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Indian Cold Coffee: Frothy Recipe with or Without Ice Cream

By Ali Can DoralarPublished 6 min read

Indian cold coffee is a chilled, milk-rich drink made by blending instant coffee, milk and sugar until frothy. This five-minute recipe uses an ice-capable blender and needs no ice cream. A measured ice-cream variation is included below.

A tall glass of pale brown Indian cold coffee with a frothy milk top on a sunlit counter
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Generated recipe illustration of the no-ice-cream version; the froth comes from blending.

Drink Snapshot

Caffeine
About 50–90 mg2 g NESCAFÉ Original or Gold, UK exampleA manufacturer-specific range; it is not a universal value for Indian instant coffee, chicory blends or café servings.
Calories
About 175 kcalDefined recipe without ice creamGeneric USDA milk, sugar and dry instant-coffee values; excludes optional toppings and ice cream.
Serving, sugar and sources
Serving
1 drink: 2 g instant coffee, 200 g milk, 12 g sugar, 20 ml water and 60 g ice
Made with
Plain instant coffee, chilled whole milk, sugar, water and ice
Sugar
About 22 g total. Approximately 12 g from added sugar and 10 g naturally present in the whole milk.
Preparation
About 5 minutes

Calculated ingredient example, not a café nutrition claim. Use a 500 ml glass for foam; glass capacity is not liquid yield. See the full calculation or label comparison.

Key Takeaways

  • 1The base recipe needs no ice cream: dissolve instant coffee and sugar, then blend with cold milk and ice.
  • 2About 175 kcal and 22 g total sugar per serving. A measured ice-cream variation has a separate estimate.
  • 3Caffeine is about 50–90 mg when using 2 g NESCAFÉ Original or Gold sold in the UK; other products need their own information.
On This Page8 Sections

What Makes Indian Cold Coffee Different?

The goal is cold coffee with a frothy milk texture, not a glass full of crushed ice. Instant coffee is convenient because it dissolves without brewing equipment. Milk provides the body, while blending brings air into the drink. NESCAFÉ India's published cold-coffee recipe uses instant coffee, milk and sugar, with blending or shaking; ice cream is not essential.

The quantities here are our defined home version. Café drinks may include ice cream, chocolate sauce or cream, so the name alone cannot tell you their ingredients or calories.

What Makes Indian Cold Coffee Different?
What Makes Indian Cold Coffee Different?
Nearby drinkHow it differs from this recipe
Blended iced coffeeA broader frozen-coffee style; the linked recipe uses frozen brewed coffee for a slushier result
Coffee milkshakeIce cream is a defining ingredient rather than an optional addition
Greek frappéInstant coffee is foamed with water first; milk is optional
Indian beaten coffeeCoffee and sugar are beaten into a foam before milk is added, rather than blending the whole iced drink

Indian Cold Coffee Recipe

Makes one drink without ice cream. A 500 ml glass gives the foam room to rise; this is not a promise of 500 ml liquid. The milk is weighed at 200 g, and the water is measured at 20 ml.

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Ingredients

  • 2 g plain, unsweetened instant coffee
  • 20 ml cool drinking water
  • 200 g cold whole milk
  • 12 g fine granulated sugar
  • 60 g ice cubes

Method

  1. Dissolve. Stir 2 g instant coffee and 12 g sugar into 20 ml cool water until no dry granules remain.
  2. Load. Put the coffee mixture, 200 g cold whole milk and 60 g ice into a blender rated for ice, following its loading instructions. Secure the lid and stay below its maximum fill line.
  3. Blend and serve. Blend in short bursts until smooth and frothy, with no hard ice pieces. Pour the whole serving into a 500 ml glass and drink promptly.

Choose soluble instant coffee, not ground coffee: grounds remain gritty when blended into milk. A sweetened 3-in-1 sachet already contains other ingredients and will change the sweetness, milk content and estimates. For help choosing and dissolving the base, see the instant-coffee preparation guide.

Indian cold coffee without ice cream: 2 g instant coffee, 20 ml water, 200 g whole milk, 12 g sugar and 60 g ice; dissolve, blend and serve frothy
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Generated guide to the no-ice-cream recipe. Milk, coffee, sugar and ice are weighed; water is measured by volume. Use a blender rated for ice.

With or Without Ice Cream

Start without ice cream if you want a lighter, drinkable coffee. The milk can create froth on its own. Ice cream adds sweetness and body, but it is an ingredient choice rather than a requirement for making foam.

