When I read the reviews of this product, I was a little skeptical. I started drinking coffee, maybe ten years ago. After the usual drip machine, I went to a French press. Then I went to Aeropress (which is a good method but it is too expensive because it uses too much coffee). Finally, my old Cuisinart machine died, and I went looking for a replacement. I was looking for the ultimate machine that would get 5 stars; there isn't such a machine. The highest I found was the Chemex, which got 4 and a half stars(plus). I became intrigued, read ALL the reviews and went on to Utube to see how you are supposed to use this method. It's pretty simple; you heat up water to 200 or so degrees (I have a Cusinart electric pot I bought for tea which has a 200 degree setting), fold one of the special heavy duty chemex filters (and yes, use them, they really are better; that's half the reason this system works so well); others suggest you wet the filter; I agree, it seems to make things flow a little better) and put it in the top opening of the glass container. You put your coffee in (a tablespoon for each 5 oz is their recommendation), and put a slight indentation with your finger or something in the center of the coffee. You then pour just a little liquid in the center, then around the edges, gradually filling the cone with water (and raising the coffee off the cone). Gradually (don't just dump it in really quickly) pour all the water into the cone filter. It takes a minute or two for the water to drain down, but when it does, you have the best coffee you can possibly make. Of course, the quality of coffee is dependent on two other factors, one, a clean excellent water source, and two, FRESH (burr ground beans within a day or less for maximum taste) high quality coffee. This is not a machine per se, it is a method that has been tested for a bunch of years, and it really works. The downside is if you are in a hurry or you simply don't have time in the morning, this will not work for you as you have to have a few minutes and, most important, some patience. I have written over 350 reviews on products for Amazon, and this is, by far, my most enthusiastic euphoria with a product. It's like I found the magic bottle (glass), and it has fulfilled my wish (perfect coffee). You know, I've said so much (and so little when you analyze it), so here are a few final comments about the coffee produced. First, it is really smooth; it is absolutely NOT bitter at all, and it just looks clear and clean in a brown way. It's so good that my wife (I made her try it) who doesn't drink coffee even admitted it was very good (which coming from her is like a miracle). Clean up is very easy (other reviewers said this too); you just throw away the coffee in the paper filter and rinse the container out. I always rinse it right away, if you let it sit, you may have some problems cleaning it. The collar, two pieces of wood fitted around the neck of the glass, is held on by a rawhide cord; you can easily take this off (but why, if you just rinse out the unit each time, it is superfluous to mess with the collar). One more little trick I thought of (all by myself) is I heat the cup I am going to pour my coffee into with hot water prior to my putting the finished coffee into it. (And if I am putting in milk, I heat the milk to get it warm). This allows the coffee to be warm longer as when it comes out of the container as it isn't that hot (you can reheat it with a microwave, but I sometimes wonder if that does affect the taste). Oh, one more little thing, it says 6 cup, they are assuming a cup is 5 ounces, to me a cup is 8 ounces, so if you need a larger than say, 4 cups, go with a bigger size. Any comments are appreciated! Postscript: I also now use a double walled glass to put the prepared coffee in (16 ounce) as it keeps the coffee hot much longer (like up to 25 minutes, depending on how hot the coffee is to start). I also put dried egg shells in my filter before I put in the coffee; the egg shells help make the coffee even milder (if that is possible) and add a little calcium to the coffee, or so I have read. I take this all very seriously. Read more
Im an amateur coffee geek, there Ive said it, whew. What a relief. As a result of this, when Im at home I have many different ways to make coffee at my disposal. I had been looking at a Chemex for awhile, not sure how long, but I was intrigued by the simplicity of the device, and that it doesn't require its own power source, but with drip coffee makers, espresso machines, AeroPress, and French Press in my kitchen, I just didn't want to add another relatively large coffee device to my home. And then it happened. We were just about to come home from a recent vacation, where the coffee was free, but just ok, not even very good, the house sitter announced the disaster that she has encountered and was just about to be revealed. The French Press had fallen from the dish drying rack and broken. Oh the horror. Don't worry no house sitters were harmed in the making of this review. Enter the chance at a Chemex. I ordered one and it arrived a few days later thanks to the wonders of Amazon Prime and UPS. A few days after that I had the opportunity to open the box and explore the new coffee gear. The coffeemaker itself is very simple. Just glass with a collar make of wood and retained by a leather thong, simple and utilitarian. The glass is of reasonable quality not quite as think as a pint glass, maybe the same quality as a mason jar. It is an attractive device with its smooth simple lines. When full its not a light pour, so I recommend a good grip on the collar, and if you have it, a finger on the stem of the lid. Making coffee is simple, but not without work. The steps are simple in principle, add the filter, add the coffee, add the water and wait. However its not quite that straight forward. First, rinsing the filter is in your best interest. I recommend placing the filter into the vessel, and then rising it completely, wetting the entire paper, and then dumping the water maybe into a plant so its not just wasted. Doing this will help keep the paper pulp taste out of your coffee. You can skip this step, but you will know that you did this since there will be some chewed cardboard flavor in your cup, which I presume that you do not want. After the filter is in place, add the coffee. It can be any coffee really, Ive used drip grind and espresso grind just in my experimentation so far. These both work, but clearly the espresso grind will extend your brew time. From there you pour in the water. If you search for directions or watch videos on youtube you will see that there are many opinions on pouring water, who would have guess it, but yes, many people have many opinions on the right way to pour water. I pour the water in slowly, wetting the grinds fully and then letting them settle a bit before pouring more water. This is truly the most labor intensive part of this brewing method. Reason being that the top of the Chemex holds about 2 cups of water, so if you are making more than that you have a regular cadence of adding more water to the top as it brews and drains to the bottom. In this way this is not a fully unattended brewing method and it requires a bit more time dedicated to making the coffee. Its not long, and not hard, but just a different step for this device. Once your desired amount of water has filtered through the desired amount of grinds, remove the filter, and you can pour the coffee into your favorite mug and drink. The resulting brew is very clean and very smooth. The filters do an amazing job of keeping all the silt out of the drink. The coffee is smooth and creamy, with lots of body and very litter bitterness. The Chemex holds the coffee indefinitely and when you've poured off the last of the coffee the bottom is clean since only the liquid coffee made it through. Just a quick rinse and its ready for the next brew. Im glad that I have purchased this, and will continue to use this when I have a few (5-10 minutes) to invest in great coffee in the morning. This review brought to you by the Chemex and Jittery Joes Espresso Blend, Dark Roast 12oz Whole Bean Read more
Perfect coffee maker! This is the one! I've tried the K-cup machines and even with stainless steel reusable K-cups, I was always aware of all that plastic. I also tried the AeroPress coffee makers, but, like a French Press, I found them to be a little too labor intensive for my lazy ass, despite making a decent cup of coffee. Enter this one, the Chemex Pour-Over (6 cup) glass coffee maker - THIS IS THE ONE! I love it, especially when paired with my little digital scale that I place the Chemex on, to meter out the water and the coffee, and my new goosenck kettle with the dedicated "coffee" (208F) button and the "Hold temp" button, which keeps the water at the perfect temp while I am waiting for the water to flow through the Chemex filter into the glass bottom. So easy, fun and makes a perfect cup and the best of all....absolutely NO PLASTIC or aluminum coming in contact with my coffee/water and NO CLEANUP!!!! Just turf the Chemex filter into the trash when done, rinse out the Chemex, and it's done! Read more
