I had been a huge coffee addict in college. Coffee was a way of life for me, drinking 5 cups of turkish coffee before I hit my morning classes was normal, until one day the heart palpitations and headaches started. Then I called it quits for over 10 years.

My husband, David, had never ever drank coffee until about 3 years ago. We had always been tea drinkers. One day he tried a Mocha Latte a friend had bought and he came home raving about how good it was. Thus, started our coffee drinking adventure together.

We tried different ways to brew our Joe using the standard home coffee machine (always tasting of old coffee and plastic),  the drip cone with paper filter (too slow and too clumsy) and the mini espresso pot (just too strong). One day at a friends house they made us some coffee that was to die for and they had made it in something called a French Press. David and I were hooked. This coffee had the cleanest taste of any we had tried and was simple enough to use. We sought out where to buy one and have never looked back.

The inspiration  for this post was my brother Dave. He came to visit a few weeks ago. I made him breakfast one morning, making coffee in our press. He had never seen one before and upon drinking the first few sips exclaimed how amazing this coffee tasted. Somewhere between what type of grounds we buy and the press itself we had made the perfect cup. We bought him a good bag of coffee, fair trade-shade tree grown, and a French Press for his birthday so he could enjoy this back home. Now my mom wants to see what all the hub-bub is about.

So, for all of you who have never seen a French Press or how one works, this is for you.

Going clockwise, starting at the top is the metal framed pitcher that holds the glass beaker. There are 3 components that make up the plungers bottom screen.

They easily stack and then screw onto the metal rod of the plunger itself.

Some tips that Bodum wants you to know. Although it says to stir the grounds we never do. I think I will try that next time.

First you need to boil some water.

Then add your very coarse coffee grounds. We use 4 scoops for 2 people. Experiment with the quantity of coffee to make it how you like.

Then add your hot water. The amount you add with either make the coffee stronger or weaker. Try out different quantities.

Put the plunger on, but don’t press it down yet. The grounds need to soak in the hot water.

Set a timer for 4 minutes. The longer the grounds brew the stronger the coffee.

When the timer beeps push the plunger down. This will trap all the grounds in the bottom, separating the grounds from the liquid.

Serve this delicious coffee straight away and enjoy the best tasting java ever.

And don’t forget to compost those grounds. Your earthworms and compost critters will thank you for the pick-me-up.