REVIEW - Finally got my Chemex in..first impressions

first, i don't like the way they nickel and dime you to death AT ALL just like the big green egg.

while a 8 cup** (**another rant coming shortly on this) chemex will run you about $40, there are several things you will need in addition to that if you don't already have them.

1. you will have to buy a decent tea kettle (preferably one with a goose neck because of how you have to pour the water into the chemex)

2. it doesn't come with a trivet so if you have an electric range (i dont) you'll need one if you plan to put your chemex on the stove on low to keep the carafe warm.

3. it also doesn't come with a 'cap' (an alternative to keep the carafe warm) so expect to spend more money on a damn glass cap if you don't want to leave it on the stove to keep the coffee warm.

4. filters are funky, expensive and not always easy to find. because of how they work, you essentially have a folded napkin that is used as the filter with 4 sides of the napkin going against the carafe opening. $8 for 100 filters (or is it 50?) isn't bad unless you can't find them & have to order them & pay tax & shipping on top of that plus waiting a week for them to come in because you didn't realize you were almost out. HINT - whole foods carries the filters so if you're out, you can grab some there.

ok, if you get past the nonsense above, you can get by with a $9 glass teapot from amazon.

the next issue is the fact i couldn't figure out what a damn "cup" is and what an "8 cup carafe" means. it wouldn't measure right when i put water in. i tried 8oz (WAY TOO MUCH) and 6oz (also too much). the box doesn't say a damn thing either. no no, just use the term 'cups' and DON'T GIVE A CAPACITY FREAKING ANYWHERE.

of course, my friend the internet helped and told me chemex uses '5oz = cup' system.

nice.

ok, so now that i've gotten past the bullshite measurements and accoutrements, how did it work?


ok this makes a damn good cup of coffee.

i mean...DAMN GOOD. its so smooth. the only problem is i'm worried by the time i get all 40oz (yep, 40oz = 8 cups) to seep through the paper, the coffee will be cold.

protip: keep the teapot on the stove as you're pouring so it doesn't get too cold since it will take probably 4-5 minutes to get all the water through the coffee grounds.

i poured in just a bit of water so it would 'bloom' and then kept the water going around the edges so as the coffee grounds would form a ring around the paper, i could keep washing them back into the middle so they didn't lose their punch.

so, this was a bit more complicated on the first attempt than i was planning, but its well worth it. now i leave the water measured in the teapot on the stove the night before, flip the gas on and go take a dump, come back & hit the grinder and go.


OH, and the "8" setting on the cusinart grinder i have works pretty well. i think that's maybe a 1/2 tablespoon more grounds than it calls for, but its close enough and i like my coffee stronger anyway.

so, 2 thumbs up..just make sure you have all the doo-dads you need before you get started.

it would be nice if chemex would just add another $5-$10 to the price of the carafe and include 25 filters, a trivet and a lid. i hate having to 'learn' i need to buy stuff after the purchase.