Today’s market offers a plethora of options when it comes to coffee makers. Just as it seems there is a unique flavor out there for every individual coffee drinker, likewise there are dozens, if not hundreds, of brew machines available. And while many of these machines offer bleeding edge technology to help you create the perfect cup ‘o joe, sometimes it’s best to get back to the basics. In this article we’ll take a look at the good old basic French Press coffee maker.

Patented by Italian Attilio Calimani in 1929, the French Press’ simple brewing method is its beauty. Hot water is poured over coffee grounds in a container. Then the grounds are manually pressed to the bottom of the pot with a plunger-like filter mechanism, separating the grounds from the brewed coffee.

First, the grind of your favorite blend of wake up juice is key. A coarse grind is critical when using a French Press, ensuring that the bean particles themselves don’t sift through the press’ filter, only the precious oils and liquid goodness. Too fine a grind and you’ll wind up sipping silty coffee. See our article on grinding your own coffee beans for additional information on types of grinds.

The second and third elements of the French Press are the filter and press plunger. Once your grounds have steeped in warm water for the appropriate amount of time (4 minutes or so for a full press), it’s time to, ahem, press down and extract that pefect cup of coffee.

TIP: After steeping your grounds for one minute, stir the top “crust” to break up the full host of flavors.

French Press filters are attached to a plunging mechanism on top of the unit, the filter resting inside the press itself. It’s important when pushing down on the plunging mechanism at the onset of the filtering process to do so at a slow, steady, even speed. This allows the grind to be evenly pressed, yielding a balanced amount of full-bodied and flavorful coffee. It’s also important to not let the pressed coffee stay in contact with the grounds for too long, lest the coffee become bitter. After a few minutes enjoying a cup of two, transfer the pressed coffee to a carafe.

Is the venerable French Press better than other coffee makers? Not necessarily. There’s nothing wrong with your tried-and-true coffee maker that got you through 4 years of cramming for college finals. I will submit to you though that the French Press yields a truer cup of coffee with an air of old-world simplicity. Classy, no?

Disclaimer: much coffee was brewed and consumed during the writing of this article.