The Chemex coffee maker is a brewing method that has been around since the late 1800s, when it was first patented by a German chemist. It’s a manual process that involves pouring hot water through ground coffee over a special glass Chemex pot. The Chemex is a reusable device that can brew one cup at a time, but it also has a capacity for brewing up to six cups at once, making it a great choice for larger households.
In the world of pour over coffees, Chemex has taken itself to a legendary level. Somehow, they have figured out all the needs and wants of a pour-over lover and have put those into different brewers. This means, it gets super tough to choose the best Chemex coffee maker. No worries.
We’ve got your back. To ease your pain, we’ve brought in 10 products with their features, pros and cons. And to help you out, even more, we’ve prepared a buying guide discussing features to look out for. Long story short, we’ve crafted the perfect road towards the brewer of your dreams. So, let’s spill the beans-
The Best Chemex Coffee Maker Review – Our Top Picks
1. Chemex Pour Over Glass Coffee Maker 8 Cups – Classic Series
When we talk about pour over coffees, Chemex is the king. Now, they’ve brought in many variations of their products. But to us the 8-cup version of the Chemex Pour Over Glass Coffeemaker Classic Series is simply the best.
It’s got a decent capacity with great design and a great focus on the user experience. It’s like they’re giving a tribute to all the coffee crafters with a lighter version of the original product. Many people complained about the heavy version and Chemex responded to them with this gem.
Pros
- Is lightweight.
- Has a decent capacity.
- Is built with nonabsorbent Borosilicate glass.
- Protects hand from heat with the wood collar.
- Has a compact yet elegant design.
Cons
- Has thinner walls.
- Feels like a hassle while cleaning the wood collar.
2. CHEMEX Pour Over Glass Coffee Maker 3 Cups – Hand Blown Series
Chemex pour overs are popular because of their hand made feature. There’s always a different taste and feeling in something handmade. And when it comes to handmade carafes, the handblown series is truly remarkable.
CHEMEX Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker Hand Blown Series 3 Cup is in a league of its own when it comes to coffee carafes. So, what is special here? Well, with its thick walls, this coffee maker will give you extra confidence while handling.
Moreover, with that wooden collar, you’ll get a good grip with some amazing aesthetics. Long story short, this pour over coffee maker is perfect for personal use. And if you’re planning to travel for a while, then you could consider this as a companion for best chemex coffee.
Pros
- Has strong and thick walls.
- Protects hand with the wooden collar.
- Is super compact.
- Weighs almost a pound.
- Is built with nonabsorbent Borosilicate glass.
Cons
- Is a bit expensive.
- Has low capacity.
3. CHEMEX Pour Over Glass Coffee Maker 6 cups – Glass Handle Series
Think of this one as the chemex classic with some extra pros and cons. So, what does the CHEMEX Pour-Over Glass Coffeemaker Glass Handle Series 6 Cup offer us? Well, for starters, it gives a handle.
Yes finally. A coffee carafe with a handle. This is a great relief for us coffee lovers with clumsy grips. Moreover, this coffee maker has also noticed the complaints about the thin walls of the classic model.
So, they’ve worked a bit on this. Although the work is minor but still it’s appreciative. However, it’s got some cons too and for that we had to move it to this position. So, let’s look at those with a deeper concern-
Pros
- Allows better grip with the handle.
- Has a slightly thicker wall than the classic series.
- Allows various types of filters with it.
- Has a decent capacity.
- Is easy to clean.
Cons
- Is a little low on the aesthetics.
- Spills coffee while pouring.
4. CHEMEX Pour Over Glass Coffee Maker 8 Cups – Glass Handle Series
Chemex usually has different sized versions of each series of its coffeemakers. With that we have the CHEMEX Pour Over Glass Coffeemaker Glass Handle Series 8 Cup.
So, is there anything different about this product? Or is it the same? Well, apart from the capacity, we have another thing to talk about. That’s the shape.
So, have you wondered how they are putting those extra cups in the coffeemaker? Well, to give room, Chemex increased its width. And now it just looks like a fat jar with a handle. So, you get more room and better handling. But your aesthetics get poorer.
Pros
- Allows better grip with the handle.
- Has a slightly thicker wall than the classic series.
- Allows various types of filters with it.
- Has a great capacity.
- Is built with nonabsorbent Borosilicate glass.
Cons
- Looks fat.
- Spills coffee while pouring.
5. Hexnub Coffee Cozy for Chemex Filtered Pour Over Coffee Makers
Enough with coffee makers. Now, let’s look at something different. This time we’ve brought in something to protect your coffee with a rather different approach.
The Hexnub Coffee Cozy for Chemex Filtered Pour Over Coffee Makers is basically a neoprene fabric cover. If you’re not familiar with this, then allow us to clarify. This is the same fabric that scuba divers use.
However, Hexnub has made some changes and prepared a cozier version. So, you can cover your carafes and keep the coffee warm with a slight touch of aesthetics with this one. Now, let’s move on to the pros and cons-
Pros
- Keeps the coffee warm.
- Protects the carafe from small pokes and taps.
- Looks good on a bright background.
- Gives a cozy feeling while handling.
- Comes with a bamboo lid.
Cons
- Isn’t available for 3 cup versions.
