Tried a 24-hour cold brew steep in my French press and it was way too strong

I saw a tip online to steep cold brew for a full day instead of the usual 12 hours, so I tried it with my Bodum Chambord. The result was a super bitter, almost undrinkable concentrate, even after I watered it down. I learned that for my setup, 14 hours is the sweet spot. Has anyone else found that longer steep times can backfire with certain methods?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.gavin2mo ago

Nah, that super bitter result just means you used the wrong grind. A full day steep is fine if your coffee is coarse enough. Your french press probably just can't handle it.

hill.christopher2mo ago

Okay, "full day steep is fine" is a wild take. My buddy tried that cold brew method last summer, left it for like 18 hours. He used a coarse grind and everything. It was pure battery acid, completely undrinkable. He was so mad he almost threw his press through the window. I gotta side with @davis.gavin on the grind being key, but a full day is just too much. Even coarse coffee gets nasty if you forget about it that long.

kaib181mo agoProlific Poster

Wait, isn't that kinda blaming the french press for a user error though? I mean, @hill.christopher's buddy probably just had his grind way too fine even if he thought it was coarse. I've done a full 24 hour steep before with a really chunky grind and it came out smooth, just really strong. But you gotta be careful, even a slightly uneven grind can mess up a long steep like that. Maybe the problem is that most people don't have a good enough grinder to get a truly consistent coarse grind. I'd say try a full day steep with a paper filter after, that catches all the fine bits that keep extracting and turning bitter.