Place the base over the cup with the milk, place the reservoir on top of that and add coffee. Recipes vary here. I experimented and found two tablespoons was right for me. The dry grounds have a tendency to slip through the perforations. I stop this by adding a teaspoon or so of water before I put the gravity press on top of the grounds. Once the gravity press is in place, add hot water (about 200 degrees is good) slowly until it fills the reservoir then place the lid on top of the reservoir. Now the brewing has started. This takes about 3 – 5 minutes and if clear coffee cups are used, it can be cool to watch the dark coffee drip on to the sweetened condensed milk.