All it seems you need to make good apple cider is a variety of apples and an apple press.
In this video, Bill Cepurna demonstrates how to press fresh, tasty apple cider at a special event at Abernathy Elementary School in Portland, Oregon.
Part of the purpose for the event was to connect young students to their food sources. Judging from the faces of the kids, the parents, and those participating, pressing apple cider appears to have been a success. Many school kids learned not only how to make apple cider, they also learned about bread-baking, grinding cornmeal, and worm composting.