Chemex Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker - Classic Series - 8-Cup - Exclusive Packaging

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

Although it was designed in 1941, Chemex coffee pots remain the simplest, most easy to use coffee maker on the market. And the high-quality Chemex filters allow you to “espresso” grind without tears or grounds in the pot. I finely grind my French Roast beans and pour the ground coffee into the filter. Then I place my Chemex on a cast iron plate on my stove top at low (2) heat and pour the hot water over the grounds. You will need to discover your own coffee strength through trial and error. I like my coffee strong and I like the fine grind that creates all the flavor I’m looking for as the water quickly passes through the grounds. The improvement in coffee flavor is incredible. Strong, smooth and no bitterness. Chemex uses less energy than my old percolator (which took about 15 minutes of energy to brew) We have a hot water tap and now I just get a cup of hot water from the sink and pour it over. It’s easy to clean—see my picture above—once a week I put a couple tablespoons of vinegar in and fill it with hot water to let it soak. That helps remove any kind of coffee residue. About once a month I shake a little bit of Bon Ami into the bottom of the pot, add water, add a paper towel and use a wooden spoon to swirl off any build up. It’s an easy, two-minute operation and the results are like new, and sparkling! Easy to wipe the exterior to a sparkle too! It’s beautiful to look at. But respect the glass: It should be handled only by experienced hands. Every few years we knock it off the counter and it breaks then we hurriedly replace it because we are spoiled by the great flavor and ease of use. Coffee afficianados, stop looking for another pot: in Chemex you will discover your coffee Nirvana. But remember, Nirvana is not achieved in a day.

I drink a lot of coffee everyday and really enjoy the process of making the coffee. Prior to getting the Chemex I used a Bodum french press every day. I loved my french presses, but I managed to shatter two glass ones, and most recently my plastic one developed a bunch of cracks, so I thought it was time to try something new. The Chemex is just as likely to fall victim to me being a klutz, but I still wanted to give it a try, especially because coffee snobs often say that it makes the best cup of coffee. The device it self is very nice looking and feels good in the hand. The box includes the Chemex and a very small instruction sheet. I would recommend going to youtube and watching some videos on how to brew with the Chemex because there are a multitude of ways that people like to do it. I've only used it twice so far, but I have to say that it makes really delicious coffee. I don't usually care for drip style coffee makers because I think that the flavor is not a bold as you get from a french press, but the Chemex delivers the same amount of flavor that my french presses did. The upside to the Chemex is that you don't have the sediment in the coffee like you get with a french press. I didn't think the sediment bothered me for the past 6 years that I have been using a french press, but now that I have used the Chemex I realize that I was missing out. The downside of the Chemex is that it is definitely more labor intensive than a french press, and certainly more so than a drip coffee maker. It requires attention during the brewing process, you have to continue to pour water on the grounds until you have brewed the desired amount of coffee. I don't mind doing this, but I could see it being a problem if you had to hurry out your door every morning. The clean up process is nice and easy, just trash the filter and rinse out the Chemex, which is quicker than having to wash out a french press. Overall, I am loving the Chemex after the first couple of uses. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a really good cup of coffee and also enjoys being a part of the brewing process.

