Walk into any coffee shop and you'll see a wall of bags with roast levels that sound more like wine tasting notes than breakfast fuel. If you're new to this, here's the plain-English version: roast level is how long the beans were cooked, and it changes the flavor. Dark roasts taste smoky and bitter. Light roasts taste bright and acidic. Medium sits in the middle—which is why it's the default for a reason.

The French press, meanwhile, is the simplest brewer that exists. No paper filters, no machines, no buttons. You put coffee in, pour hot water, wait, press. But it's also the easiest to mess up if you don't match the roast to the method. That's where this pairing comes in.