Chemex Coffee

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forty_caliber

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My name is forty_caliber and I am a coffee addict. I love coffee...

It seems to me that I'm not alone. Coffee has been an important part of our culture for many years and plays an important role in the worlds economy. Over the years of I've had the opportunity of trying many different ways to brew coffee at home. Almost every electric coffee appliance I've owned eventually quit working for one reason or another. Others, I just got tired of fussing with, or they were too hard to clean and maintain.

I've tried em all, auto drip (with all the bells and whistles), Keurig, Senseo, Tassimo, smaller home expresso makers, and non-electric stove top types like bialetti, french press, and percolators.

None of them...not one...holds a candle to Chemex. Get your hands on one of these and try it out.

For those that don't know about them here is a little history. It was invented by Peter Schlumbohm in 1941. He was German chemist and inventor who later immigrated to the United States. He basically worked out the best way to extract coffee in the lab and the Chemex was born.

Simplicity itself. Easy to clean and easy to use. It takes 5 minutes to master and will run circles around your Mr. Coffee. The award winning brewer has been hailed as one of the top 100 inventions of modern times and is on permanent display in the Smithsonian, and New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Special filters are the key to the process. 3x thicker than ordinary coffee filters they capture all of the bitter oils and leave them behind.

There are 3 basic models in different sizes available and all made from borosilicate glass:
Hand made with split wood handle and rawhide tie (~$90)
Machine made classic with same handle (~$35)
Machine made with glass handle (~$35)

The Hand made models are at least twice as thick as the machine made models but are more than twice as expensive. Treated with respect, it will last a lifetime. Attached picture is one of the hand-made models.

You are in total control of entire process. Variables include, amount of water and temperature, type of coffee, amount and grind of coffee, bloom and steep times. It can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. The result is a pristine cup with more body than Auto Drip but no solids like a french press.

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I am like you 40. I love my coffee and have tried most methods and am on the hunt for the perfect one. I have heard of Chemex, but never tried it. Thanks to your post I just may have to.

The best I have found is using the cold brew method. Have you tried that? The only catch for me with that method though is that it is only good for iced coffee. When I drink my coffee hot I like it hot, not warm, and with the cold brew method, unless I boil a separate pot of water (which I could do, but am too lazy to do) then my resulting cup is just not hot enough for me. For iced coffee though it is simply amazing. I have a feeling the Chemex is similar in results as they both remove much of the bitterness and acidity.
 
I am like you 40. I love my coffee and have tried most methods and am on the hunt for the perfect one. I have heard of Chemex, but never tried it. Thanks to your post I just may have to.

The best I have found is using the cold brew method. Have you tried that? The only catch for me with that method though is that it is only good for iced coffee. When I drink my coffee hot I like it hot, not warm, and with the cold brew method, unless I boil a separate pot of water (which I could do, but am too lazy to do) then my resulting cup is just not hot enough for me. For iced coffee though it is simply amazing. I have a feeling the Chemex is similar in results as they both remove much of the bitterness and acidity.

I've seen the cold brewers in the store but never tried it. Like you I'm not really excited about cold coffee.

.40
 
Do you like iced coffee?

I have a brewer, but it is not needed. Just take 8oz of coffee and add it to 6 cups of water. Let it sit about 12 hours then strain. This gives you the coffee concentrate which will last a few weeks in the fridge. I mix it with 50% water to drink, but if you like it weaker than you can use more water or for stronger use less.
 
Do you like iced coffee?

I have a brewer, but it is not needed. Just take 8oz of coffee and add it to 6 cups of water. Let it sit about 12 hours then strain. This gives you the coffee concentrate which will last a few weeks in the fridge. I mix it with 50% water to drink, but if you like it weaker than you can use more water or for stronger use less.

I usually prefer hot coffee but I do make iced coffee on occasion. Most common cold drink in our household is tea.