I'm not what most would consider a coffee connoiseur. I simply enjoy great cups of coffee. I've had the great honor of having amazing coffee throughout europe, at many 5-star hotels, in dive coffee shops that know what they are doing, and the best coffee ever at the Blue Bottle in San Francisco. These are things I have purchased, not made. At home I have, historically, simply bought middle-of-the-road pre-ground coffee and put it in a normal "set it and forget it" braun coffeemaker. I then typically add a bit of sugar and some half and half. Done. However, I grew tired of the inconsistency I felt I'd get from that process and the middling cups of coffee. Sometimes too weak, sometimes too bitter. So I started looking into the more "old school" ways. The french press and handpouring. Obviously, the chemex was my choice and I received it on Christmas Day 2011, so this review is after using it now maybe 15 times. I love the simple design - it's basically a very thick beaker with a beautiful wooden wrap-around and a simple leather strap. The glass has an outstanding sunken fluid slide built into it for pouring - it pours outstanding. It's these little things that you really enjoy every morning. I watched a simple youtube video on use. It's fairly straightforward. It takes 6 total minutes to make the coffee and no additional time compared to a automatic drip - I'm serious, I timed it. I put 2 cups of water into a tea kettle and put it on heat, put the filter in the chemex, 4-5 scoops of coffee (still learning the precise amount I like), and then get the coffee cup out, put sugar and half and half in it, and by then the tea kettle is usually almost at the perfect temp. ... You can learn the right way to pour the water in via youtube. The results: Coffee is flavorful and rich and amazingly lacking of bitterness. I've heard this is from the filter - catching the bitter oils much better than normal filters. But the coffee is simply very good. If you expect coffee to stay hot in a glass beaker, you will not be pleased - it won't stay hot. Use a thermos if you want it kept warm without heating it somehow. There's nothing to clean - just rinse it out each time and it's good to go. No plastic tubes to worry about. The filter catches all the grounds, so those aren't floating around anywhere.

We love this coffee maker. It makes fantastic coffee. This was a replacement for one that broke. It feels a little fragile, but is reasonably durable, it just couldn’t handle one of our kids’ handling. For more than one person, you need the big one.

When our BUNN speed brew died one year after purchase, I decided to go back to basics. Boy, am I glad. The Chemex makes the best cup of brewed coffee I have ever made at home. Yes, use high-quality coffee beans and a burr grinder. Yes, use fresh filtered water. Yes, use a scale. Yes, it takes a little more devotion than setting a timer or pushing a button, but it is 100% worth all the effort. After watching a couple YouTube videos and playing around with coffee/water ratios, which took limited time, I had my routine down. We bought the gooseneck Chemex kettle too, which I also highly recommend. Cleaning the vessel is easy (I use a fluffy bottle brush and vinegar water). Maximum capacity makes enough coffee for three of us in the morning, although I admit, I end up making a second carafe some afternoons. Our glass stovetop has a "keep warm" burner, which maintains the perfect temperature. If it did not, I would likely use a thermos. I recommend rinsing the filter (watch those YouTube tutorials and you'll see what I mean) for two reasons. 1.) it rinses the paper filter and 2.) the small amount of water needed to do so pre-heats the Chemex vessel (yes, dump that water before beginning the brewing process). In summary, with a modest amount of expense of both cash and time, the perfect cup of coffee is just 15 minutes away.

I work with an arrogant coffee snob, who does nothing but wank on about how superior his taste is to everyone else's. In fact, no one knows ANYTHING about food or coffee or art but him. He's the world's expert on everything. So when I was setting up our new office, I left it up to HIM to decide our method for brewing. I knew he would choose this. To be fair, it's an easy set up. You can't get much simpler! As far as clean up; it's certainly easier to clean than a regular old drip coffee maker. (Drip coffee maker? The HORROR! He wouldn't be caught DEAD drinking from one and he'd rather die of a caffeine-withdrawal headache than do so.) It's pretty to look at and so far I have not managed to break it, so I think it's a very good product. I like the coffee it makes. Of course, Coffee Snob puts in about 10 tablespoons for 2 cups of coffee. I put 3-4 tablespoons for 2 cups of coffee and my brew is crisp and clean and delicious. His method makes coffee mud, but of course, I'm an unwashed plebian, so what do I know about flavor? This is not the coffee maker for you if, like me, you can hardly function in the morning without your morning coffee. It takes just a bit longer to brew.... because you have to carefully and slowly pour the hot water over the grounds. You can't just make it and leave it like you would with a coffee maker. The wait can be excruciating if you are really dragging. But if you are a bonafide coffee snob, this painful process is what makes the coffee WORTH IT. That's what I hear anyway. Enjoy!

Great product and looks nice out on a shelf too