The Chemex

Chopstick; why not a straw?

James, what do you think of the “Otto matic” brewer Chemex sells?

Followed Hoffmann’s advise of using a Korean chopstick to prevent air locks. Second use of Chemex: chopstick went right through the glass. My Chemex lived for 2 days in my house. Now it has a small hole in the bottom. Should I hate James, the Chemex, Korean chopsticks or myself now🥲.

The chemex is a bit of a gimmick or hipster bit to me in modern times. you could easily pour over a plastic or ceramic piece for a much better and practical result than the chmx. Aesthetically, it's amazing to look at, but if you want good, serious, and practical coffee - brew into a thermosabd be done with it....

Use a metal straw instead of a chop stick

I went from french press to this on account of filter coffee being allegedly better for your health. I like the fact there is no plastic whatsoever in contact with your hot beverage, which is a nigh impossibility of you are looking for a drip-over coffee machine.

I like my chemex. I have been folding the paper(per Lance vid) so it is 2 sided all the way around. I use an old glass martini stir rod down the chute to prevent airlock. Rinse heavily and you don’t get as much bypass. As you noticed coffee looks and tastes great.

I just got a Chemex for Christmas and it completely changed how I perceive coffee, along with a grinder to start doing whole bean grinds. I actually have been running a reusable stainless steel mesh filter and it seems to work well.
I can't give you specifics on what exactly I'm doing but coming from a drip maker main to a Chemex and just paying a little bit of attention to the technique I have never had better tasting (in my opinion) coffee than I have with this device.
I did first try the Chemex with some pre-ground as I'm used to and even with that, it completely changed the taste of it, then when I added in my new grinder with whole beans that I ground right before brewing, my mind was absolutely blown how smooth and aromatic and pleasant and really, not bitter at all my coffee could be. I felt less compelled to douse my coffee with as much creamer as I was used to, or more likely to just go black, and it was really pleasant.
Great device, 10/10 even with its little caveats.

I finally got a Chemex and Chemex filters and I find my coffees do taste better than from the V60 and its filters, plus it allows me to brew larger batches, so I'm very happy I got it.

Instead of a chopstick, I swipe one of the metal straws my wife uses for her daily smoothie. Because it has a silicone bit up at the bend, it doesn't slip down into the coffee (or clank against the glass) and keeps an airgap open at all times even if my paper technique wasn't 100% that morning.

I use the Funex every morning, and I use the Chemex 8 cup (with square filters) when I have company. A 15 gram charge for the Funex is standard for me. Folding the filter only takes 10 seconds.

A leather collar for the chemex would be easy to remove and easy to tie to the chemex

Mine has a metal fine mesh filter

Instead of a chopstick I use a glass straw. Works beautifully, no risk of impacting flavor.

Hello James. I have a problem, please help me. When approximately 100 milliliters remain to end brew, it stops flowing. My grinder is Comandante c40

I used a metal drinking straw to let the air out, but I got rid of my Chemex. I use the V60.

I find it interesting that people have enough of an issue with the airlock problem for you to spend a decent amount of time on it here and for others to have developed the chopstick hack, because in thousands of Chemex brews I have never had it happen. Maybe it's the one area of life in which I am lucky.

Note sure if it’s a good idea but I’ve been using #4 cone papers

instead of a chop stick a metal straw would work great id think

I like the Chemex when I’m lazy. Doesn’t get simpler than this.

I’ve wanted it… I couldn’t decide how to clean it. Then unable to decide which size . I give up. I love the look. Still need a burr grinder. Still need the measurements (automatic machines took its toll on my lifestyle). Need something to latté my own coffee. Is it too much for first thing in the morning. One more layer of a to do list? I DO LOVE beautiful thinhgs.

Mind the gap

Have you reviewed Chemex Ottomatic?

I have been brewing with a Chemex for only 1 month and I love it! My morning ritual with my Comandante, Mayorga Cafe Cubano, scale and Chemex is such a pleasure. Now that I am retired, I look forward to it each day. Many tips I use, I got from your videos. Thank you.

Bendy straw to prevent airlock? Wont touch brew (bend hooks over spout) and is plastic not wood. You could get one of those steel or silicone bendy straws to have no waste.

I ditched the wooden collar and put on an old arm band. Works like a charm

I am getting into your content now James, and I am deeply resisting making every Christmas and birthday wish espresso gear now lol. A Question for you and the group here: I have been brewing in a Chemex for the last 10 years or so and I noticed you brewed "half" the carafe of coffee. To save money on filters, I have always brewed a full dose, all the way up to the collar, and chilled the second half of the coffee to drink the next day. I like the flavour profile of cold coffee. Do you have any tips for brewing that larger amount? Would you generally advise against brewing that much coffee at once?

