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Is it possible to cold brew using Aeropress?

My inclination says yes, in a similar fashion to cold brewing with a French press. However, when I tried it, it became very hard to plunge.

Aside from working on my arm strength, what tricks or methods can be used to ease that process?

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  • Some cold-brew methods allow the grounds steep for a long time and with coarsely-ground coffee... the opposite of most AeroPress recipes! Would you further describe your method? I find it hard to filter after cold brew in general, as in this question.
    – hoc_age
    Aug 12, 2015 at 1:36
  • I was using 2 scoops of espresso grind with cold tap water filled to 2 mark, inverted. This is the same amount and process I use for brewing hot coffee normally, except for the water.
    – ckpwong
    Aug 12, 2015 at 1:56
  • For how long do you let it steep? 30 sec, 2 min, 12 hours? The latter is common for cold-brew. Something about long time and low temperature make it difficult for a paper filter, but I don't know what it is...
    – hoc_age
    Aug 12, 2015 at 12:27
  • 12 hours in the fridge, upside down.
    – ckpwong
    Aug 12, 2015 at 14:09
  • Depending on what you have available, you might want to filter out the larger coffee grinds before plunging through the aeropress to catch all the fines. I personally cold brew in a french press carafe, then press and dispense into another container. I finish up with a second finer filtering to catch the fines. I'm curious, so I will try using an aeropress for my second step and follow up with more info.
    – rwyland
    Aug 19, 2015 at 20:14

4 Answers 4

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Don't brew in the Aeropress itself. Brew in a jar like in classic methods and use the Aeropress only for fast and easy straining, taking care not to stir up the grounds from the bottom of the jar as you're pouring. Most of the coffees you strain out this way should be an absolute breeze. Only the last one you make (assuming a bigger jar) should give you any plunging force trouble, and that's if you insist on getting every last drop out (I know I do).

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  • Good thoughts, but it sounds the same as rwyland's comment and Matt's answer: brew separately first, then decant into AeroPress for second filtering. Is there something different to what you're suggesting?
    – hoc_age
    Jan 10, 2017 at 5:30
  • Both versions you mention sound more complicated to me, like two separate filtering devices are to be used in succession (and later have to be cleaned more carefully than simply washing a jar). My answer makes it clear that a single filtering device is sufficient and the way you get rid of the coarse grounds is by applying some care and patience when you simply pour the mostly-liquid fraction of the coffee out of the brewing jar.
    – Don Joe
    Jan 10, 2017 at 13:47
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This might not be what you are looking for, but when I make cold brew in my french press, I don't like the grit and particulate that slips through the filter of the press. To remedy this, I run it through my aeropress to filter this out. It works much better than trying to put it through a regular pour-over cone because you can force it through quickly with the plunger. It's not a fully-aeropress method, but it is my goto for cold brew.

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I tried the method shown here (about half way down the page) https://prima-coffee.com/blog/what-everyone-ought-know-about-iced-coffee-cold-brew-31371

My first attempt wasn't successful as I made the bottle cap hole size larger that required which affected the flow of water resulting in a weak brew. On my second attempt using another plastic bottle, it worked when I made the hole smaller.

Decent results, but making a coldbrew in a French Press is way better in my opinion (I use Verve Coffee Roasters Street Level Espresso Coffee Beans)

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I've owned a Toddy and Hario Cold immersion brewer, and even tried using a french press. All methods share similar process in common, such as using cold or room temperature water over ground coffee, let it sit there and brew for over 12+ hours. I would imagine using approximately 36g of grounds (double grams used for hot coffee) in the Aeropress and allow it to sit overnight for 12+ hours. It appears would be much easier to clean up than a Toddy or french press since you just plunge out the cake

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