Cold brew is all the rage, and I for one, cannot properly function without my daily serving (with a splash of half and half, s’il vous plaît!). To non-coffee drinkers it looks just like iced coffee. Take a look closer and you’ll see that cold brew is iced coffee’s smoother, darker, bolder older brother who puts younger brother in the friend zone. How’d he get so cool? The not-so-big secret is in brewing course coffee grounds overnight in cold water to slowly extract the strong coffee flavor. By not adding heat to to the equation, what remains is a smoother and more full bodied drink.

Fortunately, the cold brew craze makes this drink available virtually everywhere but at $3-4 a pop, it isn’t the cheapest habit to sustain. There are tons of cold brew tools on the market from $30 contraptions to messy at home methods that require cheesecloths and multiple straining that no one has time for. The good news? You can create your own with a french press that is typically used for hot coffee. —Juley Le, Founder

French Press Cold Brew

Tools & Ingredients
1/4 cup course ground coffee (I like Cafe Bustelo)
3 cups filtered water
French Press

Directions

1. Pour coffee grounds into the bottom of the french press. 
2. Pour in 3 cups of water. Stir to make sure grounds are evenly distributed in water.
3. Loosely place the top handle back on the press. Do not press down. 
4. Leave french press on counter overnight for at least 12 hours but no more than 24 hours.
5. The next morning, press and strain the mixture. Pour concentrate into a new bottle.
6. Add 2-3 cups of filtered water to the concentrate to dilute to your taste. Keep refridgerated for up to a week.