AeroPress Cold Brew: Recipes, Tips and Tricks

You might be surprised to hear that cold brew can taste very different depending on its preparation and the equipment you’re using. Sometimes it’s floral and light, while other batches can be bold and full-bodied. In my experience, Aeropress cold brew is among the most delicious and exciting ways to enjoy this popular beverage.

In this guide I’ll tell you all about AeroPress cold brew and how to make it. Heck, I’ll even throw in some extra recipes just for fun. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get into it!

What Is AeroPress Cold Brew?

If you’ve read my AeroPress review, you’ll know it’s an exciting tool that is one of my favorites for when I feel like really nerding out. Here, the full immersion method of a French press is combined with the pressure process of an espresso. What’s more, it’s completely manual and doesn’t require electricity.

The ground coffee remains in contact with the water throughout the extraction, then you use pressure to force coffee through a filter at the end. On the one hand, this creates a very concentrated, small coffee. On the other hand, the most powerful flavors that we expect from French Press coffee are reduced somewhat.

Folks usually use the AeroPress coffee maker for hot drinks. However, you can easily use it for iced coffee or cold brew. The prolonged contact between the coffee grounds and water in the plunger makes the brew stronger than usual. However, depending on the type of beans you’re using, both robust and delicate notes come out at the same time.

Cold Brew Coffee: Equipment You’ll Need

To prepare cold brew in an AeroPress you only need a few basics:

As it happens, there is a special attachment for AeroPress cold brew. However, the so-called “PuckPuck” is not absolutely necessary.

What’s way more important is time: the coffee should brew for at least eight hours. The longer you wait, the more intense the result will be.

You know my opinion when it comes to choosing coffee beans: The most important thing is quality. In general, lighter roasts that go in the fruity or floral direction are most suitable for cold brew. If you use beans with a dark coffee roast profile, you’ll likely find the resulting cold brew to be less complex if not downright muddy.

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Grind Setting and Accessories: Is the PuckPuck Worth Buying?

When it comes to adjusting your grinder, you should use a much coarser setting than you would when preparing hot AeroPress coffee. In fact, I’d recommend using coffee grounds that look like something out of a gravel pit.

For instance, if your grinder has 10 grind adjustment levels, set the thing at 9. This reduces the surface area of each granule, thereby preventing bitter substances from extracting too quickly.

Allow me to return briefly to the aforementioned PuckPuck. This attachment transforms the AeroPress from a full immersion method into a cold dripper, in which the coffee is slowly extracted drop by drop. This is a nice variation for even more complex coffee. But this is only worth the $35.82 investment if you use your AeroPress attachment all the time for cold preparation.

How to Make AeroPress Cold Brew

Preparing cold brew with the AeroPress is about as uncomplicated as it gets. Here’s how to do it:

You can drink the coffee straight or dilute it with the mixer of your choice. Since it is quite strong, water, milk or tonic are all good options. Heck, sometimes I even add hot water to cold brew concentrate for an especially smooth coffee.

Definitely experiment with your grind setting, water volume, etc. Oh, and the duration of the extraction isn’t set in stone.

Recipes and Variations: Sometimes Classic, Sometimes Fancy

There are plenty of recipes for cold coffee out there, with many of them also suitable for AeroPress cold brew. Since the coffee is more of a concentrate, you can use it for an iced latte as an espresso replacement, among other things. Here are a couple of my current AeroPress cold brew recipe favorites:

Cold Brew Tonic

Simply mix everything in a glass. If you want to spice up your coffee, add a dash of lemon juice.

Spicy Apple Brew

Mix the cold brew, juice and ginger in a cocktail shaker and then sift into a glass of ice cubes.

Basically, anything that tastes good is allowed in this recipe. For example, chili and ginger powder give a lovely heat, cinnamon a spicy kick. In high summer temperatures, a dash of lemon or orange juice gives your cold brew a refreshingly fruity note.

If you have a sweet tooth, you can give your coffee that certain je ne sais quoi with simple syrup. And if your AeroPress cold brew doesn’t have enough power, you can add liqueurs like Jägermeister and Fernet.

Chemex Filters as an Alternative

If you don’t have an AeroPress at hand, you can use a Chemex Coffeemaker instead. Let your coffee steep overnight in a covered container. Then you pour the cold brew through the Chemex paper filter – done! The Chemex is not only easy to use, it is also a modern design icon that’s part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Cold Brew from a Fully Automatic Espresso Machine

Since AeroPress cold brew and cold espresso are quite similar, you can make a machine version – at least with some models in my guide to the best fully automatic espresso machines.

A couple of examples are the Terra Kaffe TK-02 and the Jura Z10. Sure, we can argue about whether super automatics can make authentic cold brew until the cows come home. Either way, these two examples make superb coffee – whether cold or hot.

Flavor and Aroma

What comes out of the AeroPress is strong coffee with a good dose of caffeine – the whiskey among coffees, so to speak. As a matter of fact, it’s easy to forget how much caffeine AeroPress cold brew contains.

The low brewing temperature ensures an intensive extraction, but without excessive acidity or bitterness. In my experience, the end product drinks like a pleasant cross between coffee and espresso. It’s creamy, full-bodied, smoky and a bit syrupy, but it’s certainly not as sweet as nitro cold brew.

In the end, of course, it depends on your coffee beans and your chosen extraction time. By tweaking these variables you can adjust each cold brew batch to suit your preference.

Storage and Shelf Life

Let’s face it, the capacity of an AeroPress is very manageable. Still, if you end up with leftover coffee, you can easily store it in the refrigerator. By doing so, your cold brewed coffee will last up to two weeks.

For maximum freshness, I suggest using airtight coffee storage containers. For example, old glass water bottles or jars are perfectly suitable. Rinse them with boiling water beforehand and let them cool well – so your coffee stays nice and fresh.

AeroPress Cold Brew: Intense Taste With Minimal Effort

If you want good cold brew, you don’t need expensive equipment – the cup results say it all. And that’s what has always impressed me about the AeroPress: intense taste and a good caffeine boost without much effort.

For me, the AeroPress is one of the most effective and easiest ways to prepare cold brew. Everything is right, including the ease of preparation, superb flavor and low price of the brewer.

Of course you can always use alternatives such as the French press, It’s American Press or a PuckPuck attachment for Cold Drip. But in the end, cold brew is always coffee plus cold water.

AeroPress Cold Brew FAQ

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