CHEMEX coffeemakers

[paulg]

I just purchased a NIB CHEMEX 10 cup coffeemaker (flask only) at an estate sale.
Fortunately, Williams-Sonoma had the filters in stock. Tried it once successfully.
I'm on the learning curve. Does anyone want to lay some knowledge on me regarding CHEMEX coffee?
Thanks.

 

[maytagbear]

It's not that difficult.......

and one can also use Melitta brand filters as well.

One and a half to two tablespoons ground coffee per cup. Preheat the Chemex with hot water, put in the filter, add the coffee, and then slowly pour the water (I like 203F, 90 something C ) evenly over the grounds. There used to be an electric warming plate (like an individual mug warmer, but larger,) offered by Chemex. When I had a Chemex, I would put it over a very low gas flame. One bad day, I dropped it. It was good while it lasted, however.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[westie2]

I like mine had t for years and bring out when having company. I buy the elitta filters now instead of the big circles and fold them. Be sure you place the filter son that the air gap is open otherwise slow time to filter the coffee. It makes good coffee and is impressive. I have used a hot water bath for mine to keep warm using an electric skittet on low heat with hot water. Of just make the coffee and sereve it then and there.

Mary Tyler Moore had the Chemex like mine in her apartment for several years of her show.

 

[paulg]

Thanks.

My first attempt resulted in coffee that was a bit weak, but good. I'll use Maytagbear's proportions.
I'd like the warmer but my smoothtop electric range has a melt function which is exactly the same size as the CHEMEX bottom. Maybe that'll work.
I found that I needed way more hot water than I calculated for the coffee output. I presume the filters and coffee are more absorbent than they appear.
Thanks for the tip on the Melitta filters. I have those too but I didn't figure that one out until too late. Oh well, the original CHEMEX filters aren't expensive.

 

[lordkenmore]

No Chemex experience

but I have had plenty with a Melitta cone (the style that parks on top of the cup).

I agree with what Lawrence said above.

2 TB coffee per cup would be my recommendation. It's the "standard" recommended by many coffee snobs, er, connoisseurs.

Pouring the water is an important skill. As I pour, I move the water source about a bit so that the water gets more evenly distributed through the filter area.

 

[lordkenmore]

New Chemex pots available, but, alas!, now apparently made in Taiwan:

http://fantes.com/chemex.html

 

[lordkenmore]

Another observation: in my experience coffee makers usually work the best when used to capacity. That is, it's best not to make 2 cups in an 8 cup pot. This creates hassles, since one might have to have many coffee makers to handle everything from a single cup by oneself to a big dinner party. Then, again, can one ever have too many kitchen toys, er, tools?

My Melitta is aimed (or at least marketed to) 1 mug of coffee. I only have regular cups these days. So I brew into a small ceramic coffee pot. It seems to work better that way than it does with a small cup, and has the advantage of being more efficient--make coffee once with one filter, rather than 2-3 times with 2-3 filters.

 

[lordkenmore]

"I'd like the warmer but my smoothtop electric range has a melt function which is exactly the same size as the CHEMEX bottom. Maybe that'll work."

I'd be a little cautious with using the Chemex on the stove. I'm not sure that this applies to smooth tops, but I have heard that glass coffee pots don't like electric stoves. Really low heat might be OK, but I personally wouldn't chance it. I'd worry about using the wrong setting by accident one day, and destroying my Chemex.

The best choice for keeping coffee warm is probably a Thermos. Active heat is said to cause coffee to deteriorate. I've noticed this with electric drip pots.

 

[petek]

I'd find one of those little wire "stars" to put on the flat top stove, you can still get them at hardware stores and maybe even dollar stores. 

 

[aegokocarat]

the women of Seattle Coffee Gear have alot of knowledge about these types of brewers
Tom

 

[paulg]

Lots of great info

Appreciate the input from all. I have to admit that the ladies from Seattle Coffee gear are interesting.
Also, I DO have a SALTER scale much like theirs and the CHEMEX I have is the same as theirs too. I never thought to use their weighing method. Hmmm.
It's interesting again that the actual coffee grounds needed seems to be larger than the (approx) 1980 owner's manual that came with my unit specifies. Hey! Whatever suits our taste..
Great info though. Much obliged. I continue to experiment in my mission for better coffee!
(OK, I'll still admit that I love the Sunbeam vacuum pots but I accidentally ruined mine and so I must try something new... Well... at least new to me..)

