Reddit reviews CHEMEX Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker - Classic Series - 6-Cup - Exclusive Packaging

This is not a straightforward answer. Sorry.
It really depends on what you want to get out of the cup:

• Do you want a full body? Kalita wave is more temperature stable than other brewers because the wavy filter keeps the coffee away from the brewer. The flat base allows more even extraction.
  
  
• Do you want a really clean cup where you can taste all of the subtle notes? The Hario V60 is a Classic, brews a clean balanced cup. It has a thinner filter and is great for fruity floral coffees.
  
  
• Do you want a clean cup for more people? Chemex has a thicker filter and brews a really clean cup. It also makes it easy to brew for multiple people at once.
  
  
• Do you want the ability to do immersion and pour over? The Clever is really easy to use and is more forgiving than the other methods. You don't necessarily need a gooseneck kettle.
  
  I personally use a V60. The others are all fantastic, you really can't go wrong.

Ok. There's been some great advice in this thread and I don't want to step on anyone's toes. But I went through a similar process when I wanted to stop drinking shit coffee a couple years ago, and this is my current setup.

The Grinder. You want a conical burr grinder. You can do this without breaking the bank: I got a Breville for less than $100 and it kicks ass. Grinds like a boss, whisper quiet, and it looks like a robot.

But why, you ask, should you splurge on the grinder? You could get a little Krups grinder for $15. And that would be great -- if all you wanted, ever, was to drink french pressed or drip coffee. But if you ever want to make espresso, then you need a conical burr grinder. And it sounds like you are going to want to do some experimenting.

The Brewer. My personal thing is this: I don't brew coffee through anything that plugs in. There's just no reason to.

Get yourself a kettle for your stove - I like this one, because you can see that there's nothing growing inside. And you avoid the mineral-y crust that you would have to scrape off of an electric kettle.

Use filtered water. It makes a difference.

Get yourself a simple drip cone or, if you want to be a little fancier, a Chemex carafe. You put a filter in the top, you grind the beans, you put the beans in the filter, you pour hot water over the top of it. The beans get thoroughly steeped and you end up with an even, smooth coffee with little to no bitterness.

Because you've saved so much money on coffee makers, splurge a bit. Get yourself a French press for when you want something with more oomph. And get yourself a little Italian stovetop espresso maker. You put fine espresso grinds in the top, you put water in the bottom, you put the whole thing on the stove - voilà.

There. If you wanted all this shit to plug into the wall you would have spent $1000. But you can get all of this for less than $200.

The Beans. Here's the dirty little secret about coffee beans: freshness matters more than brand. You could get the finest quality beans shipped to you from halfway across the country if you like - but they're going to be stale by the time they get to you.

Here's what you do instead: find a cafe that roasts their own beans and buy from their cafe. They'll have been roasted within the last few weeks. The beans will have this great oily sheen to them - that's how you know they're good. Buy them one package at a time and keep them in an airtight canister. And for christ's sakes, never freeze coffee beans.

There you go! With this setup you can make almost any type of coffee drink available at your local Starbucks, for cheap. There'll be no gunk to clean out of the musty interiors of a complex drip coffee maker. And a lot of this stuff has a great aesthetic, so your kitchen will look fantastic.

Edited for spelling.

Do you mean the Chemex?

Chemex 6-Cup Classic Series Glass Coffee Maker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_IcpLzbY22DTGN

Don't really think it matters whether you choose plastic or porcelain.

V60 - http://www.amazon.com/Hario-VDC-02W-Dripper-Ceramic-Funnel/dp/B000P4D5HG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367811837&sr=8-1&keywords=hario+v60

Chemex - http://www.amazon.com/Chemex-Drip-Coffee-Carafe-Cup/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1367811983&sr=1-1&keywords=chemex

Clever - http://www.amazon.com/ABID-CO-LTD-C-70888-Dripper/dp/B0047W70GY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1367812013&sr=1-1&keywords=clever+coffee+dripper

I feel like these are your best options.

It doesn't get more vintage than Chemex. I have one that's over 50 years old and the coffee it makes tastes superior to pretty much everything.

