How to Make Cold Press Coffee in a Plunger

Cold press coffee is a popular choice for enjoying all the delicious flavours of coffee in a refreshing way. Regardless of the season, cold coffee can awaken your senses for an extra boost of energy, and can be especially refreshing on a hot summer day.

While you can take the easy route and purchase ready-made cold brew cans, it can be more satisfying to learn to make your own. This also allows you to enjoy a delicious cold brew without having to leave the house or worry about when your next delivery is arriving. And it’s surprisingly easy to make using a Plunger of French Press.

In this article, we will provide a simple guide to making full-flavoured cold-press coffee at home - and it will only take you about 5 minutes to prepare.

DIY Cold Press Coffee

When compared to normal espresso coffee, cold-press offers a less acidic and bitter flavour, allowing for a smoother and more full-bodied cup that is easier to enjoy. 

The thing about cold-pressed coffee, however, is that it can take a little longer to prepare. While the initial preparation only takes about 5 minutes, it needs to be left overnight in the fridge to brew, and then requires an extra 15 minutes to finish filtering before serving.

This recipe is designed to make approximately 750mL of cold brew concentrate, which can be diluted 50/50, making about five coffees depending on your cup size.

Equipment You Will Need

First things first, you will need to purchase a few essential items and ingredients in order to become a cold press coffee master at home. This includes:

• 8-cup plunger. We recommend the Bodum Chambord Plunger for smooth, rich and full-flavoured coffee. This plunger is stylish and high-quality with chrome-plated steel, heat-resistant glass, stainless steel filters and a bakelite handle for comfortable handling.

• 45g or ½ cup of freshly ground coffee with a 6.2 coarse grind rating. You can choose any coffee of your liking, however, if you’re looking to branch out and try new flavours on your cold-press journey we recommend our Sample Pack which includes 4 x 250g packs of our favourite coffee blends. 

• Grinder (optional). We have a range of high-quality manual and automatic coffee grinders available if you would like to take on the whole process. Or, we can grind your coffee to this rating in-store or you can choose your grind rating when purchasing online. 

• Muslin or a paper filter coffee maker. We recommend the Classic Chemex for its elegant design and crisp clean coffee, or the Hario V60 for its traditional Japanese and lightweight design.

• Filters. Most guides recommend muslin, which is a light cotton fabric, however, paper filters work just as well. Just be sure to choose filters that are compatible with your coffee maker, such as the Chemex filters or Hario V60 filters if you choose the machines we recommended.

• 1L water. Filtered water is best, however normal tap water will work just fine if you do not have a water filter.

• Ice and your choice of water, sparkling water or milk to serve. You can also experiment with different flavours of milk, creamers or any other beverage of your choice for a world of flavours.

• Scales or measuring cups. We recommend avoiding metal spoons as they may scratch or damage the plunger.

• A wooden or plastic spoon. 

How to Brew Cold-Press Coffee in a Plunger

Making cold-pressed coffee in a plunger or French Press is a simple process that just takes a little time and precision to master. By following the steps below you should be enjoying refreshingly mouth-watering coffees in no time:

1. The first step is obviously to add the coffee. Weigh 45g or ½ cup of ground (6.2 rating) coffee of your choice and add it to your plunger or French Press.

2. Next, add 1L of cold water, preferably filtered, however, cold tap or from the fridge is fine, to saturate the coffee grounds. Be sure to leave enough room for the lid to fit on top with the mesh filter pulled up to avoid making a mess. 

3. Gently stir the coffee and water using a plastic or wooden spoon to fully saturate the grounds. Be careful not to hit the sides of the glass as this could damage your plunger.

4. Once you’re satisfied with the saturation, you can fit the lid and plunger back into the glass without plunging and then place it in the fridge to brew overnight or for approximately 12 hours. If you can’t find enough space in the fridge, you can opt for a cool, dark place such as the back of the pantry. 

5. The following morning (or after 12 hours) you can slowly depress the plunger to filter the coffee.

6. Then, prepare your coffee maker by placing a muslin or paper filter in your coffee maker and rinsing it with hot water to remove any fabric or paper flavours that may taint your coffee.

7. You can then pour the cold brew through the filter. This step may require doing several batches depending on the size of your coffee maker. It may also take around 15 minutes or more to completely filter through. Once complete you should see small particles of coffee on your filter which the mesh cannot pick up, removing these particles is what ensures a clean and smooth coffee.

8. Last but not least, you’re ready to serve! We recommend serving the cold brew concentrate on ice with a 50/50 ratio of your favourite milk or water of choice.

Tips to Perfect the Art of Cold Press Coffee

Once you’ve mastered the basic steps above, you can start to play around with your recipes and fine-tune your skills by paying attention to flavour profiles and results. Here are a few tips that our coffee baristas have learned along the way:

• Adjust the coffee or water amount to suit your plunger size, desired amount of coffee and tastes. We recommend starting with a ratio of around 10 grams (two level tablespoons) of coffee for every 250ml of water. You can then adjust those amounts for a stronger or weaker flavour depending on your tastes.

• If you find your coffee has a sour taste, you can leave it in the plunger or French Press for longer. We recommend adding an extra hour to start and then you can continue to increase the duration depending on the flavour.

•  Conversely, if your brew tastes bitter you may want to leave it to brew for less time. In this case, start with an hour less and continue to decrease as necessary.

• Also, if you’re looking for a sweeter, lighter and more acidic flavour, light filter roasts are best, their shorter roasting time also makes them more suitable for devices with a slow extraction time. For this, you can try our Colombia or Ethiopia Guji Muda Tatesa blends.

• Finally, fresh is best when it comes to coffee. So, we recommend buying smaller quantities of coffee more frequently as beans tend to go stale after around six weeks and ground coffee even quicker. To avoid stale coffee while also ensuring you always have a supply on hand, you can join our Merlo subscription service, you’ll also receive bonus beans with every 6th order.

Become a Cold Press Coffee Aficionado 

With the right equipment and skills, anyone can become a pro in at-home coffee brewing. By investing in a high-quality plunger or French Press and following the steps and tips provided above, you will be well on your way to becoming a cold press coffee master. And by experimenting with different coffee blends and beverage mixers, you’ll be sure to find flavours that refresh and excite you every day.

Explore our Merlo store online or chat with our friendly baristas in-store to get everything you need to start your cold press coffee journey off right!