TikTok's Latest Obsession Is Fancy Ice, and There Are Infinite Ways to Try It

By Kaley Rohlinger

Published on 8/15/2023 at 6:45 PM

Getty | Yulia Reznikov
Getty | Yulia Reznikov
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How fun is TikTok's obsession with fancy ice? On #IceTok, TikTok users are adding fruit, veggies, herbs, and even flowers to ice in all kinds of fun shapes and sizes, for use in water, coffee, cocktails, and more. The flavored ice adds color and taste to water, stops iced coffee from getting watered down, and makes handcrafted cocktails or mocktails even more aesthetic. Even plain ice frozen in a fun container (many TikTokers are fond of small and large spheres, which look like adorable frozen bubbles when added to water) can add a little extra fun to your daily drink.

With many people working from home in this day and age, fancy ice is a fun and inexpensive way to elevate your everyday routine. Plus, it's completely customizable, saves money, and can even be a sustainable way to use up fruits and veggies that are about to go bad. It's a beautiful way to make staying hydrated a fun ritual. After all, who doesn't love the idea of sitting down with a fun drink?

And ice isn't just being stored for the aesthetic. Having a stocked ice drawer with different types on hand can be functional, too, whether you want to make a non-diluted iced coffee with coffee ice cubes, save chicken or veggie broth in premeasured portions for future recipes, or add electrolytes to your post-workout drink while keeping it cold, of course.

Read on to discover some of our favorite ways to use fun ice, courtesy of IceTok, and shop the ice trays you need to make them happen.

Prep Your Favorite Drinks

If you have a favorite iced drink, you can prep all the ingredients in an ice cube tray to save time making it, like @leigh_ykema does here with chia seeds and lemon juice.

Try it: Heart Shaped Ice Cube Trays, 2 Pack ($13): The sweetest ice trays of them all, these are great for a special Valentine's Day cocktail, bachelorette party, or just extending a little extra love to yourself with flavored ice.

Use Up Leftover Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs

Rather than slicing a cucumber every time you want cucumber water, you can make a batch of ice with it — or any of your favorite fruits and veggies, like this TikTok shows. If you have produce that's about to go bad, this is a great way to use it up and have flavored water any time you wish! Even leafy greens like spinach can be blended with milk or water, then poured into ice trays for future use in smoothies.

Try it: Large Square Ice Cube Mold, 2 Pack ($17, originally $20): Large squares are a great way to combine multiple flavors or fit full slices of lemons, cucumbers, strawberries, and more.

Make Easy Flavored Water and Mocktails

Make flavored water easily and in batches by adding citrus, herbs, or other flavors to your ice, like these rose and mint ice cubes courtesy of @themindfulmocktail. This is also an easy way to make a mocktail recipe feel special, even without the alcohol.

Try it: Round Ice Cube Tray With Lid & Bin ($18, originally $30): This style is popular among TikTok users because it's so easy to fill and still get perfect spheres. Plus, it comes with a storage tray!

Craft Fun, Aesthetic Cocktails

Make girls' night extra special with custom rose-shaped ice cubes for your cocktails, as TikToker @hazelwoodx demonstrates here. Or, make classic favorites more colorful by creating ice using a pigmented tea or juice, for example.

Try it: Rose Flower Silicone Ice Mold ($10): TikTokers love their rose-shaped ice, and who wouldn't? This tray makes gorgeous ice and is a steal for just $10. Pro tip: one of these rose ice cubes makes a great addition to a hot-pink Barbie cocktail.

Make Any Drink Glitter

Add edible glitter to your ice cubes, as shown by TikToker @_camilladalgaard, to take any drink to the next level.

Try it: Aheroi Edible Glitter Set ($16): Buy this set of 15 edible glitter colors for your next get-together or party, and your hostess skills will be the talk of the group chat.

Make Stronger Iced Coffee

Imagine an iced coffee that never gets watered down. Coffee ice cubes are the perfect way to keep the flavor of your favorite iced latte going strong. You can also do this with coffee creamer or your milk of choice.

Try it: Combler Mini Ice Cube Tray With Lid and Bin, 3 Pack ($17, originally $24): If you want smaller, easier-to-stir spheres, try this three-pack of ice cube trays.

Spark Joy With Novel Shapes

Chopping up fruit adds extra flavor to drinks like strawberry lemonade, as @kaelimaee shows here — and when they're butterflies, the cuteness goes off the charts.

Try it: Butterfly Mold Silicone Ice Cube Tray ($14): How pretty are these frozen butterflies? As they're smaller, they melt more quickly, so they're perfect for adding flavor to coffee, cocktails, and more.

Flower Shape Ice Cube Tray ($14, originally 15): Not into butterflies? This multipack features stars, hearts, flowers, and more.

Avoid Watered Down Iced Tea

Not a coffee person? No problem: try matcha ice cubes or chai sugar cubes, which allow you to cool down an iced tea without watering it down.

Try it: Silicone Mini Ice Cube Trays, 2 Pack ($6): These are also a favorite among TikTokers, as you get a lot of small ice cubes that look pretty and melt quickly. Plus, there are no gaps in between the squares, so they're super easy to fill.

Store and Save Broth

Few recipes ever use the entire carton of broth. Instead of dumping it down the drain, freeze it for later use — with extra ingredients like fresh herbs or spices, if you want. Freezing plain broth is also a sweet way to make pet treats for hot summers!

Try it: Doqaus Ice Cube Trays 4 Pack, Easy-Release Silicone & Flexible ($13, originally $15): These trays make ice cubes of the classic shape, but the flexible silicone spine means they're way easier to pop out than with the old tray you already have.