Giving the Chemex a shot

**huntmol** · 05-15-2010, 01:17 AM

Ordered one of these a few days ago, it should arrive pretty soon. I currently use a french press, but I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Anyone used a Chemex before? Any thoughts?

**renoles** · 05-15-2010, 09:01 AM

Have had one for years and use it regularly. One of the best cups of coffee going, IMO. Two things - don't grind the coffee too fine (will clog the filter) and don't let the grounds run dry as you are brewing.

**SiBurning** · 05-15-2010, 05:22 PM

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=109786
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=125039

Thoughts? Enjoy it!

You might have to play around with the grind size, depending on the amount of water and coffee you use, to get the right brewing time. You can also stir the grinds--the filter will stand up to a fair amount of abuse. Play around and experiment. And enjoy it.

Just be careful with it. I'm on my 5th.

**brianw** · 05-15-2010, 05:56 PM

Used one for 30 years. Well not he same one..... Only coffee brewer I have had. As Si said watch your grind sizes and experiment... The Chemex non bleached filters are the best IMHO

**huntmol** · 05-15-2010, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by SiBurning

Just be careful with it. I'm on my 5th.

Uh, oh. Are they really fragile? I figured they'd be made of fairly thick Pyrex or something like that. I can be a klutz sometimes...

**SiBurning** · 05-15-2010, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by huntmol

Uh, oh. Are they really fragile? I figured they'd be made of fairly thick Pyrex or something like that. I can be a klutz sometimes...

I dropped a full 2.5 qt glass water kettle on it from a height of about 4" and nothing happened. I also dropped it once onto the linoleum floor and it survived. But once I tipped it over on the countertop and it smashed. Twice it got crushed in the dish drainer because a pot had settled and moved some other things onto it slightly. Near as I can figure, the top is susceptible to inward and upward pressure--say, towards the apex that a pointed lid would make--but the rest stands up well. So it cracked when a dish or pot pressed inwards at the top, and it shattered when it fell over sideways, yet it survived a drop of 3 feet when it landed on the bottom.

For what it's worth, people say the hand blown ones are thicker glass, so they might be sturdier, but I haven't tried one yet. If this one breaks, my next might be a hand blown version.

**huntmol** · 05-20-2010, 01:15 AM

Have had a chance to use it a few times - I'm seriously impressed with the results. Makes a really outstanding cup of coffee very consistently. I love the control over each specific variable in the brewing process. I think I'm hooked!

**SiBurning** · 05-20-2010, 08:14 PM

BTW

Originally Posted by renoles

Have had one for years and use it regularly. One of the best cups of coffee going, IMO. Two things - don't grind the coffee too fine (will clog the filter) and don't let the grounds run dry as you are brewing.

+1... especially for not letting the grounds go dry or get even close. The water temperature drops mighty fast if the water isn't significantly above the grinds.