Start with a clean French Press.

Add ground coffee (remember "uniform large particles") according to how much coffee you would like to brew.

Add hot water and stir. Let the coffee steep for 2 to 3 minutes.

Affix the lid to the pot, ensuring that the spout isn't "open".

Slowly "press" the plunger down, if it gets stuck, simply back it up to clear the filter before continuing to press.

About Unknown Tony is the host of the Paleo Magazine Radio podcast, author of "Paleo Grilling: A Modern Caveman's Guide to Cooking with Fire", and Cofounder of Powerful PT, an innovative information resource for Fitness Professionals. He has appeared on numerous local and national television and radio broadcasts and regularly hosts healthy cooking workshops and informational lectures. He is also a full-time Personal Trainer and Wellness Consultant who lives in Jacksonville Florida with his wife Jamie.

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While I have long enjoyed the end result of steeping a satchel of tea in a cup of boiling hot water, it never occurred to me that coffee could be brewed the same way. Ever since I was a wee tot, I associated coffee brewing with noisy appliances and wet, dirty filters filled with used grounds. Needless to say, on Christmas day 2011, my mind was officially blown.It was on this day that I received a Bodum "Chambord" French Press coffee maker. " Duh-doy! " I said to myself as I witnessed the utter simplicity of brewing a "pressed" cup of coffee. As the exquisite smoothness passed beyond my lips I achieved a state of caffeinated bliss that carried me beyond this earthly realm.Recovering from my French-pressed fugue, I began to wonder "Why?" Why was French-pressed coffee's taste so undeniable superiority? It couldn't be attributed solely to it's dashing good looks and obvious "cool" factor. There had to be more to the story than meets the eye. To the internet I went, and within moments, Google produced much information.My first query directed me to CoffeeGeek.com where I learned that French-pressed coffee requires freshly ground coffee beans rendered into "uniform large particles". Such a grind is made possible by using "real" grinders like the "conical burr" models produced by Bodum. Apparently,Next, I navigated to an " Ask the Expert " post on Harvard University's School of Public Health website. There I learned that,This made me feel quite good about rekindling my love affair with coffee, that is, of course, until I came upon this little tidbit:It seemed that this "cafestol" was the compound that gave my French-pressed coffee its delicious body and smooth taste, yet it also seemed to produce a reliably large increase in the low density lipoproteins often associated with heart disease. On to Wikipedia.com I went, where "cafestol" was entered into the search field.Again with the regular consuming and the serum cholesterol raising! My only recourse was to plumb the references for more information that might vindicate my desire to consume regular cups of blessedly unctuous French-pressed coffee (with oh so pleasant notes of dark chocolate and chicory!)The first paper was titled, " Cafestol and Kahweol, Review of Toxicological Literature " and it's worth a read if you like scientific papers and organic chemistry. But here are a few key snippets from the executive summary.First, the researchers give a little background on cafestol and a related compound called kahweol:They also verified the cholesterol-raising effect noted in the Harvard article:But, it seems like cafestol and kahweol may also show potential benefits (at least in animal models):The mechanism for this effect is hypothesized to be related to increased glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity:The research paper concluded with a report on "no known toxic effects" have been related to cafestol or kahweol consumption, so it seems that the consensus veiwpoint is that while it may raise cholesterol levels, it reduces risk of cancer.Continued internet exploration yielded some more information that seems to tip the scales in favor of cafestol consumption by way of French-pressed coffee. It was a New Scientist article titled " Parkinson's protection without caffeine or nicotine " and it summarized research conducted by the University of Washington (however, being that this was in Seattle, there may have been some pressure from a certain multinational coffee conglomerate...cough, cough, Starbucks, cough). Following up on a previous study that linked coffee and cigarette consumption with a decreased risk of Parkinson's disease , the researchers proposed the following hypothesis:So, as I sit here, sipping my delightful cup of cafestol laced coffee, I can take heart in the knowledge that although my LDL is likely on the rise, the future looks bright and lively for my dopamine neurons and glutathione S-transferase activity.