New Morning Ritual

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

Alright @Bråneu Excelsio -- consider me convinced to do things the finer way in life. Had my 3-cup Chemex come in last Monday, have enjoyed it every day since.

   

[Bråneu Excelsio, UrN]

I'm delighted to see you say that.
I absolutely love the Chemex, it's beautiful and makes the most rich and complex coffee out of all the drip methods. I even see you got the burr hand grinder!

Now I want some more coffee because of this thread, I think I'll make some more. Yes I will make some more.

Thank you for sharing, @Mic'haglh Autófil, MC EiP ! ;D

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

I even see you got the burr hand grinder!

Might just be because I'm an engineer, but when someone gives me a recommended use case for something I'm buying, I tend to use it that way, lol. The people that make it recommended a ceramic burr grinder, so that's what I got. Only like $20 on Amazon, that one I figure isn't as important.

Also holy cow those filters are huge when flat -- and those are the small ones specifically for the 3-cup maker

[Duke John]

OK, I love coffee.  Revise: I love good coffee.  So could someone explain why the Chemex makes such great coffee, "rich and complex"?  Inquiring minds want to know.

-- John R, just finishing my second large cup of the day

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

OK, I love coffee.  Revise: I love good coffee.  So could someone explain why the Chemex makes such great coffee, "rich and complex"?  Inquiring minds want to know.

-- John R, just finishing my second large cup of the day

As I understand it, the filters they make for use with the Chemex are just a little thicker, which causes them to do a better job at filtering out some of the oils that cause coffee to just be bitter -- and this allows the other flavors to move closer to the front.

S:reu Excelsio can probably explain it better, he's the coffee guru :P

[Bråneu Excelsio, UrN]

S:reu Excelsio can probably explain it better, he's the coffee guru :P

Hehe, meirci S:reu Autófil! What a cheerful introduction  ;D

So could someone explain why the Chemex makes such great coffee, "rich and complex"?  Inquiring minds want to know.
-- John R, just finishing my second large cup of the day

Azul, Maxhestà!

I developed a certain affection for the Chemex method. I once made (with the same coffee beans, different grind size) three cups, one with a V60, one with a Chemex and one with a French Press just for the sake of comparing them.

I found the flavour of each cup was drastically different depending on how long the coffee had been sitting in the cup. These were my observations:

The French press was the most oily coffee with the boldest flavour (at first). But as it cooled down, it became very bitter. It was the Best cup at first, but it aged the worst of them all. I would describe the mouthfeel as Heavy. When it cooled a little bit the mouthfeel was quite astringent. Don't get me wrong, I still have a lot of love for the French Press, it's my prefered method at work.

The V60 Method was like removing the "classical coffee flavour" out of the cup. It became complex as I noticed caramel and blueberries notes (as advertised by the roasters). It aged great as it cooled down, it felt almost like a kind of bitter yet juicy tea. I would describe the mouthfeel as juicy and light.

The Chemex was the least oily and most beautiful looking coffee. It even looked kind of red. It had the strongest aroma. I would describe the mouthfeel as all of the above. Bold when hot, medium when not-so-hot and juicy, even sweet when cold.

I believe this happens because it is filtered but the water is in contact with the coffee almost twice the time compared to the V60.

I find these drip methods are often compared to "a fancy way of making the same coffee a coffee-maker would do" but oh no. The coffee maker just pours the water in the center of the coffee and sometimes floods it. The drip methods such as the Chemex involve a blooming phase where the coffee "wakes up". Also it pulls the flavour out of all of the coffee, not just the one that happens to be in the middle.



So the blooming, the time the coffee is exposed to water and the big heavy filter, all of these factors contribute into making such a great, rich and complex coffee.

Mas surpriçă! There's a method that combines the boldness of the french press (inmersion) and clearness of the drip methods!, it's called the "Clever dripper". It was invented in 2009 (and I just got one yesterday). I don't have anything to say about this method but I'm sure I will soon.

Morning rituals are the best :D

[Mic’haglh Autófil, O.Be]

S:reu Excelsio can probably explain it better, he's the coffee guru :P

Hehe, meirci S:reu Autófil! What a cheerful introduction  ;D

Methinks that the rest of your post and the almost scientific method of investigation means I should have said something more along the lines of "Doctor of Caffeination"  :D

I find these drip methods are often compared to "a fancy way of making the same coffee a coffee-maker would do" but oh no. The coffee maker just pours the water in the center of the coffee and sometimes floods it. The drip methods such as the Chemex involve a blooming phase where the coffee "wakes up". Also it pulls the flavour out of all of the coffee, not just the one that happens to be in the middle.

So the blooming, the time the coffee is exposed to water and the big heavy filter, all of these factors contribute into making such a great, rich and complex coffee.

The bloom is a step I didn't really know about before last week, but it would seem those extra 45 seconds or so are worth it.

There's a video or two you may be interested in, this is one of my favorite YouTube channels.
Here, he talks about drip coffee makers, and does mention a lot of the things you did as well as disadvantages, tradeoffs made for convenient coffee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp9H0MO-qS8

In one of his older videos, he goes over percolators.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9avjD9ugXc

And thanks to one of his others, I found my next "I don't really need this but I want it anyway" purchases...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y