How To Make Philz Coffee At Home

This is a perfect copycat Philz Coffee mint mojito iced coffee recipe. Make the "the house way" with strongly brewed coffee, muddled with fresh mint and shaken over ice with cream and sugar.

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Summary:

You'll need a cocktail shaker or mason jar, as well as a muddler, to make this copycat Philz Coffee mint mojito recipe.
Use strong freshly brewed coffee, slightly cooled, or do what I do and use cold brew!
To make it "the house way", use full fat heavy cream. You can substitute half and half, whole milk, or the plant-based milk of your choice in this recipe.

While you're waiting for a Philz Coffee to open a coffee shop near you, make this copycat Philz mint mojito iced coffee.

Philz Coffee is a coffeehouse chain based in San Francisco. Since 2003, they've opened up over 60 locations across California and in several other U.S. states. You won't find simple iced coffee and espresso at Philz. They've got their signature coffee blends and drinks down to a science.

Arguably their most popular drink is their mint mojito iced coffee, served "sweet and creamy". Fortunately for me and unfortunately for my checking account, Philz Coffee just opened a store just around the corner from me in Los Angeles. No more trekking back home up the coast for a mint mojito!

Philz Coffee's signature house drink, a mint mojito iced coffee is a cup of strongly brewed coffee, muddled with fresh mint and shaken over ice.

There's no better way to spend Sunday morning than a walk to the coffee shop. To be rewarded with a minty, frothy, and perfectly sweet iced coffee is just a bonus.

Moral of the story: I've had enough Philz mint mojitos to know that I can't possibly squeeze another one into my monthly budget. With a few tricks up your sleeve, you won't have to either. This copycat Philz mint mojito recipe is the closest thing to the real deal.

What's a mint mojito iced coffee?

Philz Coffee's signature house drink, a mint mojito iced coffee is a cup of strongly brewed coffee, muddled with fresh mint and shaken over ice. Getting a mint mojito iced coffee "the house way" means it'll be shaken up with cream and sugar. Tip: you want it the house way.

This drink is not alcoholic, but I won't tell anyone if you choose to shake it up with a splash of rum or Kahlua. That's up to you!

What kind of coffee should I use?

Philz uses freshly brewed coffee from a signature blend of beans. You can use your choice of freshly brewed coffee, or do what I do and use cold brew. Cold brew is slightly stronger and less bitter than brewed coffee.

I've been drinking cold brew for years and I won't have it any other way. This drink is especially delicious using cold brew, so feel free to try it at home. I use the Primula Burke cold brew maker.

Ingredients in Philz Coffee mint mojito

Making a Philz mint mojito iced coffee at home is super easy. There's only four ingredients, and you can adjust the sweetness and type of creamer to your preferences.

This recipe calls for 2 tbsp of sugar and 2 tbsp of heavy cream. I've found this is pretty dang close to how Philz serves it: "sweet and creamy". But as always, this is your morning coffee, not mine! Do what you will.

Freshly brewed coffee or cold brew: use your favorite coffee. If you're brewing fresh, I'd give the cup a moment to cool down before shaking it up.
Fresh mint: stems and all!
Cane sugar, brown sugar, or turbinado sugar: try to use a course sugar that's golden brown or brown in color. Philz uses brown sugar to add sweetness with depth. The courseness of the sugar will help roughen up the mint.
Cream: heavy cream or whipping cream. Heavy cream has slightly higher fat content than whipping cream, but either works.

How to make a Philz Coffee mint mojito

Make sure your mint is properly washed and any bruised leaves are discarded. Add four to five sprigs of mint into your mason jar or cocktail shaker, stems and all. Add your brown sugar.

Muddle the mint leaves and stems. Try not to pound up and down. This will crush the mint but it'll also result in tiny mint pieces floating in your drink.

Instead, use the muddler to crush the mint against the side of the glass. Make sure to crush the stems well, too. They have just as much flavor as the leaves.

Pour in your coffee or cold brew, followed by the heavy cream. If you're using hot coffee, it's a good idea to add in some ice cubes, too.

Shake for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute, until very frothy. Fill a glass with ice, and pour the shaken mint mojito over.

You can easily make a batch of these, too. Feel free to use a blender if you'd like to make these for a crowd. Turn these into coffee cocktails for a crowd by adding your preferred alcohol: vodka, rum, and Kahlua are delicious in this. Surprisingly, tequila is a welcome addition, too.

If you want to avoid heavy cream, try using half and half, full-fat milk, or the plant-based milk of your choice.

Helpful tools used to make this recipe

A cocktail shaker or mason jar: you'll need some kind of shaker or jar to make this Philz coffee mint mojito recipe.
A muddler: use a muddler to crush the mint leaves. If you don't have a muddler and want to try this drink like, now, use the end of a wooden spatula.
A milk frother (if making this drink hot): a milk frother will make the heavy cream extra light. Even if making this drink cold, you can opt to make some frothed cream separately instead of shaking it all up together.

Variations on this recipe

If you want to avoid cream, try using half and half. You can use full-fat milk in a pinch, but your mint mojito will be missing its signature creaminess.
To make this dairy-free or plant-based, use your favorite plant-based plain creamer or milk. I absolutely love this with oat milk – it's a different drink, but still delicious.
You can use simple syrup instead of sugar. I'd really recommend making your own brown sugar simple syrup – one part brown sugar to one part water – to retain that depth of sweetness.
If for some reason you can't get your hands on fresh mint, you can use mint extract. Start with a couple drops and work your way up.

Can I make this hot?

You can definitely make this hot, but to make it frothy, you'll need a milk frother. Simply muddle the mint and sugar together and pour over your hot coffee of choice. Use the frother to aerate the heavy cream separately, then top off your homemade Philz coffee mint mojito.

copycat-philz-coffee-mint-mojito-recipe

4 sprigs fresh mint
2 tbsp brown sugar
8 oz freshly brewed coffee or cold brew
2 tbsp heavy cream or half and half, full-fat milk, or plant-based milk of choice

Add four to five sprigs of mint into a mason jar or cocktail shaker, stems and all. Add 2 tbsp brown sugar. Muddle the mint leaves and stems with the brown sugar. Add 8 oz coffee or cold brew and the 2 tbsp heavy cream. If using hot coffee, add in some ice cubes. Shake for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute, until very frothy. Fill a glass with ice, and pour the shaken mint mojito over. Garnish with mint, if desired.