It might not be the specific one you're looking for, but it's an option.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemex-6-Cup-Wood-Coffee-Maker/dp/B0000YWF5E

if this thing is tall enough for a chemex, then I'm all over it. Can you confirm it will fit this product?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000YWF5E/

These are great, but I've recently moved onto the Chemex beaker because cleaning it is incredibly easy and it makes better iced coffee than any cold brew I've had.

My opinion is simple is best. No one I know with the expensive machines with timers etc. uses them. The coffee they make isn’t any better.

Over the years we have bought many fancy coffee makers. This one makes the best coffee https://www.amazon.com/Chemex-Classic-Pour-over-Glass-Coffeemaker/dp/B0000YWF5E

For espresso and cappuccino you want this https://www.amazon.ca/GROSCHE-Milano-Stovetop-Espresso-Maker/dp/B07KGCYBWH and this https://www.amazon.ca/Cremafacile-cappucino-frother-Biesse-assorted/dp/B002U7F00G

chemex for Japanese iced coffee

I brew directly into a Chemex, I like it a lot more than the carafe that comes with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Chemex-6-Cup-Classic-Glass-Coffee/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1498833354&sr=1-3&keywords=chemex

Also, I have had this grinder for 6 years and it still works perfectly
https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Bistro-Electric-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0043095WW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1498833502&sr=8-10&keywords=coffee+burr+grinder

Just an FYI the V60 is a pretty finicky pourover, it has a pretty steep learning curve and it'd be tough to get a proper grind consistency with a hand grinder (go with the Hario Skerton or minimill btw).

If you want a pourover and are making batches, I'd look at this chemex, it has enough real estate to brew in 700+mL batches, is more forgiving techinique-wise than the V60, and hey, it's sexy.

Or, go for a French Press, they're great if you like your coffee big, bold, and rich. The metal screen getting pushed through the brewed coffee emulsifies the oils instead of filtering them out like a paper filter would, and gives the coffee a really rich, soft, velvety mouthfeel.

You also mentioned the Aeropress: great device, would definitely pick one up at some point (they're cheap), and eight years on I still use mine multiple times a week, but if you only want to buy one brewer right now, I'd avoid it since you can only brew one cup at a time, if you're making coffee for multiple people everyday it gets to be a huge pain in the dick if all you have is the AP (personal experience)

Get yourself one of these, you won't regret it (also save your self $150)

http://www.amazon.com/Chemex-Drip-Coffee-Carafe-Cup/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368723580&sr=1-1&keywords=drip+coffee

Starbucks is shit. Buy her a Chemex, some filters, a cheap yet decent burr grinder and a nice bag of freshly roasted beans. You'll be out about $100, but your mom will thank you and will stop wasting her money on burnt swill.

It's not that important to have a .1g scale if you already have a 1g scale for just starting out: especially with the three coffee making setups (aeropress, clever, and mocha) I mentioned. A 1 gram scale is fine. Instead of a scale and Clever, you could spring for a Chemex and the chemex filters. Chemex's are beautiful pieces and make very clean coffee since the filters are thicker than normal.

I like dark roasts, and prefer African coffee beans if I get a choice in it, they have a nice deep and spicy flavor. I get them as whole roasted beans from a coffee shop in town, which roasts them fresh every couple of days. If you are looking to get into it, you can just search for coffee roasters in your area, and if there really aren't any I'd look for roasters who sell single origin beans online. In a pinch, Starbuck's single origin beans are good too, just really expensive for what they are.

I use a hand mill grinder, a gooseneck kettle, and a Chemex coffee maker and filters. It sounds like a lot, but all that together is still cheaper than a decent drip machine. You grind the beans with the grinder (I use 3 heaping tbps of grounds), bring the water to a boil and then let it sit for a minute (letting it come down just a little in temp keeps the coffee from being acidic, the gooseneck also helps with that). Pour a little on the grounds in the filter, and let it sit for about 30 seconds wet to bloom. Then pour the rest and just let it drip through.

