Iced coffee is best when made from a cold-brew concentrate. 

Many of us can't function without coffee, especially in the morning. But it's tough to chug down a steaming cup of java when it's 100 degrees. The solution? Iced coffee. But it's got to be done properly.

Dumping a pot of hot coffee into a glass of ice is not the right way to make iced coffee, says Jen Murphy in Food & Wine magazine. Coffee snobs prefer cold brewing.

Here's how:

Make a cold-brew concentrate: In a bowl, stir 4 1/2 cups cold water into 1/2 pound coarsely ground dark-roast coffee. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours; strain. The concentrate can be refrigerated up to one week.

Use it any way you like -- black, with milk or cream, whatever. Just be sure to add ice, as the concentrate is strong.

To make creamy-rich Vietnamese-style iced coffee, pour two ounces sweetened condensed milk into a tall glass. Add six ounces cold brew concentrate and four ounces milk. Stir well. Top with ice.