Instead of blowing money on coffee at Starbucks, you can try making easy cold brew at home, but the process requires patience. A proper batch of cold brew should be steeped for around 18 hours, so if you want your iced coffee fix faster, here's another option that will give you the caffeine buzz you know and love.

Japanese-styled ice coffee, also known as flash-brewed, is a simple solution to your afternoon coffee needs. All you have to do is pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee over ice; if you're doing a pour-over brew, use half the water you would for a hot cup, but pour it very slowly, so the brew takes about the same amount of time.

Flash-brewing also broadens your coffee choices and lets you choose beans of any roast level, whereas typical cold brew works best with dark roast coffee. Brewing your super strong coffee directly over ice means you get to drink your iced coffee at just the right strength and in virtually no time at all.