Any roaster worth their single-origin coffee has a Chemex (or two) on hand.
Why? The iconic design delivers the perfect cup of coffee (in our humble opinion), because you can precisely control the coffee water ratio and infusion. For years I thought the part-science-lab-meets-Bauhaus design was Japanese, as everyone I knew in Tokyo seemed to have one. Only recently did I discover the true origin of the Chemex: it was designed by Peter Schlumbohm, a German scientist who immigrated to the United States in 1935 and created the spoutless borosilicate glass hourglass form with its elegant pouring groove in 1941. The Chemex comes in three designs and is part of MoMA’s permanent collection, along with many more of Schlumbolm’s designs. Read more about the history of the Chemex at the NY Times.
Above: A morning breakfast of essentials from Old Chum on Flickr with the Chemex 6-Cup Coffee Maker with Glass Handle; $36.95 from Amazon.
Above: In lieu of paper filters we prefer the reusable Coava Coffee Kone Filter made of finely perforated steel specifically for drip-coffee purposes; $55 from Williams Sonoma.
Above: The classic Chemex 6-Cup Glass Coffee Maker is $36.95 from Amazon. The Chemex Handblown 8-Cup Glass Coffee Maker is $94.95 from Amazon.
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