Cold brew lovers- this recipe is for you! This french press cold brew involves only 5 minutes of prep time and will provide you with smooth, great-tasting coffee for almost an entire week.
Making your own cold brew at home using the french press method is not only super easy but also much cheaper than getting it at your local coffee shop. Regardless if you have been a loyal fan of cold brew coffee or never heard of it before- you'll need to give this recipe a try!
There are many ways to enjoy a glass of homemade cold brew- black, iced, as a latte or as a decaf cold brew. If you're a fan of caramel, I highly recommend checking out our Skinny Iced Caramel Macchiato recipe.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- There's very little prep time involved.
- It's the easiest way of making cold brew (in my humble opinion).
- There's no special equipment or coffee filters needed (apart from the french press or course).
- It will keep in the fridge for almost a week.
What is cold brew?
Cold brewing refers to a brewing method that uses room-temperature water. Unlike regular hot coffee, cold brew is never exposed to heat and the brewing process takes much longer.
By soaking ground coffee in cold water for a specific amount of time (around 12-18 hours) you can create a delicious black coffee concentrate that can be enjoyed as is or diluted with water or milk.
What is a french press?
A French press is a coffee brewing device that doesn't need any electricity to work. Coffee is made by adding coarse ground coffee and cold or hot water to the beaker and letting it steep.
When using boiling water steep time is only a couple of minutes. With cold water (such as our recipe below), steep time is much longer (around 12-18 hours).
The coffee is filtered by slowly pressing the plunger to the bottom of the container. Because there's no paper filter used in a french press, more of the oils inside the coffee gets absorbed by the water, resulting in a deliciously bold and strong coffee flavor.
Cold brew french press ratio
When making cold brew coffee, the coffee-water ratio isn't the same as when making regular coffee. The finished cold brew is usually diluted with water or milk (unless you prefer your coffee really strong).
Cold brew grounds to water ratio
The cold brew coffee-to-water ratio is 1:8 by weight (not by volume).
This means for 1 part coffee you'll need 8 parts water. So if we use 4 oz (118g) of coarsely ground coffee, we'll need 32 oz (944g) of water (118 x 8 = 944).
Please note that it only works by weight and not volume, this means you can't use 1 cup of coffee and 8 cups water. We need to convert measurements to oz/grams.
You could also go with a ratio of 1:6 or even 1:4 if you want to make a stronger concentrate.
Cold brew coffee to water ratio
We recommend tasting the coffee as is but most people prefer a cold brew coffee to water ratio of 1:1.
To serve, add 1 part cold brew and 1 part water (if you prefer black coffee) or milk (to create more of a latte) to a serving glass.
However, the coffee to water ratio is flexible and depends on how strong you like your coffee. See serving suggestions below.
Ingredients & substitution notes
- Coffee: You could either use whole beans and grind them yourself at home or ask at your local coffee shop if they could grind your coffee of choice to a medium coarse grind. In bigger grocery shops you'll often find one of these big coffee grinder machines so you could also grind the coffee yourself there or buy pre-ground coffee. Make sure to choose a coarse grind though.
- Water: I recommend using filtered water for best results.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make cold brew in a french press
The good news is that making your own cold brew at home is really easy and involves minimal prep time.
STEP 1: Grind your coffee. If you have a coffee grinder at home, add the beans to the machine.
Grind the coffee beans to a coarse grind. Alternatively, you can also ask your local coffee shop.
STEP 2: Transfer the coffee grounds to a french press coffee maker.
STEP 3: Add the filtered room-temperature water.
STEP 4: Give it a good stir. The water will push the ground coffee to the top- that's totally normal.
STEP 5: Extraction process. Add the lid but without pushing down the plunger and let steep at room temperature for 12-18 hours.
STEP 6: Plunge. Very slowly push the french press plunger down to the bottom of the machine. Now your cold brew coffee is all done and ready to dilute and enjoy.
STEP 7: Serve this homemade cold brew over some ice cubes as a refreshing iced coffee or your preferred way.
