana iced coffee has a lot of potential. I popped a pair of bananas in the freezer and chilled a cup of my morning coffee to try this viral recipe. Here’s how it went. 

Add 2 frozen ripe bananas and 1 cup cold coffee to a blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass and start sipping.

Bananas are the foundation of so many smoothies, including my favorite peanut butter variation. But where smoothies may rely on milk (dairy or nondairy) or juices, this banana beverage uses coffee. A frozen banana does the work of standard coffee creamer and sweetener by adding a frothy texture, sweetness, and creaminess. So the thought of blending bananas and coffee together seemed a natural pairing and I could not wait to try.

Before blending, I checked out Gervais’ TikTok again and found a follow-up to her original video. In it, Gervais clarified that the best coffee to use is regular hot coffee that has been chilled, not cold brew concentrate. Cold brew coffee is often much stronger than your standard cup of drip or pour-over coffee because those coffees are meant to be diluted with water or ice cubes. I saved the final cup from my morning coffee and stashed it in the fridge for a few hours until it was completely chilled. 

Gervais notes that she uses two very ripe frozen bananas. Bananas get sweeter as they ripen, as their starches turn to simpler sugars. The bananas I used were very ripe and covered in brown specks. Whenever bananas are too ripe to eat out of hand, I peel and freeze them for banana bread, smoothies, and, now, the occasional banana coffee.  

This recipe is proof that recipes don’t have to be complicated to be both satisfying and delicious. If you love the floral and fruity flavor of bananas and the heady bitterness of coffee, banana coffee is for you. 

Bananas and peanut butter are a classic combo, so it was no surprise when I saw the TikToker slide a scoop of the nut butter into the blender. I loved the extra creaminess it added, plus the hint of salt from the peanut butter rounded off the lingering bitterness of the coffee. I imagine adding dates, almond butter, or Nutella would also be fun additions.

• Use regular brewed coffee. Coffee prepared specifically for cold brew may be stronger and more concentrated. Regular drip-style or pour-over coffee is best here. 
• Make an extra cup in the morning. Then chill it for an afternoon banana coffee snack. Substitute decaffeinated coffee if you want the flavor of coffee in this drink but don’t want its effects. 
• Use very ripe bananas. Spotted, ripe bananas are sweeter and less starchy than those that are yellow-green.
• Peel bananas before freezing. Removing the peel from a frozen banana can be difficult, so peel the fruit before you toss it into the freezer. 

Get the recipe: Banana Coffee 

This post was originally published on Kitchn. Read it there: I Tried the Banana Coffee That’s Going Viral on TikTok and, Honestly, It’s Magical