The chemex makes the smoothest, best tasting coffee I've ever had, and I've tried quite a few different methods. If you like it stronger, a french press might be better for you.

Stuff:

Chemex Coffee Maker

Filters

Hand Mill Grinder

Goose Neck Kettle

The one in OP's pic looks like a Hario Skerton

There is lots of info at /r/coffee ..... my recommendation based on my research and my use is the Hario Mini. The Skerton has some downsides as compared to the mini which swayed me to the mini. It's been almost 2 years since I researched so I don't remember exactly the differences.

As for the Aeropress in OP's picture, it is a very fine coffee maker and I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend a Chemex. I use my Chemex daily and the Aeropress frequently.

/r/coffee should have all the info you need.

What I did in your situation was get a Bonavita kettle, used Zassenhaus, and Chemex. There's no way to make good coffee for an office without hiring a barista.

It's a Chemex.

Props for not immediately supporting drinking all the coffee. It's tasty, but sleep is too.

Also, I would recommend a chemex and an electric kettle.

For the price of that baratza encore you can get a porlex hand grinder, which is wonderfully durable and extremely consistent for a hand grinder, a Chemex, and this scale. I apologize in advance for the ugly links - I'm on my phone. This is the setup I use at work and I love it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002JZCF2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404223324&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000YWF5E?cache=9ada7d74e8bb83d5e4a86ca38f89940c&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1404223352&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001RF3XJ2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1404223399&sr=8-1

There are some very affordable burr grinders out there, and it's worth the investment. You'll use it pretty much everyday. Hand grinders can be very cheap, and work great. Hario Skerton is a popular choice (I've seen it around for cheaper, but this is at least what's on amazon). Plenty of options, all varying in price. There's a pretty decent burr grinder from Kona I've used before, which I got for like $20.

But manual grinding can take some time. And if you're like me, and you want some quick coffee in the morning, then it's worth investing in an electric. There are some pretty decent electric burr grinders out there. You really don't have to pay a fortune. Here are a few cheap options:

Capresso Infinity

Bodum Bistro

Baratza Encore

But you can get far snobbier than just grind...

What kind of water are you using? Hopefully filtered, not tap. And definitely not distilled, since you want some of those minerals for flavor. Now, if you want to get even fancier, try using these mineral packets. I think each packet mixes in with 1 gallon of distilled water. I haven't tried it myself (I just use a brita) but I've heard good things. The quality of water makes a huge difference. This was the first "eureka" moment for me, when I moved from tap to filtered.

Next, how are you making your coffee? There are some great, cheap equipment out there. In this sub, here are some pretty cheap and popular choices:

Aeropress

Chemex

Pour-over

French press

We're getting pretty deep in the rabbit hole, right? Not yet! How about measuring the weight of the coffee? Consistency is important. You need the same, proper coffee-to-water ratio for the best cup. You can find people debating over the best scales, some costing hundreds. I'd just get a cheap one if I were you. You can find some decent cheap ones from like $10 to $30. If you want the best bang for your buck, look into American Weigh Scales.

I guess I can mention temperature of water as well. You can get thermometers or even electric kettles with built-in thermometers (like this). I think temperature matters so much more for tea than coffee, but it's something you need to keep in mind for coffee as well.

Here's probably the most important thing, in my opinion: where are you getting your coffee? What is the roast date? Unless you're buying your coffee directly from the roaster, you're probably not buying freshly roasted beans. It makes a world of difference. Try finding a local roaster and getting your beans from them, freshly roasted.

I'm sure there's plenty of other ways you can splurge money on coffee, but I'll let you figure it out!

(edited to fix the links)

This is Chemex. They come in a few different sizes but most of them brew quite a few cups. It's basically for drip coffee but the special part is how the it's designed as well as it's filters.

Well this is gonna get kinda long and will only scratch the surface but I'll break down the pros and cons of some of the most popular entry-level gear in as un-confusing of a way as I can. First up, let's look at grinders.

