How to Make Cold Brew with French Press | Real Steps, Real Ratios

For the full breakdown, see our best Cold Brew French Press guide.

The appeal of cold brew is its low acidity and mellow sweetness—and a French press is the easiest vessel to make it at home. You don’t need special gear, just the press you already own. The process is simple: combine coarse grounds and room-temperature water in the press, let it sit overnight, then press and dilute. The result is a concentrate that keeps for over a week and beats anything from a can. Below is the method that works every time, including what goes wrong when it doesn’t.

Cold Brew In A French Press: The Core Method

Start with a clean French press and coffee ground to the texture of kosher salt—finer grinds create sludge and make plunging hard. A ratio of roughly 1 part coffee to 4 parts water by weight produces a strong concentrate; for a ready-to-drink brew, stretch it to 1:6 or 1:8.

Steps:

1. Add grounds to the French press. For an 8-cup press, that’s about 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee.
2. Pour in cold or room-temperature water in stages–add some, stir to saturate all grounds, then top off. No dry pockets should remain.
3. Set the lid on with the plunger fully raised. Do not press it down during steeping.
4. Steep 12–24 hours on the counter. La Colombe’s guide specifically says to avoid refrigerating the mixture while it brews—room temperature extracts better. Overnight (16–18 hours) is the sweet spot for most recipes.
5. Press slowly and gently. Forcing the plunger can push fine sediment into the brew. Pour the finished concentrate into an airtight jar or bottle.

What To Do With The Concentrate

The liquid from the press is strong—usually meant to be diluted. A standard serving is one part concentrate to one part water or milk (1:1). For a lighter cup, go 1:2 concentrate to liquid. Serve over ice.

Store the concentrate in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It stays fresh for about 5–7 days, and some sources say up to 10 days. If you want cleaner coffee with no grit, pour the pressed liquid through a paper filter, cheesecloth, or a fine-mesh strainer before storing.

The French press itself should not double as storage—once brewed, transfer the coffee out to avoid over-extraction. Your press makes an excellent steeping vessel, but the grounds should never sit in the concentrate past the brew time.

3 Mistakes That Ruin French Press Cold Brew

Grinding too fine. The most common error. Finely ground coffee clogs the mesh, makes plunging difficult, and leaves a muddy, bitter drink. Coarse grind (like breadcrumbs or kosher salt) is non-negotiable.

Plunging too fast. A rushed press stirs up sediment that settled during steeping. Push the plunger down with steady, even pressure—count to ten while you press.

Not stirring the grounds. Dry pockets of coffee never extract, wasting strength and flavor. Stir thoroughly after adding the first pour of water, then again after the top-up.

Once you’ve dialed in the ratio and timing, a French press becomes the simplest cold brew setup you own. No special equipment, no filters to buy, just a steep and a press. Looking for a press that makes the process even smoother? Our roundup of top-rated cold brew French presses can help you find the perfect one for your kitchen.