Make this sweet and smooth cold brew coffee in your French press, so that you can enjoy iced coffee at home when you want, at a fraction of the price you would usually spend at the coffee shop.
Who doesn’t like the French press?! It’s effortless and makes tasty, bold cup of coffee. But not only that – you can use your French press to make cold brew concentrate and enjoy iced coffee at home!
Cold-brewed coffee is sweeter and smoother than regular coffee, which is why it became so popular. It also has a lower acidity level and no bitterness. Having a cold brew concentrate ready in your fridge will also encourage you to make your own iced coffee at home, and that’s always good for the wallet. This is a straightforward recipe and guarantees a sweet cup, every time.
Here’s how to make cold brew coffee in a French press:
1. Place 6 ounces coarsely ground coffee in 8-cup press and pour in 32 ounces cold water. Stir to ensure all the grounds are wet.
2. Cover with cheesecloth and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours.
3. When the time has passed, put on the plunger and gently press all the way down.
4. Pour the coffee into a pitcher or other container and store in the fridge.
Assembling your drinks:
To make your iced coffee, fill a glass half full with ice, pour in 1/2 cup (4 oz) coffee concentrate and add 1/2 cup cold milk or half and half. Stir to combine and sweeten to taste.
For Vietnamese iced coffee, fill a glass half full with ice, add 1/2 cup coffee concentrate, 2 rich tablespoons sweetened condensed milk and splash in half and half. Stir and sweeten to taste.
You can also serve the concentrate hot. Simply mix concentrate and hot water in 1:1 ratio (perfect when serving coffee to a crowd).
Makes: 4 cups coffee concentrate / 8 servings.
Different French press sizes
Have a smaller or larger press?! Here’s how much coffee you need:
17 oz press – 3 oz coarsely ground coffee + 2 cups (16 oz) cold water
50 oz press – 9 oz coarsely ground coffee + 6 cups (48 oz) cups cold water
Best French press for cold brew: You can make cold brew coffee in any French press (the glass one is better), but if you’re looking to buy a press just for this purpose, get a big one. With 50oz French press you can make 6 cups of concentrate (that’s 12 servings of iced coffee).
This stuff is addictive, and it’s easy on the wallet too. One cup of this homemade iced coffee costs less than $0.40 per cup if you use coffee from the grocery store. Even if you use freshly roasted coffee from small-batch roasters, it won’t cost more than $0.70 per cup.
For the best result, use dark or medium roasted coffee, preferably freshly ground.
Enjoy!
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quick french press iced coffee
Don’t want to wait this long? Then this recipe is perfect for you!
Andrea
May 29, 2019 at 7:26 pmHi, you have the coffee measurements in ounces; i.e. 6 oz. Any idea how much coffee that would be if I don’t have a food scale? One ounce = 1 tablespoon of ground coffee??
Thanks!
Danijela
May 30, 2019 at 12:53 amHi Andrea, one ounce usually equals 2 tablespoons. You can use 12 tablespoons coffee + 4 cups water for 8 cup press, 6 tbsp coffee and 2 cups water for a smaller one, and 18 tablespoons coffee and 6 cups water for a 12 cup French press.