For the richer version, add 50 g vanilla ice cream and omit the 12 g granulated sugar. Keep the 2 g coffee, 20 ml water, 200 g milk and 60 g ice unchanged. Add the ice cream with the milk and blend. This gives a clearly defined alternative without stacking a full sugar dose on top of an already sweet ingredient.

With or Without Ice Cream
With or Without Ice Cream
VersionEstimated calories and total sugar
Base recipe, no ice creamAbout 175 kcal; 22 g sugar
Add 50 g vanilla ice cream and omit 12 g sugarAbout 235 kcal; 21 g sugar
Base recipe with the 12 g sugar omittedAbout 130 kcal; 10 g sugar

The ice-cream version can have similar total sugar yet more calories because its composition differs from plain sugar. These are calculated comparisons using generic ingredients. Your ice cream's label takes priority, and chocolate sauce, whipped cream or a scoop on top would need to be counted separately.

For a more dessert-like drink built around ice cream, use the coffee milkshake recipe.

Getting Froth Without a Watery Drink

Chill the milk before blending. Ice should help chill and texture the drink, rather than compensate for warm ingredients. The 60 g ice portion is part of the recipe; adding a large unmeasured handful introduces more water as it melts.

Getting Froth Without a Watery Drink
Getting Froth Without a Watery Drink
ProblemA practical adjustment
Grainy coffee or sugarDissolve the coffee and sugar in the small water portion before adding cold milk
Watery after standingServe immediately; next time start with colder ingredients and avoid extra ice
Too sweetReduce the measured sugar; do not compensate by adding more ice
Too little coffee flavorIncrease the instant coffee slightly next time, remembering that this also changes caffeine
Hard ice pieces remainStop and follow the blender's instructions; do not force an appliance that is not designed for ice

Can You Make It Without a Blender?

Yes, as a shaken variation. Dissolve the coffee and sugar in the same 20 ml water, add the cold milk to a clean, tightly closing shaker with ample headroom, and shake until frothy. Pour over the 60 g ice in a glass. The ice stays as cubes, so the texture differs from the blended recipe. A blender is useful for the specific smooth, integrated result shown here.

Calories, Sugar and Caffeine

The base serving is about 175 kcal and 22 g total sugar. That includes the small energy contribution of the instant coffee. Roughly 10 g of the sugar comes naturally from the 200 g milk; omitting added sugar does not make this dairy drink sugar-free.

For caffeine, NESCAFÉ UK gives 50–90 mg per 2 g of Original or Gold instant coffee, checked 26 September 2026. That is a useful named-product example, not a tested value for every Indian instant coffee, a coffee–chicory blend or a café glass. Use your own product's information when available. Adding milk, ice or vanilla ice cream does not remove caffeine from a fixed coffee dose.

Serving assumptions and calculation

Generic USDA SR28 values per 100 g are: whole milk 61 kcal and 5.05 g sugar; granulated sugar 387 kcal and 99.8 g sugar; dry regular instant coffee 353 kcal and 0 g sugar. Thus 200 g milk supplies 122 kcal and 10.1 g sugar, 12 g sugar adds 46.44 kcal and 11.976 g sugar, and 2 g instant coffee adds 7.06 kcal. Total: 175.5 kcal and 22.076 g sugar, shown approximately as 175 kcal and 22 g. Water and ice add neither. For the variation, 50 g generic vanilla ice cream adds 103.5 kcal and 10.61 g sugar; omitting granulated sugar gives 232.56 kcal and 20.71 g sugar, rounded to about 235 kcal and 21 g. The UK manufacturer's caffeine range is separate from these generic food-composition references.

Contains milk. For a plant-based version, replace the milk and any optional ice cream with suitable alternatives, check their ingredients, and recalculate from their labels. Keep dairy refrigerated and make the drink when ready to serve; its foam will settle with time.

Questions About Indian Cold Coffee

Does Indian cold coffee need ice cream?
No. Blending chilled milk, dissolved instant coffee, sugar and a measured amount of ice makes a frothy drink. The ice-cream variation is optional and has a separate nutrition estimate.
Can I use ground coffee instead of instant?
Do not add dry grounds to the blender. Brew and filter them first, then adapt the liquid and ice amounts. That becomes a different recipe with different caffeine information.
Is Indian cold coffee the same as cold brew?
No. This recipe dissolves instant coffee and blends it with milk and ice. Cold brew describes coffee extracted with cool water over time.
Can I make it without sugar?
Yes, omit the 12 g granulated sugar. With the same whole milk and instant coffee, the estimate becomes about 130 kcal and 10 g total sugar from milk. It will taste less sweet.

Editor's Take

Sources and Further Reading

5 references

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