As the Japanese summer reaches its sweltering zenith, a steamy cup of coffee in the morning no longer seems quite so inviting. It¡¯s time to drop your inhibitions, and reach for some ice.

Contrary to popular belief, iced coffee wasn¡¯t invented in Japan ¡ª it originated in 1840s Algeria, where French soldiers developed a fondness for a mixture of coffee syrup and cold water known as mazagran.

But Japan was certainly an early adopter: Fashionable cafes started serving iced coffee here in the 1920s, and the drink became widespread during the postwar years.