First off, you want a burr grinder, particularly a conical burr grinder because those blender-y blade grinders they sell at wal-mart for $5 don't get any kind of a consistent grind. Varying sizes in a grind means varying levels of extraction in the cup and that means off flavors. Because burr grinders are more expensive, hand crank conical burr grinders are commonly recommended to beginners because of their lower price point compared to similar quality electrics. They're cheap and work well but do have some drawbacks beyond the extra effort involved in grinding. First, most of them don't have actual grind settings and you adjust the grind size by twisting a wheel until it looks as fine/coarse as you want it to. If you use different brew methods and switch grind size a lot, this can be a bit of a pain. Second, most hand grinders aren't ideal for french press because of the way the burrs are stabilized; they'll give fantastic fine/medium grinds but the coarse grind is a tad inconsistent. That said, I use a hand grinder for french press all the time and am relatively happy with the results. A few common ones are:

The Hario Skerton. I personally have one and love it. As I said, not perfect for french press but it's a durable daily driver that never lets me down and can do an espresso grind damn near as well as a $300 baratza

The hario mini is essentially the same grinder in a different, smaller package. Perfect for travel

The porlex JP-30 is a tad more expensive but has grind settings that, while unmarked, do "click" into place making adjusting grind coarseness a bit easier


If you wanted to go the electric route, I've seen refurbished Baratza encore grinders for around $100. This will give you a mediocre espresso grind but a perfect and much easier drip and french press grind


Next up: preparation methods

French presses use a metal mesh filter, which gives you all of the oils in the cup and lets a tiny bit of really fine coffee solids through, which gives the cup a rich, full-bodied, velvety character They're also very easy to use as there's pretty much one accepted way to brew in them. And here's Philly's own Todd Carmichael demonstrating it. As far as which one to buy, they're all pretty much the same: a glass tube with a stick in it and some mesh on the end of the stick. I like my sterlingpro a lot but the bodum chambord is hugely popular and looks just as nice. Even a cheapo will do the job just as well, though, even if it doesn't look as nice.

pourovers do essentially the same thing as a drip coffee machine just with a lot more input from you, which is good because all but the most ludicrously expensive drip machines are very inconsistent and don't work as well as just doing it your own damn self. With a pourover, you're going to use a kettle or measuring cup with a spout to pour the water over the grounds in a set amount of time (3-4 minutes depending on the grind size) and usually in a very specific manner. Because these use a paper filter, there are no oils or insoluble solids in the cup so the coffee is clearer, tastes cleaner and usually a bit brighter than french press coffee. Popular models include the Hario v60 which is one of the more finicky models. If you decide on one of these, be sure to use a gooseneck kettle like Mr. Carmichael was using in the french press video above. Slightly more forgiving are the kalita wave and the melitta both of which would work fine with a normal kettle so long as it has some type of pour spout. If you want something with very thick filters, so as to produce a very clear cup, and also looks very nice, the chemex is a beautiful thing that produces great coffee, has a built-in carafe, and can make more than one cup at a time. Really more of a replacement for a large-volume drip machine than most pourovers.

The Aeropress is an absurdly popular, extremely versatile, and very well priced coffee brewer which is essentially a huge syringe with a paper filter instead of a needle. There's a thousand recipes online with different ways to use it, all of which produce a different cup.



Also worth noting is that you may want a kettle with temperature control, coffee should be brewed at 195-205F, so knowing what temp your water is helps reduce a lot of the headaches of cooling off boiled water for a vague amount of time. This bonavita is a little on the pricey side but has temp control and a gooseneck, which is always useful

Chemex Classic+Kettle+Hand Grinder+Scale = ~$120

The benefit of this setup is that you get two multi-tasking tools (kettle and scale) for other culinary uses, and that you can scale up over one cup of coffee if you need to.

Here is an overview of how to make pour over coffee.

Yep, it's exactly that. It's what you call a "pour-over". I use a Chemex like this one myself, but it's a bit more expensive. The filters are also a bit pricey.

Ah, gotcha—it's a good question.

A few thoughts:

They exist but they're insanely expensive. Which is obviously prohibitive for most small shops. If I had to guess, I'd assume they're so expensive because they're essentially speciality products and because they need to be as good as a human, which isn't the easier thing in the world.

