As any coffee aficionado will be aware, there are some interesting new developments in coffee houses and bars across the country so it’s an exciting time for the world’s top brew, but sometimes only the original will do.
The Chemex Coffeemaker shows how it was done back in 1941 when the iconic coffee filter maker was invented by Peter Schlumbohn and manufactured by the Chemex Corporation in Chicopee, Massachusetts. In fact it’s so good, a Chemex is even featured in New York’s prestigious Museum of the Modern Art.
But what makes this coffeemaker so special?
Firstly it’s the simple yet beautiful and elegant design, but it’s also eminently practical too.
The hourglass-shaped glass flask with conical funnel neck and special filters made of bonded paper – thicker than the standard paper filters used for a similar drip coffeemakers of the time – removes most of the coffee oils, making coffee cleaner than coffee brewed in other systems.
Interestingly, the Chemex filers may also assist in removing cafestol, a cholesterol-elevating compound found in coffee.
The Chemex also features a cleaver heatproof wooden collar around its neck, allowing it to be easily handled and poured when full of hot coffee. The collar is tuned and then split in two to allow it to fit around the glass neck. The two pieces are held loosely in place with a neat and practical leather tie.
Coffee is brewed by first folding the paper filter into shape and then placing it with the coffee grounds into the neck of the flask. Hot water heated to 93-96C (195-205F) is poured through the coffee and filter, and voila, you a perfect cup of freshly brewed coffee.