The French press method is one of our favorite ways to make coffee. Once you master a few simple steps, you'll be making delicious coffee effortlessly, whether for Saturday mornings with the paper or after dinner parties.

The basic process is to grind the coffee beans right before you make the coffee, put them in the pot, pour in hot water, wait four minutes, then press the grinds to the bottom of the pot with the plunger filter mechanism.

First, be sure that you are using high quality, fresh coffee beans and filtered water.

1. Grind your coffee beans. We recommend using a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder. This will ensure consistency, as blade grinders will produce grinds that range from espresso-fine to percolator-coarse.

2. Add coffee to the pot. You'll need one tablespoon of coffee for every four ounces of water. If you weigh your coffee, which we recommend, you need 0.2 ounce of coffee for every four ounces of water. Once you've made a pot or two you can adjust for your own palate.

3. Add hot water (just under a boil). We use an electric kettle to heat the water up in four minutes or so. 200 degrees, which is just under a boil is the proper temperature for coffee extraction. Pour the water vigorously over the beans so it all swirls together in one delicious mix. You want the water to evenly saturate the coffee grounds.

4. Pour slowly and leave room. If you're using fresh coffee beans like you should, expect the grounds to bubble up to a foamy "head" or "bloom." As with pouring a good micro-brew, pour slowly and leave enough room for the bloom to expand a bit. This is a great time to stop and enjoy the aroma of the coffee. See if you can pick up fragrant notes like you would in a glass of wine.

5. Wait four minutes. You can use a timer so you don't forget. Be sure to not let the grounds steep for more than four minutes or you might over-extract the coffee. After one minute, it can be helpful to stir the grounds with a spoon to ensure even extraction.

6. Press the pot. To do this, carefully rest the mesh filter on top of the pot. Slowly push the plunger all the way down. You are pushing all of the grounds to the bottom of the pot. If it "catches" and is difficult to push down, pull it up slightly and try again. You should not have to put a lot of effort into the pressing. If you're grunting, you're pushing too hard.

7. Pour the coffee and enjoy! We recommend pouring any remaining coffee into an insulated thermos to keep it hot. Coffee left in the pot will continue to extract and will get unpleasant rather quickly.

Notes

We highly recommend not grinding your coffee for storage. Even high quality beans will lose their aroma and flavor after just a few hours.

Store your whole beans in an airtight container in the cupboard. There's no need to keep them in the freezer (unless you like the slight nuance of salmon in your Yirgacheffe).

Cleanliness is nice. Use a commercial grade cleaner to keep your coffee machine, press pot, or espresso machine spic and span. Doing this will remove oily residues which will dramatically affect the taste over time.