Customer Reviews

Chemex Classic Series Glass Coffeemaker, 3 cup capacity

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This product does not plug into an outlet, has no buttons and doesn't beep when ready. If you're not willing to pour hot water over coffee grounds, this probably isn't the system for you. But if you're willing to put in a little extra effort for a lot of extra flavor, read on.

I had a traditional coffee maker, one that allows the grinds to sit in a cupcake filter inside a plastic container while near boiling water filters through. Hot water --> plastic --> consumption is probably not good. That coffee maker now resides in the break room of an office building.

I also have a french press, which makes pretty decent non-plastic coffee, but I don't like the grittiness of my frequent "cowboy" cups. So I reserved the french press for my tea, and started looking at other coffee brewing systems. The Aerobie Aeropress is hailed to make the perfect cup of coffee, but I ran into the heated plastic issue again. So that was out.

Chemex just makes sense. It's a simple design that comes in different sizes. You must use the Chemex filters, which are easy to fold into the required conical shape. Directions give a 5oz. water to 1 T. coffee ratio (I like my coffee a bit stronger, though). I have instant hot water (they recommend 200F), and find this temp works perfectly, so I don't have to heat my water in a kettle first. Chemex really highlights the blooming process in making coffee, and this is such an important step for flavor extraction.

It really makes a smooth, rich cup of coffee (granted, the quality of coffee depends on the quality of beans you use--and grind immediately before brewing!). I bought the glass lid, and please know that it DOES NOT FIT THIS SMALL MODEL. Cleanup is super easy--just rinse and invert to air dry.

When combined with the Chemex filter paper, this little coffee maker makes superb drip coffee. I heat 16 oz of water in the microwave in a measuring cup and pour the water into the coffee in the filter paper about 5-6 ozs at a time. The filter paper really does a great job removing bitterness from the coffee.

Years ago a friend of mine showed me how to make the best tasting coffee. He took a plain piece of paper towel from a kitchen roll and laid it on the top of a regular coffee mug. He put a couple of spoonfuls of ordinary ground coffee in the towel and slowly poured hot water over the coffee until the mug was full. It was a delicate and somewhat messy operation, but it was the best coffee I ever tasted. The Chemex coffee maker achieves the same results in a more organized fashion with far superior paper filters that were specifically designed for drip brewed coffee. This is the easiest and best way to make coffe by far. The Costa Ricans use a similar method and that speaks for itself.

Summary: 5 stars for the coffee. 2 stars for this carafe and the troublesome wooden collar. Steer clear and buy the other 3 cup Chemex with the glass handle!

Detail: The coffee you'll get from a Chemex system is all that's promised! I bought the 3-cup carafes with wood collar based on the glowing reviews. Also invested in four boxes of filters to stock up for the year; all-in that's a lot of money for "morning joe", but I prescribe to the old notion that life is too short for bad coffee.

Yep, the coffee is great. But the clean-up process is extremely annoying in that you must untie the leather thong and remove the wooden collar sections to fully do the job. You can just rinse the interior after each use but then exterior stays a little greasy. Chemex advises that the wood should not get wet. Still the yield from the system was good enough to warrant the extra bother.

Then, after three weeks use, I noticed a growing fissure/crack in the glass right in the notched channel in the pouring spout. I've returned the item for credit and replaced it with the Chemex 3 cup carafe with the *glass* handle.

I like that one much better already, both for cleaning ease and because the glass handle does not heat up. The wooden collar insulated the carafe okay, but still got pretty hot to the touch.

I'm following the Chemex's instructions to the letter so I'm assuming the glass cracking was just one of those things. Should this new one crack within the first few months for any reason other than mishandling I may abandon the system. I hope not because it makes fine coffee and I'm a tough judge.

I purchased this pot recently as a bit of a "nostalgia trip." A college friend and I used to brew with a chemex pot back in the 70's proclaiming there was no coffee that tasted better. Guess what? After using every coffee pot/system imaginable through the years, including a Keurig, this is STILL the best cup of coffee I have ever had! I have now experimented with all kinds of expensive coffee and guess what tastes just divine in this pot? Yuban or Folger's 100% Columbian! I brew my coffee pretty strong and it is never bitter in this pot.
The 1-3 cup brews just enough coffee for me, about 2 mugs. The instructions say it is okay to leave the pot on a warm burner if your stove is a glass top like mine. I pour my first mug and then put the pot on the burner I used to boil the water in the tea kettle. (with the burner turned off of course) I have found the burner retains just the right amount of heat to keep my second cup at perfect temperature. Be sure and use the chemex filters. I really didn't think it would make that big a difference, but I found that other, even good quality cone filters tend to fall apart.

This is a wonderful coffee maker, absolutely the best cup of home-brewed coffee I've ever had and I would have given it five stars; HOWEVER, the three-cup model is made of thin glass and isn't very wide, so it tips over easily. I have so far had three of this model and all have broken within a year in the sink. I am ordering the six-cup model with the hope that the larger diameter of the base will prevent such easy breakage. Otherwise, this is an ideal way to make great coffee for just yourself.

I've been using a Chemex coffeemaker for five years now. I was tired of using the plastic drip coffeemakers, since I don't like the idea of hot water leaching chemicals out of plastic. I think it affects the taste, and I wanted something safe, like glass.

So I went searching and found this coffeemaker. It's simple and is made entirely of glass (except for the wooden ring around the 'waist' and a leather tie place around the middle of the ring). You use the chemex filters (which I think are basically the same quality filters as we used to use in chem class), first folding them and then putting them into the Chemex. Add ground coffee. Pour hot water over the coffee, and you're done. Easy!

There is no taste imparted to the coffee from any plastic or metal parts. You just taste the coffee. The specialty grounds that you can buy in the coffeehouse will taste just like it supposed to.

Highly recommended. Great coffee, nothing to wear out, and may even be healthier. A winner!

When you first look at this coffee "machine" it's easy to dismiss it. But the secret is the filter paper. It creates coffee that's unusually smooth and non-acidic. If you like American-style coffee, you may find this makes your perfect cup. If you normally add sugar to your coffee to mask its bitterness, you may find you can now drink it straight!

If you prefer a more complex and richer brew as you'd get from a French press or espresso, you almost certainly won't like this coffee system since you don't get quite the full spectrum of flavor.

About the only downside is that the Chemex system isn't fully automatic. You can't press a button and walk away. On the other hand, there is no complex mechanism to break so it's a fair tradeoff.

Overall I'd give it 4.5 stars, only knocking off a half a star for having to manually pour water into the cone and wait for it to filter through.

Bought this for a friend who likes coffee but not the big coffee makers. He uses it daily. Loves the size. Makes the perfect cup of coffee. Perfect size for his Mongo coffee mug.

I am pretty blown away at the clean cup this Chemex produced. It makes the perfect cup of coffee every time. The Chemex filter really keeps out any bitterness or sediment. It is the new way people are brewing coffee in the specialty world, however it is really old school. Like Grandma brewed her coffee. I tested some killer coffee from a bunch of different top roasters from my website GoCoffeeGo. One of 6 coffees was a wonderful Esmeralda. All coffee turned out great with this brewing system and the Esmeralda was so sparkling, clean and delicious. This is our new favorite brewing method, hands down for drip!