The best iced coffee in NYC

The most beloved sip from this Oakland-born chain is, of all things, a NOLA-inspired roast reminiscent of a café au lait from the Big Easy’s Cafe Du Monde. It’s cold-brewed for 12 hours with fragrant chicory, then laced with organic cane sugar and milk—a creation sweet and rich enough to turn any coffee purist. Various locations. $4.

Leading the trend of storing and infusing coffees on tap, this Philadelphia-originated staple has won industry acclaim for a downright addictive draft latte infused with nitrogen (for a frothy texture), pulled cold and served—get this, people—without ice. The drink, a concoction of fresh milk and cold-pressed espresso, arrives with a beautiful head of microfoam and a natural, refreshing sweetness. (So, hold the sugar.) Various locations. $4.

This homegrown favorite offers both a standard-issue cold brew and its more dramatically produced cousin, the Kyoto-style cold brew. Dripped for 12 hours through a towering chemistry-set–like glass contraption (at the West Village, Flatiron and Upper East Side outposts only), the resulting pour is stronger and sweeter, with a whiskey-esque aroma. Bottoms up. Various locations. $3.75.

It makes sense that desserts whiz Nick Morgenstern’s opted for this sweet spin on the iced mocha. Employing a base of Abuelita hot chocolate, cinnamon bark, Aleppo pepper and condensed milk, the drink is finished over ice with a shot of espresso and a splash of milk. Small $3.75, large $4.25.

Recognized for its titular method of stir-brewing coffee—via a patented NASA-scientist–designed machine, no less—Jack Mazzola’s coffeehouse serves up this iced latte made by steaming milk lightly with honey and cinnamon, layering the mix with a triple ristretto shot of the house roast and topping it with ice. Various locations. Small $5.22, large $5.66.

Gotham’s resident Aussie coffee purveyor prepares its signature 12-hour cold brew with a blend of beans from Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. Replicating the profile of the shop’s espresso blend, the cold brew touts an impressively deep coffee flavor with notes of chocolate, hazelnut and honeycomb when combined with milk. Various locations. Small $4.36, large $4.90.

At this new hybrid café-and-cocktail bar from one of New York’s oldest roasting families, baristas tap into the bartending side of the operation to whip up a part-drink, part-dessert concoction, double-shaking the house cold brew with coconut oil and an egg white for a foamy, dual-hued cup. $7.

The small-batch roaster is known for its whimsical seasonal sippers (espresso juleps in the summer, maple-sage lattes in the fall), but Toby’s crafts a consistently delicious cold brew all year long: Poured from the house tap system, it’s smooth, bright and slightly fruity. Various locations. $3.75.

The beloved Portland roaster cold brews its Latin-America–sourced beans before infusing the mix with nitrogen. That smooth coffee is then sent through a high-pressure nitrogen tap that unleashes a foamy, stout-like pour with a velvety head. Various locations. Small $4.50, large $5.50.

Major Food Group’s Meatpacking District outpost may be known for its coastal Italian fare, but during breakfast and brunch, coffee is the sleeper hit. Sip this exotic number stirred with housemade cold brew, espresso and a special coconut cream blend for a little taste of the tropics. $9.

This midtown coffee shop serves espresso-based drinks using Intelligentsia beans. In the warmer months, don't miss its Toddy cold brew–the specialized Toddy machine steeps and brews beans in cold water to make a sweeter coffee that retains its rich flavor notes without over-the-top acidity. Various locations. $3–$4.

Coffee devotee Jonathan Rubenstein, who has been turning New Yorkers on to top-notch espresso drinks since 2003, has expanded his java empire across the city. The Overnighter house cold brew is slowly steeped for 18 hours, lending sweet notes of nuts, chocolate and nougat to your morning cup. Various locations. Small $3.80, large $4.40.

Nothing makes an early morning bearable quite like a freshly roasted cup of coffee, and it doesn’t get much fresher than what’s percolating at this Carroll Gardens café, which roasts its coffee beans on premises. James Stahon (Rook Coffee) pours cold brew and nitro right from the tap, using the cafe's house-roasted Prism blend of Guatemalan, Ethiopian and Tanzanian beans to create a creamy cup boasting milk chocolate, cherry and cantaloupe notes at the finish. $4.75.