.40
 
I reckon I am in the major minority with the way I like coffee best.
It doesn't take a lot of equipment and likely would cause a coffee connoisseur to have a heart attack..maybe I am just old fashioned, out of time, and out of place.
The way we make coffee at rendezvous has been tried and true for the past thirty years and nary a complaint.
Fill your coffee boiler with water up to the spout opening, reach into the sack where you keep yer coffee, throw a couple handfuls in (this is BIG coffee boiler), put the lid on and set it over the fire. When it boils over, remove it from the fire and pour a cup of cold water into the boiler. The grounds will sink to the bottom. Mighty fine coffee....'course the last cup or so will have grounds in it, but IMHO it is a great way to make coffee.
I know....i know.....heresy!!! :LOL:
 
Thanks .40, I have a couple of Pyrex pots and love those. I'm still crazy about the Keurig at this point. I think Dad has an old Chemex somewhere. Where do you get the filters?
 
Chemex? Sounds very medicinal.

I like my Krups KP1010 Home Cafe pod coffeemaker. It makes either 1 cup, or 2 cups side by each, at a time, and if I want iced coffee it doesn't take long for the coffee to get cold.

kp1010_cup_coffee_maker_485152.jpg


I also have a Perfect Pod Maker and special filters so I can make my own pods with my own coffee, at the strength I like. Standard pods are, I believe, 7g and bold coffee pods are around 9g. I can easily make a 15g pod with my Perfect Pod Maker and finesse it into the machine without too much trouble.

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I also use it for tea. My son formerly worked for Gypsy Tea Company, so I have these huge aluminium zip-lock bags full of a variety of loose teas I can put into pods to make hot tea.

images



Oh, and the coffee grounds, tea leaves, and filter papers are biodegradable. Unfortunately the aluminium bags are not.
 
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Do I understand how this works?

The filter and coffee go in the top. Hot water is poured in and the brewed coffee drains down into the bottom. Or am I missing something?
 
It's that simple. There is some technique to it but it's not hard. The filters are the key.

Intelligentsia Chemex Brewing Guide on Vimeo

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The quality of the filter and the grind of the coffee seem to be paramount to the quality of the brew. Of course the quality of the coffee and the water temp are always key. What kind of a grind is used?

You could really do this with a funnel and carafe.
 
The quality of the filter and the grind of the coffee seem to be paramount to the quality of the brew. Of course the quality of the coffee and the water temp are always key. What kind of a grind is used?

You could really do this with a funnel and carafe.

I use a Cuisinart burr grinder set a couple of clicks below medium. Water is just off the boil...about 200 degrees. The design started in a chemistry lab with a flask and a funnel!
 
Didn't Melita sell a cone and filter unit you placed on top of your coffee cup and poured hot water through about a hundred years ago or so?

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Didn't Melita sell a cone and filter unit you placed on top of your coffee cup and poured hot water through about a hundred years ago or so?

I remember those. Same principle. This is just a larger scale with better filtration. The 8 cup model makes about 40 ounces of coffee.
 
About how long does it take for 40 ounces of water to become 40 ounces of coffee?

Great question. They say it should take no longer than 4 minutes start to finish from the time the water first hits the coffee. This is dependent on the size of the grind. Too fine and the water won't drain well. To coarse and you don't get a good extraction.

Wet the grounds but don't let them float and let them "bloom" for 30 seconds. They will release gases during this time and expand.

Slowly fill the upper half of the brewer with water but don't overflow and let it drain. 1 minute 30 seconds.

Refill the upper half of the brewer with water and let it drain. By this time the filter is getting full of particulates and it takes a little longer. 2 minutes.

.40
 
So an Erlenmeyer Flask and a funnel...I may have that in the back closet. Thanks for the info on the filters...I'm headed for Amazon!

I have fixed many cups of laboratory coffee, in many different vessels.
 
This has been an interesting thread for me. A few weeks ago the heating unit on my coffee maker went so I tossed the machine. I kept the pot and the coffee basket. Now I guess I am using the Melitta method, with my scrap parts. It has worked so well that the few times I have been in a store that sells small appliances I forget to look for a new one. Eventually I will get one but, for now I am enjoying the extra counter space. I may go back to the pyrex percolator. The gentle sound and the aroma are very comforting while I stagger around the kitchen in my morning fog.
 
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