Did you know that making French Press Cold Brew at home is super-easy? Homemade cold brew is extra–smooth, extra-strong, less acidic, and much cheaper than the store-bought equivalent. All you need is a French press, cold water, and ground coffee.
Want to try more interesting and refreshing coffee recipes? Here are some: Dalgona Coffee, Nutella Coffee, Vietnamese Coffee, Filter Coffee, Beaten Coffee, and Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew.
Jump to:
About This Recipe
French Press Cold Brew is just cold-brewed coffee made using a French press. Coffee made by this method is stronger, smoother, and less acidic than coffee made by other brewing methods.
You can buy cold brew coffee made in a French press in most coffee shops, but making it at home is more economical and you can customize the drink according to your taste. Plus you know exactly what ingredients are going in your cold brew.
You just need coarsely ground coffee, water, and a French press. Yes, that’s it!
Drink it black or with milk, or use this cold brew coffee concentrate to make Vietnamese Coffee, Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew, or Iced Caramel Macchiato.
Ingredients
Coffee – Use any coarsely ground coffee to make cold brew. Do not use medium or fine grind. Otherwise the coffee will turn cloudy and have a muddled flavors.
You can try using flavored coffee to make this cold brew, giving it a twist.
Water – The proportion of coffee to water is important, so keep that in mind. I explain this below.
Creamer – Once you have cold brew coffee concentrate ready, you can drink it by adding water or adding creamer. Whole milk, toned milk, almond milk, cashew milk … just choose whichever you want and go with it.
French Press – You will obviously need a French press to make this cold brew. I ordered mine online from Amazon.com.
Others – You can add caramel sauce or chocolate sauce to your coffee to give it a fun twist.
How to Make French Press Cold Brew
Place ½ cup of coarsely ground coffee at the base of your French press.
Pour 4 cups of cold water over the coffee and stir gently using a spoon or a stir. The coffee-to-water ratio is very important. It should be approximately 1:8 by volume or 1:16 by weight.
Cover press with the lid, but do not press the plunger yet. Keep the press on the kitchen counter for 14-16 hours.
Note: Why keep the press on the counter and not refrigerate it, you may ask? Things are more soluble at higher temperatures than at lower temperatures. If you refrigerate your brew, you are effectively limiting solubility, or extraction. On the other hand, if it’s very hot where you live, you can refrigerate it after 3-4 hours.
Once the coffee has steeped, push down the plunger gently. Do not push the plunger all the way down. That will agitate the coffee grounds and they will release a bitter taste.
Strain the coffee over ice using a fine mesh strainer.
Add milk or water as desired. Serve chilled.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have coffee beans, you have to grind them using a grinder. Just do one pulse—that will give you coarsely ground coffee. Do not ground the beans to a fine powder, because this cold brew requires coarsely ground coffee only.
Well, it’s named “cold brew” because of the method of brewing, but you can use the brewed coffee to make hot coffee, as well. Just top the concentrate with some hot boiling water or hot milk and mix, and your hot coffee is ready.
It’s best to brew this coffee for a minimum of 8 hours and maximum of 24 hours.
The longer you set the coffee to brew, the stronger it gets. If you like your cold brew to be very strong, let it brew for 24 hours.
The easy ratio of coffee to other liquids is 1:1. But you can customize it according to taste. If you like strong coffee, add more concentrate, and if you like lighter coffee, increase the quantity of water or milk.
Storage Suggestions
You can store cold brew concentrate for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Just be sure to store freshly brewed concentrate instead of diluted brew. Then when you want to make coffee, just pour cold brew over ice, add water or milk, and enjoy it fresh.
You might also like
Recipe Card
French Press Cold Brew Recipe
Instructions
- Place coarsely ground coffee at the base of your Fresh press.
- Pour cold water over the coffee and mix gently using a spoon or a stir.
- Cover the press with the lid, but do not press the plunger yet. Keep the press out on the kitchen counter for 14-16 hours.
- Once the coffee has steeped, push down the plunger gently. Do not push the plunger all the way down. That will agitate the coffee grounds and they will release a biter taste.
- Strain the coffee over ice using a fine mesh strainer.
- Add milk or water as required. Serve chilled.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!