You must use strong coffee for this, and it must be finely ground; the drip should be agonizingly slow. This can be served hot, too, of course, and it’s good. But to me it’s the best iced coffee in the world.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1/4 cup Thai or Vietnamese ground coffee beans or espresso beans, as fine as possible

　　Sweetened condensed milk to taste

　　

Step 1

Use a drip cone with a coffee filter; place the coffee in the filter. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and pour over the coffee. (You may also bring the water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in the coffee, then strain.)

　　

Step 2

Put about 1/2 inch sweetened condensed milk in the bottom of 4 glasses; fill with ice and add coffee. Stir, then add more milk to taste if you like.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.