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I can't believe that I have not reviewed the two following methods of coffee making for all of you great coffee drinkers. Possibly because they are so simple or I was so caught up in the hype of being challenged as the “expert.” At this moment North America is going thru a hyper coffee craze which is long over due. As recently as 1 year ago right here in trendy Ann Arbor when I ordered an espresso (usually pronounced expresso) I would be handed this dank little extraction and when I asked the barista if they drank coffee the answer disappointingly was no which was crushing because that left no hope of a common bond with the coffee girl but rather the label: O.W.C.F (old wired coffee freak). Most recently while serving espresso at The Winter Shadow Art Show at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti Michigan I had a kid and his friend who couldn’t even afford $1 for a shot critiquing my brew. So if you don’t have the life experience or the dough for the latest Saeco machine this is the next best thing.

The French Press and the Single Cup Milita pour over filter!
A trick my buddy Jake taught me with the French Press is that you want to put some water in first and then the course ground coffee and then add rest of the water and (just off boil) and stir. Alan Lebowitz of Zingerman's fame recommends a 4 minute steep time and then plunge it.
As for the Militta I follow the advice of my brew master Chris P Donnelley (chrispdonnelly.com) He grinds the coffee and pours on really hot water and his coffee comes out great every time ignoring my directions of dampening the grounds with hot water, steep for 3 minutes and then pour on the hot water.
When I opened the Killer Take Out Stand with Peter Schmidt and Frank Smith back for the wind surfers of the Columbia Gorge at Swell City back in 1989 That's is the only way me made coffee the single cup Milita and it was good.