Pour over brewers are pretty affordable, which is part of the appeal for a lot of folks.

One of the benefits of pour over coffee is that you have a few minutes to chat with the barista as she brews the cup. You lose that with the machine.

I think I mentioned this someone above, but more expensive beans are used for pour over coffee than drip roast, so the savings from a machine would only be the time in labor and probably wouldn't make things at all that much cheaper.

One of the major benefits of pour over is that it's not prepared ahead of time, so there's only so much a machine could speed up the process.

And, finally, people tend to order pour over when they're planning to stay in the cafe for a bit and drip roast to go. There's not really a point to speeding up the process because people order pour over when they're already sticking around.

I use a chemex everyday. Its a pour over, I wanted to suggest it. Love that thing. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vXuUBbP6BBMRH

For Chistmas I would like to upgrade my Father's coffee game. Currently he uses a cheap electric bean grinder and old french press (I think).

I know he is interested in a Chemex, and I've read that a good burl grinder is a big upgrade over electric grinders. Here is what I'm considering buying:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007F183LK

https://www.amazon.com/Chemex-Classic-Pour-over-Glass-Coffeemaker/dp/B0000YWF5E

I assume I'm on the right path. My issue is that I do not know what type of beans to buy him. That part I'm completely lost on. He currently buys 8 o'clock beans, but I've no clue what to buy to expand his horizons.

Chemex coffee maker? That's what I'm giving my mom this xmas. All glass, no BPA or plastic stuff she's paranoid about, and supposed to be a really tasty cup of coffee.

Chemex 6-Cup Classic Series Glass Coffee Maker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000YWF5E/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_S-tyub0Y1PGDW

3-Cup Chemex // Aerobie Aeropress

Mini Ceramic Conical Burr Mill // Electric Burr Grinder (Faster than manual, but inferior grind quality and life)

Immersion Water Boiler // 1 Liter Gooseneck Kettle

/r/Coffee — Join Us.

This plus this plus this

French Press is how I started down the rabbit hole. But coffee is ritual with that I take great pride and joy in making an excellent cup of coffee. I purchase coffee from Counter Culture Coffee and they ship me 2 x 12oz bags every month. I freeze one while working my way through the first bag, I defrost the second bag from the freezer in the refrigerator 48 hours ahead of time then move to storage.

Now I own:

Baratza Encore Grinder which I purchased refurbished from Baratza Link

Chemex link A really beautiful pour over, looks great in your kitchen.

Kalita Wave Link IMHO the best pour over money can buy.

Aeropress link My ride along for any trip and work.

Hario Gooseneck Kettle for Precision Pouring link

Storage; I own two different types This and This

A cheap electric kettle, A kitchen scale, and all my mugs.
I have a Bakers Rack in my kitchen that most of these are displayed. When I make a cold brew after the brew process I store it in a glass milk carton from a Straus Family Milk purchase. (I think the deposit is $3?)

Not all of this is necessary but I love my coffee and I am not afraid to show it. I say for every beginner you owe it to yourself to at least purchase an aeropress, it makes fantastic coffee thats almost foolproof.

Chemex, Bonavita kettle, skerton grinder, knock off scale

So you def pay a little bit for the Chemex aesthetic, but I think it makes a pretty smooth cup and is somewhat forgiving to beginners.

The skerton pro is an excellent hand grinder, when my electric broke I used the hand grinder every day for a semester and had absolutely no problem (I honestly enjoyed the process for a while).

The scale will feel like a knockoff because it is, I got a very similar one (but payed extra for a reseller to put a fancy label on it because I’m not the brightest) and while it works, you’ll def want to invest in something more if you catch the coffee bug

https://www.amazon.com/-/es/gp/aw/d/B074TB9L2D/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Chemex-Classic-Pour-over-Glass-Coffeemaker/dp/B0000YWF5E?th=1&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Skerton-Manual-Grinder-Ceramic/dp/B01MXJI90S

https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV382510V-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40