Cold press is cold brew made in a French Press
In this post you’ll learn:
- How to make the best cold brew at home
- Different ways to make cold brew at home
- What type of coffee beans to use for cold brew
Cold brew coffee is one of the most popular ways to drink coffee. The cold brewing process extracts the sweeter compounds in coffee, resulting in smooth, often less acidic cup. Learn how to make the best cold brew at home! In this post we highlight multiple methods for making cold brew coffee including cold brew using a mason jar, the Toddy Cold Brew System, and cold press made in a French Press.
Cold brew concentrate can also be used as a substitute for espresso in drink recipes if you do not have an espresso machine at home. For recipes to use your cold brew concentrate check out Easy Espresso Recipes and Espresso Cocktail Recipes.
Which coffee beans should I use for cold brew?
For cold brew, use coffee beans that are naturally sweet and lighter roasted. Dark roasted coffees can create bitter and unpleasant tasting cold brew. We roast our Folly Coffee Cold Brew Bean to bring out the best natural sweetness for an amazing cup of cold brew or if you like a more fruity cold brew coffee, our House Bean is also a great option
How much coffee grounds should I use to make cold brew?
For any cold brew method, we recommend starting at 1lb of coffee to 1 gallon of water. This will create a rich coffee concentrate. Add water or milk to this concentrate to dilute to your taste preference.
Cold Brew Recipes
Cold brew using a mason jar
What you need:
-
32oz mason jar
Mason Jar cold brew is cheap and delicious
- 100 grams coarsely ground coffee
- Reusable cheese cloth or paper filter
This is the cheapest way to make cold brew at home. Simple and effective!
- Pour 100 grams of coarsely ground coffee directly intp a 32oz mason jar or pour into a filter bag and place in the 32oz mason jar. We love the filter bag in the picture to the right found here
- Fill the 32oz jar with cold water.
- Stir vigorously and allow to rest in fridge for 12-24 hours. 24 hours results in a higher extraction and stronger cold brew. Any longer than 24 hours can cause bitterness and over extraction.
- Filter out the coffee grounds using a cheese cloth or coffee filter.
- This will be a concentrated cold brew. To each glass you enjoy, add water or milk to dilute to your flavor preferences. Enjoy!
Toddy Cold Brew System
What you need:
- Toddy Cold Brew System
- Toddy Cold Brew System paper filter
- 12oz coarsely ground coffee
- 7 cups cold water
The Toddy Cold Brew System is the same principle as coffee in a jar, at a larger scale and stronger concentration. The Toddy uses 12oz coffee and makes enough concentrate to last well over a week, depending on how much coffee you drink.
- Put stopper in place at bottom of brewing chamber and wet the circle cloth filter
- Place wetted circle cloth filter in bottom of Toddy
- Add 12oz of coarsely ground coffee
Pour 12oz ground coffee into the filter
- Add 7 cups of cold water
Pour 7 cups water into 12oz ground coffee
- Stir until grounds are fully saturated
- Rest in fridge for 12-24 hours. 24 hours results in a higher extraction and stronger cold brew. Any longer than 24 hours can cause bitterness and over extraction.
- Place brewing chamber over glass decanter and remove stopper
- Wait for cold brew to pass through filter until you are left with only grounds in the filter
- This will be a highly concentrated cold brew concentrate. To each glass you enjoy, add water or milk to dilute to your flavor preferences. We recommend a 1:1 coffee to water/milk ratio for Toddy Cold Brew Concentrate. Enjoy!
Wait for the cold brew to pass through filter
Cold Press
What you need:
- 34oz French Press
- 100 g coarsely ground coffee
- 32oz cold water
Cold press is cold brew made using a French Press. It is an easy way to make cold brew and is very popular because it doesn’t require paper filters or other wasteful materials.
- Place 100 g of grounds into a 32oz French press.
- Fill with water to top line
- Stir, cover top and allow to steep in fridge for 12-24 hours. Longer brew times will result in a stronger cold brew.
- After 12-24 hours, press down the grinds and pour your cold brew. This will be a cold brew concentrate, so cut with water or milk to dilute to your taste preference.
Use cold brew and cold brew concentrate to make fun coffee drinks at home with our blog post here
To learn how to make amazing coffee extract at home, check out our post here
Want to learn how to make the perfect French Press coffee? Check out our post here!
Written by Rob Bathe, owner of Folly Coffee Roasters