- Takes a few days to loosen up.
6. Gvode Pour Over Coffee Maker with Reusable Mesh Filter
What if your pour-over carafe had a built in filter in it? Well, we’ve got the perfect answer here with the Gvode Pour Over Coffee Maker. It’s got a stainless steel mesh filter with it.
So, what’s the good thing here? Well, first of all, here you won’t have to buy coffee filters months after months for chemex brewing. And it’s sustainable too. The pros and cons-
Pros
- Is eco friendly.
- Comes with a handle.
- Frees you from the pain of buying filters.
- Is built with nonabsorbent Borosilicate glass.
Cons
- Allows filter color wearing off.
- Has a low capacity.
Buying Guide for Best Chemex Coffee Makers
With all those features, pros and cons, it’s super easy to get confused. So, while being confused you may end up doing two things. Firstly, you might buy the wrong product. And secondly, you might not buy the product at all. Now, we don’t want anything like that to happen to you.
So, to make sure that you can get the best coffee maker for chemex for your kitchen, we’ve prepared this buying guide. Here we’ll go through all the essential features and discuss what you should look for in those features. Now, without further delay, let’s get going-
Size
This is undoubtedly the most important feature for a best pour over coffee brewer like chemex. Because brewing the coffee once takes a nice chunk of time. And if you end up brewing twice or thrice for your regular need, then it’ll be bad.
So, make sure that the brewer can brew enough coffee to satisfy your thirst in one go. Normally, chemex brewers can brew several cups at once. But if you’re brewing for the whole gang, then take a moment to look into this feature.
Shape
Now you might think that this is nonsense. Why would the shape matter? Now, here’s a shocker. It’s not related to looks. We know that you’re considering us nuts at this point. But the shape influences the taste. How is that? Well, it’s about the draining process from the filter bed.
It’s pretty easy to imagine actually. If the water saturates the grounds evenly then you’ll get a good taste. If it doesn’t go this way, then you’ll probably have an average taste. Saying that, we’ve found that flat bottomed brewers are the best. So, try to look for the flatter one.
Filter Adaptability
Not all the filters work on all types of brewers. Filters can influence the coffee taste. And experts say that white paper filters are the best. Even brown paper filters bring in some of that paper taste into the coffee.
It’s great if you can’t identify the taste difference among the filter types. But we’re here to make sure that you get the best experience. So, try to fetch the best chemex coffee maker that can hold off paper filters.
Core Materials
Here we have to question you. What do you want more? Better taste or better insulation? Well, to be fair, taste also depends a bit on the insulation. So, are you a fast consumer or a slow consumer? If you’re kind of a chillax person, then go for a better insulated one.
Now, what do we mean by better insulation? Well, plastic and ceramic tend to hold off the brew temperature better. However, if you’re getting a thick brewer it doesn’t matter that much. But glass brewers tend to give out a better taste constantly. So, you’ll need some choosing to do.
Portability
Look into this feature only if you’re planning to travel with your chemex brewer. Although it’s highly unlikely to move with a chemex brewer, let’s not discard the possibility.
Now, if you’re really into brewing outdoors, then we suggest you go look for a smaller one. Because smaller brewers can be easily covered and carrying those isn’t that much of a hassle.
Benefits of Using A Chemex Coffee Maker
If you’re not sure why you should prefer Chemex coffee maker and filters on others, this will be the thing that we’ll talk about in this section. Here are some of the benefits of using the best Chemex coffee brewers-
It’s Super Easy to Use
One of the sole bases where Chemex coffee maker stands is- it is incredibly easy to use. No matter if you’re a professional barista or just a home user who loves coffee, you’ll get on with Chemex coffee makers just like that.
It Serves As You Need
As long as it’s about serving the right coffee to the right number of persons, often you will find Chemex coffee makers awesome. Chemex the brand produces coffee makers that are from 3-cup to 12-cup. It’s up to you which one you’ll go with.
It Ensures A Proper Price-quality Ratio
There are users who’d love to pick up a budget coffee maker for personal use. And there are also some coffee lovers who’d love to go up to a premium. A good thing about Chemex is, it thinks about all of those kinds and provides the best budget chemex coffee makers within every budget.
Frequently Ask Question(FAQs)
1. What kind of coffee do you use in a Chemex?
Chemex does great in light, medium and dark roasted coffees. However, it’s best to use a medium coarse ground for chemex coffee.
2. Why is my Chemex coffee bitter?
Bitter coffee means an over-extracted coffee. We can’t tell the exact reason from here, but we can take a guess. Most probably you’re using ultra-fine grounds while dosing too low. Try using fairly coarse or medium coarse grounds.
3. Why does my Chemex take so long?
If your Chemex takes anywhere between 3.5 to 4.5 minutes, then it’s okay. However, if your brewer takes more time that, there’s a problem. Either you have a too coarse ground, or your pour rate is low. To solve this, adopt medium coarse grounds and a higher pour rate.
Final Verdict
That was all we could put together about the best chemex coffee maker. However, it’s not impossible to miss out a few things. Afterall, we’re humans too. If you’ve got something else to know then don’t hesitate to ask us. We’ll try our best to answer you. Good luck. Happy brewing.
