In our headquarters, every one of us loves a good cup of coffee, and for that, we need two things. First, an excellence coffee bean and second a great set of equipment. In this article, we will review our favorite pour over equipment, the Chemex. For our particular needs, we prefer the 8 cups Chemex, but you should choose one with a capacity that suits your needs.
If you’re not familiar with this type of equipment, this is basically a really fancy pour over coffee maker with the funnel built over its own carafe.
Given the hype explosion over the past few years, you may think that pour over coffee is a recent trend, but you’d be wrong. Among pour over brewers, there is only one that has truly withstood the test of time. Designed by a chemist in 1941, hence the name Chem-ex. It produces extraordinary extractions while keeping variables to a minimum and allowing you to recreate that perfect cup every time.
Due to its success, and with a double-whammy reputation as both a beautiful kitchen tool and a high-quality coffee maker this pour over equipment can be found in most coffee and kitchen stores around the world.
The Chemex is shaped like an oversized hourglass, with the dripper cone sitting directly above the coffee reservoir. Though its design may seem simplistic, each aspect serves a specific purpose: awesome coffee. This brewer is great for someone who enjoys a good cup of manual drip coffee.
The simplicity of the brewer and its filter allow you to experiment with grind consistency, water temperature, pour techniques and coffee varieties. At first, making a good cup of coffee could be difficult for a beginner, but with some practice, anyone can master this process.
Drip coffee often gets a bad reputation for being “weak” in comparison to espresso. But this comparison doesn’t make much sense since we are talking about different brew coffee techniques. A good comparison would be to evaluate the different pour over techniques that exist, for example, Chemex vs Hario V60.
In the “pour over world” the coffee from a Chemex tends to be a bit richer than what you might expect from a drip coffee maker or standard pour over device. This is largely because of the slower brew time caused by the thicker filter. Another way to get the full potential from a Chemex is through ice coffee. This equipment is the perfect tool, as the purity of its brew allows you to cover and refrigerate freshly brewed coffee without losing the flavor profile. Allowing it to be enjoyed at a later time.
The Chemex shares one important design feature with the Hario V60, which is one of pour over coffee’s most famous coffee makers. Just the V60, at the base of the dripper cone is a wide opening. This large opening is one of the biggest reasons the Chemex makes such tasty coffee.
Other pour over brewers have certain barriers to restrict water flow, like a series of small holes in the base or a thick filter, but the Chemex has no such barriers. The large opening places more emphasis on other variables like pouring and grind size to control water flow. This means that you have a bigger say in the quality of coffee than you would with other coffee makers. This feature also gives the Chemex more flexibility. By altering the other elements of your process, you can tailor each brew to bring out the nuances of different roasts.
One of the main reasons why the Chemex stands above the competition is because is heavier and thicker filters. These filters are sturdy enough as not to tear when you remove the wet filter filled with the coffee grounds.
Another annoying problem in pour over coffees are the sediments. There is nothing worse than getting to the end of your cup and seeing the sludge left behind from the smaller coffee grounds that escaped your filter. The Chemex filter eliminates the sediment, so you can enjoy a delightful cup of coffee.
Despite a market awash in alternatives, no other pour over brewer has been around as long as the Chemex. Its timeless design has lasted not only because is it a pretty sight, but because it’s also an excellent brewer. And with a range of different models to choose from and a number of different accessories, it allows you to tailor each brew to your specific tastes. Making it an essential tool in any home brewing fanatics arsenal.
The Chemex is an amazing pour over coffee maker. It produces extraordinary extractions while keeping variables to a minimum and allowing you to recreate that perfect cup every time. And with a range of different models to choose this is a tool that can't miss in any home brewing fanatics arsenal.
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