How to Make Cold Brew
Last updated: June 16, 2026.
The first time I had cold-pressed coffee it came from a 4' tall machine.
I use the term "machine" loosely. It looked more like a medieval torture device.
It really didn't do anything except drip melting ice into coffee grounds and collect the runoff in a carafe. The machine featured a completely unnecessary spiral glass tube that would have been more at home in a 9th century Arab alchemist's tent than a 21st century Seattle hipster cafe.
It tasted just like regular coffee except it was colder and 3 times the price.
But it was purchased with an expense account so I didn't care.
4 years later I found myself in a perfect storm: extra coffee beans, a new burr grinder, and boredom. So I decided to put the storm to use and tried making cold-pressed coffee.
My normal coffee routine:
Boil water in an electric kettle.
Measure and grind 40g Starbucks Caffe Verona beans.
Add ground coffee beans to a French press and fill with 600g just-boiled water.
Wait 4 minutes. [I use this time to play Boom Beach on my iPad.]
Press.
Pour.
My cold-pressed coffee experiment:
Measure and grind 100g coffee beans. (Grind setting 14 instead of the normal 28.)
Add ground beans and 1500g water to a plastic tupperware container.
Wait 24 hours.
Press in a french press.
Pour.
This won't replace my normal routine every day, but it’s nice to have the option on those hot mornings where hot coffee just sounds too hot.
