As a student taking a break for the summer I find myself consuming chilled caffeine concoctions at an alarming rate. A quick look at my Instagram reveals quite a few references to my wonderful sidekick, coffee, and all the nifty mugs I drink from. But, one thing many people tend to forget is coffee is like a potato; there are so many different things you can do with it.

1. Iced Coffee

Iced Coffee

I’m not talking about running to your local coffee shop and getting a plastic cup filled with ice and having coffee poured over top. Stay at home! One of the bad things about ice coffee is it gets diluted as the ice melts and your rich dark roast has suddenly turned into the free coffee at school functions. A delicious trick to avoiding this is to mix your coffee however you like (for ice coffee I prefer flavored creamer or milk) and pour it into an ice try. Let it freeze for at least six hours (though overnight works best) and pop a few cubes into a glass. Pour your roast over the coffee cubes and you are left with a refreshing ice coffee that won’t taste like it came out of your faucet.

2. Coffee Ice Pops

For a few years, I have noticed a growing trend of making ice pops at home instead of buying them in the frozen food section at the grocery store. You can buy an ice pop mold for anywhere between $8-$20 on Amazon.com. Brew your favorite roast and doctor it the way you please (I will say, if you’re like me and prefer black coffee, you need to put something into it because black coffee tastes terrible frozen) and pour into the ice pop molds. It’s works best if you leave roughly a quarter of an inch of space from the top. If you fill to the brim you run the risk of having the lids pop off as it freezes. Let them freeze over night or at least eight hours. Run over warm water and take lids off. The ice pops will come out smoothly and you’re left with a cool caffeine riddled treat.

3. Coffee Float

I realize an essential part of having a traditional “float” is the deliciously carbonated root beer that foams around the ice cream but humor me for a second. If you scoop vanilla ice cream into a glass and pour warm coffee (not blazingly hot) you get the same effect. The ice cream melts a bit and you get the satisfaction of a cool coffee flavored ice cream drink.

4. Coffee Shake

Similar to a coffee float but not. The good thing about a coffee shake is you don’t need to add milk. All you need is a blender, some chocolate or vanilla ice cream and coffee. Don’t use coffee flavored ice cream because it can be over powering and frankly it takes the fun out of everything. Add at least two scoops of your desired ice cream and two cups of (cooled) coffee (really, just add coffee to taste) and blend. If it’s too thick add more coffee, if it’s too watery then add more ice cream. Add a striped straw because it makes everything more festive.

Stay cool and caffeinate!