 

[launderess]

Weighing Coffee

Have done it for ages now with my vac pots, though use my Salter or other digital scales to weigh coffee only, not to fussed about water as my older Pyrex measuring cups are accurate enough for liquids.

Here is the chart one uses:

http://https//blackbearcoffee.com/resources/83

 

[rp2813]

I've seen those star-shaped trivets for electric burners on eBay after searching the term "Chemex." 

 

My sister has had a Chemex Automatic since the 70's and uses it daily.  She grabbed a spare at some point in the past because these machines are very, very scarce and have gone for over $100 on those rare occasions when they have surfaced on eBay.  They make great coffee, but they're kind of ugly.  They're based on the '70's Norelco automatic drip machines but have four main functional differences:  1) They employ a "shower head" diffuser to distribute the heated water more evenly over the coffee;   2) The brewing process pauses intermittently to facilitate complete wetting of the coffee;  3) They have an on/off switch;  and 4)  There is a temperature adjustment for the hot plate.

 

I recently saw a listing on eBay that had a Chemex carafe paired with a vintage Norelco automatic drip machine, and the seller hyped it as some sort of new revelation.   Such Norelco machines still turn up once in a while at thrift stores.  Since the clearance is the same, those machines will indeed accommodate a Chemex carafe, and could be worth a try if you'd like to automate the brewing process.  I think you'd still get decent saturation of the coffee even without the shower head and the pausing feature.

 

I've attached a picture of a Chemex Automatic.  If anyone ever finds one while thrifting or garage/yard saling for say, $25 or less, buy it -- Do Not Pass Go -- just buy it, and I will reimburse you.

 

 

 

[mrb627]

My Current Coffee Maker

This is my current coffee toy. Makes a great pot of joe, too.

Amazon.com

 

[danemodsandy]

The Chemex....

....Was invented by inventor Peter Schlumbohm in the late '30s, but didn't see production until 1941.

It was a huge hit, because it used nothing but glass in its manufacture. Glass was much less stringently rationed during the war than other materials like aluminum and copper, from which most competing coffeemakers were made. This allowed Chemex to maintain a constant stream of product into stores, without the shortages or lack of availability that hampered other manufacturers. If you broke one, you could actually replace it during the war, which wasn't necessarily the case with, say, a percolator.

The Cory "Dru" and other vacuum pots were also glass, but with some metal fittings, and they were somewhat more complicated to use than the Chemex. Everybody can pour boiling water over coffee grounds.

 

[rayjay]

Hi Malcolm. I have the 5 cup pot. Great coffee.

If go the their weibsite: http://www.northwestglass.com/reusable-siphon-mesh-screen-filter-assembly-p-588.html, You can get the resusable siphon mesh screen filter assembly. You can use this instead of washing the cloth filters.

Ray

 

[bendix5]

Paul, you will love chemex coffee. My mother in law introduced me to chemex coffee in the late 60's when JoEllen and I met. When we married in 1971, I bought a chemex (large one) with the warmer. Orange and black. It has wore out and is gone. I mostly use the small pot now. I use only chemex filters which I order from chemex unless I happen to find a kitchen shop along the way somewhere. I will pick up a couple of boxes then. I like the round ones because I like to fold them. My MIL at 89 still makes her coffee in her chemex. You will find that most dark coffees brew well. So will a breakfast blend as well a Yuban. I usually have 4 to 6 kinds of coffee around here. I buy beans by the half pound and either grind at the store or at home in my grinder depending on the coffee type and how fast I will use it up. I usually use a coarser drip grind. That way I can use it in drip o lators and percolators. I use alittle over a table spoon per cup. In my little chemex I use 4 tablespoons and the larger one 5 to 6. Depending on how dark the coffee. The darker the coffee the stronger it will be. One of the nice things about the chemex coffee is you can put the left over in the fridge for later or the next day. It doesn't go bad very quickly like auto drip coffee or percolators where the burners are on all the time. Once in awhile I do reheat on the warming burner on my flat top stove. Especially if there is company. Experiment and have fun with it. Dano

 

[paulg]

Thanks again

Tons of info. Dano, your tips are great. Thanks for the pix and the confirmation that a smoothtop may just work OK for gentle warming.
A glass vacuum pot replacement sounds like fun. However I certainly will not pass the CHEMEX automatic if I ever find one. At least I'll know it when I see it.

 

[davey7]

I know I'm late to this party, but I had to share this odd tidbit... I was watching a movie from '63/'64 called Goldstein (very nouvelle vague, filmed in Chicago, on location) and I believe that Nelson Algren was featured and he had a chemex on his desk in the scene he was in.