Cold Brew Coffee in a French Press – one of the easiest ways to make cold brew at home – just like a coffee shop!

Easy French Press Cold Brew Recipe

Calling all coffee lovers!

As many of you know, I am an AVID cold brew coffee drinker. I switched over to cold brew in 2016 because I was suffering from acid reflux and other stomach issues (there is less acid in cold brew than regular coffee). I had to swear off coffee altogether for a while, but slowly incorporated cold brew back into my diet once I learned that it doesn’t upset my stomach. One way you can make cold brew is in the French press and it is SO easy – top with come homemade cold foam for a delicious treat!

What is Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee is coffee that is brewed with cold water (or room temperature) instead of scalding hot water. As a result, cold brew is MUCH less acidic and less bitter than regularly brewed coffee. Regular coffee, or hot coffee, is brewed with scalding hot water which strips the coffee bean and breaks it down, which results in more acidic and bitter coffee.

Iced coffee is simply hot brewed coffee that has been cooled and served over ice.

Its because of these benefits that so many people gravitate towards cold brew: flavor (not so acidic – it’s easier to drink black) and because it is so much easier on their stomachs.  To this day I cannot drink regular coffee without heartburn or a stomach ache, but I can drink my homemade cold brew without a problem.

French Press Cold Brew Ingredients + Supplies

• water: we using cold, filtered water here
• coffee beans: start with whole beans and grind right before use. We are looking for a coarse grind size.
• coffee grinder: love this burr grinder
• french press coffee maker:

Coffee Water Ratio for Cold Brew

The recommended ratio of cold brew coffee to water is 4 cups water to 1/2 cup roughly ground coffee beans.  I have also included an option for a cold brew concentrate in the recipe card that a lot of people like to use. Of course you can always adjust to meet your personal preference.

Cold Brew Concentrate

Making cold brew concentrate is also super simple. Instead of using the 8:1 ratio of 8 cups water to every cup of grounds you would use a 4:1 ratio with 4 cups of water to every 1 cup of coffee grounds. Everything is the exact same – you can let it steep longer, just don’t let is steep too long or it may extract some of the bitterness we are trying to avoid with a cold brew coffee. Then you can cut the concentrate with almond milk, oat milk or whatever you prefer.

Other Cold Drinks You Might Like

• Iced Matcha Latte
• Iced London Fog
• How to Make Sweet Cream Cold Foam
• Pumpkin Cold Brew
• Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
• Iced Chai Latte
• Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew

Cold Brew Coffee French Press Step-by-Step

Roughly ground up your coffee beans – we are looking for a coarse grind.

Add them to the bottom of your French Press.

Pour in the cold water.

Let brew for as long as you desire (24 hour is recommended – see recipe card). You can simply cover with some plastic wrap or aluminum foil instead of placing the plunger back on top – the plunger needs to be upright (not pushed down) making it hard to fit in most refrigerators.

Once brewed, add the top/filter back on the French Press and plunge.

That’s it!

FAQs

• Can you heat it up: Yes! Just because you are brewing it in cold water doesn’t mean you cannot heat it up later. The acidity level will remain the same! I love heating mine up in the winter!
• Can you use decaf beans: Yes! You can definitely use decaf coffee beans instead of regular.
• Can you use finely ground coffee beans: In short, yes, you can use finely ground coffee beans BUT you may run into issue with filtering out all the ground during the straining process.  Keeping your beans more coarsely ground will help prevent that.
• Caffeine: Here is a great article on whether cold brew has the same amount of caffeine as regular coffee.
• Coffee Filter: yes, you can use a regular paper filter, but it may just take a bit longer to strain.

What I used:

• French Press (the one shown in the picture)
• Coffee Beans
• Filtered Water

Other Cold Brew Coffee Recipes you might like:

• Whole30 Cinnamon + Vanilla Coffee Creamer
• Creamy Cashew Cold Brew Latte
• Whole30 Bulletproof Latte

Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram account for some behind-the-scenes action! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!

Print