Cold Brewed French Press Coffee

You may remember that I got a French Press for Christmas this past year.

I drink a lot of coffee, and most of it comes out of the Keurig, but I usually use the French Press when I feel like I have a few extra minutes to make coffee in a more "relaxed" manner.

To be honest, I'm not sure the French Press is actually that much more time consuming than the Keurig.

Anyway ... in the French Press post, I intended to do a few more blog posts on it. Until today, I have not really done that but ...

 

At some point I thought I'd like to try making Cold Brew with the French Press. 

I'm not sure why I thought this. Generally, I'm a hot-coffee kind of guy. In fact, I get annoyed when I'm in a fancy coffee shop and the person asks "Cold or Hot?" after I place my order.

I seems obvious to me that of course everyone wants hot brewed coffee UNLESS they specifically ask for iced or cold or whatever.

But, regardless, for whatever reason ... I thought I'd like to try the cold brew made in the French Press.

I came across lots of articles online, most of which seemed pretty similar. I ended up using French Press Cold Brew - A Couple Cooks as my reference.

The process is pretty simple. You just use more coffee and let it steep longer at a colder temperature than the regular French Press process.

Different sources can be slightly different, but the the cold brew French grounds to water ratio is 1:6 by weight. In grams, this is 140 grams coffee to 840 grams water. In cups, this means 2 cups coffee grounds and 3 ½ cups of water.

Honestly, I didn't realize until I actually weighed it out how much coffee that is compared to water.

This makes a really concentrated coffee, which needs to be diluted.

Cold brew concentrate to water ratio: 1:1. When you French press cold brew, you’ll end up a pitcher of concentrate. To drink the finished brew, use a ratio of 1:1. In other words, fill your glass with 1 part concentrate and 1 part water (or milk).

I ended up using a little less coffee to water, and diluting less to compensate for the less concentrated extract.

It turned out fine, and I drank most of it during a couple early morning bike rides. 

But, I don't think I'll do this ever again unless I get a much bigger French Press, and probably not then either. The effort (and waiting time) just don't justify the amount of coffee yielded.

Plus, as I mentioned, I'm more of a hot-coffee-kind-of-guy.

From French Press Cold Brew - A Couple Cooks:

How to make cold brew in a French press

Cold brew coffee is a very easy and forgiving method. The hardest part? Waiting the 24 hours you need for the coffee to brew. Here’s how to make cold brew in a French press (or jump to the recipe):

Grind the coffee: Grind 140 grams (2 cups) coffee beans to a medium coarse grind.

Mix coffee grounds and water: Add the coffee grounds and 3 ½ cups filtered water to the French press. Stir several times with a spoon.

Refrigerate 24 hours: Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for 24 hours. (You can cover it with the top but the plunger must be up, making it difficult to fit in most refrigerators.)

Plunge and strain: Place the lid on the French press and slowly press the plunger all the way down. Pour the cold brew concentrate into a large glass jar or pitcher.

Serve: To serve, dilute ½ cup cold brew with ½ cup water or milk. If serving with ice, use the ice with ½ cup cold brew concentrate with ¼ cup water.

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