Top Tips
- Quality coffee: Make sure to choose a high-quality coffee that you actually like the taste of. A light roast tastes much different than a dark roast for example- it's worth experimenting until you find your favorite coffee.
- Quality water: The same is true for water. I recommend using filtered water for best results.
- Grind in batches: Grind the beans in batches so that you'll end up with equally sized coffee grinds.
Equipment
- French Press
- Coffee Grinder (optional): You can grind your coffee beans yourself at home or have your local coffee shop or grocery store grind the beans to a coarse grind.
Serving Suggestions
What we're making here is a pretty strong cold brew coffee which can be enjoyed as is (if you're into really strong coffee) or diluted with additional cold water or milk.
- Dilute with water: If you prefer black coffee, I'd recommend filling your serving glass with ½ cup of french press cold brew coffee and ¼ cup of water (don't dilute it 1:1 from the beginning). Taste your coffee and work your way up from there, depending on how strong or light you prefer your coffee.
- Dilute with milk: The same accounts for diluting it with milk. My favorite way of enjoying this cold brew is a 1:1 ratio: ½ cup of cold brew and ½ cup of your favorite milk. We love oat milk because it's naturally quite sweet but you can also use unsweetened almond milk, soy milk or regular dairy milk.
- Dilute with water and milk: For a very light coffee or if you prefer less milk, you can of course dilute the cold brew with both water and a bit of milk. Feel free to play around with what works for you.
- Flavors: I highly recommend trying this cold brew with our Skinny Iced Caramel Macchiato or an Iced Peanut Butter Coffee.
- Ice Cubes: Add some ice cubes to the serving glass for an even more refreshing coffee.
Storage & meal prep
This recipe is definitely meal-prep friendly as you can keep a batch of cold brew for up to 1 week.
Store the cold brew coffee in a large container or mason jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
FAQs
The brewing method is entirely different as cold brew is never exposed to heat. Cold brew is also said to be less acidic than regular coffee, making it taste smoother.
I would not recommend using fine coffee because very fine coffee tends to block the holes of the fine mesh strainer and are also more likely to steep through the filter into your coffee. Because of that we recommend using a coarser grind.
Apart from the texture (it should be coarsely ground), you can use any type of roast, depending on personal preference. Usually, dark roasts are used in cold brews but feel free to experiment.
The colder the temperature, the longer it will take to brew. I usually steep it at room temperature and transfer it to the fridge as soon as the cold brew is ready.
More coffee recipes
📖 Recipe
French Press Cold Brew
Ingredients
- ~4oz = 1 ⅓ cups coarsely ground coffee
- 32oz = 4 cups filtered water (at room temperature)
Instructions
- Grind your coffee beans to a medium coarse grind (see step-by-step photos), or ask your local coffee shop to grind it).
- Add the ground coffee to the bottom of the French press.
- Add the filtered water and give it a quick stir. The water will push the ground coffee to the top- that's totally normal.
- Add the lid and transfer let the cold brew steep at room temperature between 12-18 hours (the longer, the stronger the coffee will be).
- Slowly press the plunger down to the base of your french press so that the mesh pushes all the coffee grounds to the bottom of your machine.
- What you'll end up with now is a pretty strong cold brew coffee. Could be served as is or diluted with additional cold water or milk (see serving suggestions above).
- Transfer the cold brew to an airtight container or jar and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
- Can I use fine coffee grounds? I would not recommend it because very fine coffee tends to block the holes of the fine mesh strainer and are also more likely to steep through the filter into your coffee. Make sure to use a medium coarse grind.
- Quality coffee: Make sure to choose a high-quality coffee that you actually like the taste of. A light roast tastes much different than a dark roast for example- it's worth experimenting until you find your favorite coffee.
- Quality water: The same is true for water. I recommend using filtered water for best results.
- Cold brew coffee dilution ratio: To serve, the cold brew is usually diluted with water or milk, please see our serving suggestions above.
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