I have a bodum made in portugal. It is essentially a chemex but has a permanent stainless filter. I like the lines of the chemex and the narrow chemex even better. My bodum brews delicious coffee but like the chemex needs the bypass at the spout. I use a plastic. Soda straw and it works great. Apiece of silicone rubber would also probably work. I think my bodum has one advantage over the chemex. It can be used without any paper or cloth filter. I tryed it using only the stainlesd mesh filter. I was afraid the coffee fines would clog the microfine perforations but was relieved that basically they didnt. I only had to wipe witb a disinfectant wipe and the holes cleared out fairly well. So now I use 3 filters. Top paper mid.stainless bottom paper and a soda straw to aid flow. Works great best coffee Ive ever had. P.S. I use a tuna can to drizzle the hot water over the quarter size coffee bed. By and large I have no mud if I dont get impatient. Appearance wise I like the narrow chemex. I would have bought the chemex had it been available where I shop. One last caviat the bodum is boro silicate glass which is the original glass used by Pyrex. However you can not use the bodum on a burner. Nor should you use a chemex on a burner! Happy coffee making and good night!😅

I’m amazed that not a lot of people know about this magical piece (Chemex), I’ve falling in love with it in quarantine days since I wanted a change from a boring coffee machine , and since then I bought Chemex 3 times because naturally I unintentionally broke it 2 times 💔. specialty coffee has became a trend recently in where I’m from and I’ve noticed that almost 90% of the people drink V60 or random types of coffee (sweetened, milk, cream whatever) not Chemex for some reason, but the 10% are what is called “elite” 🧳

Any opinions the best large (~10cup) pourover brewer? Was considering one of these but those cons you mentioned in the video would likely annoy me 😁

I don't currently drink coffee, but I've gone on a bit of (really, a lot of) a rabbit hole watching these videos. I absolutely love them, and James has made me seriously consider getting into coffee as a hobby. If I did, I think I would start on the classic Chemex, and it would be ENTIRELY because of emotional attachment. I remember as a kid getting up early in the morning before the sun rose and finding my father making coffee using the Chemex. I had no idea what it was called until watching this video; all I knew was that that shape, those papers, the smell of the coffee, THAT was what coffee was. When I think of home-brewed coffee, the Chemex is what I think of. It's amazing that I've formed such a strong emotional association with it, even though I've never even tasted the coffee that comes from it!

I don't use it very often but I have use a permanent filter instead of paper filter. Yes, I know, the end result is not as clean but I am ok with that.

Hi James.

My wife bought me one of those. It has a metal cone apparatus that acts as sort of a filter. I also use a piece of cloth on top, it provides the real filtering. I wash the cloth and use it again. The Chemex is easy to use, and I think it makes a decent coffee. I don't really like using paper, so the cloth and a cone that holds it on top is great for me.

Cheers.

Thanks for the video.. A friend of mine gave me her classic Chemex as she was moving out of the country. It’s a 6 cup and I obviously don’t want to make 6 cups just for myself, so what’s a good ratio/guide to make a smaller batch in this vessel? Would really appreciate it!

The coffee looks watery and rubbish tbh

from italian espresso to this thing...we're going backwards...🤭🤭

If you’re using the folded chemex papers, make sure the triple layer is aligned with the spout and that should prevent an air lock

Oct 01, 2023

🤎☕International Coffee Day☕🤎

Wonderfully done!

James! Please talk about Brazilian cofee, how to identify the best quality br cofee and what about it!

I've just been using plain cone filters and a metal cone filter that came with my Chemex. Didn't realize that wasn't how it should be done since it all came together. I do about 20g of coffee to about 20 oz of water, and it makes a perfect sized single cup for me in the morning. I have my 2 cups and don't have to worry about left over coffee like a drip, or no control over sizes like Kurig machines. Now I want to try some of these different hacks and measurements to see what differences I can have. I'm trying to figure out if I go through my coffee beans with the Chemex as I did with drip and it' costing me more, or if it's about the same

Is there a maximum amount of coffee (g) you would brew in the standard 6 cup chemex? Can you, for example, make 3 cups of coffee using 45g / 750g water, even though this seems to max out the chemex a bit? At what point do you suggest a bigger chemex?

Air locking was definitely an issue for me I would counteract it by sticking a silicone gasket from a Moka pot on top and when air tries to push out the silicone it kind of do this bubbly thing where the air pushes up it will kind of bubble and gurgle kind of like flipping a milk jug upside down but vice versa.

Mine came with a stainless filter ..

for spacing the filter from the brewer i usually use a metal straw to create a vent vs just a chopstick

Use the Lance Hedrick hack to solve the problem of having three sheets of paper on one side and one on the other.
A pair of scissors and a simple cut and fold and you have an even filter with two sheets of filter paper on each side.

I’d like to see further comparisons with the Hario V60, since they’re so similar.

Would the recipe change based on whether you're making a full pot, say in the 10-cup Chemex, vs. a single cup?