The Chemex Coffeemaker is a manual pour-over style glass

coffeemaker A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee gr ...

, invented by

Peter Schlumbohm Peter Schlumbohm (10 July 1896 – 1962) was a German inventor, best known for creating the Chemex Coffeemaker. In a eulogy for Schlumbohm shortly after his death in 1962, the notable design author Ralph Caplan described the typical Schlumbohm ...

in 1941, manufactured by the Chemex Corporation in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. C ...

. In 1958, designers at the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

said that the Chemex Coffeemaker is "one of the best-designed products of modern times" and it is included in the collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York City.

Design

The Chemex coffeemaker consists of an hourglass-shaped glass flask with a conical funnel-like neck and proprietary filters, made of bonded paper, that are thicker than the standard paper filters used for a drip coffeemaker. The thicker paper of the Chemex filters removes most of the coffee oils and makes coffee that is much "cleaner" than coffee brewed in other coffee-making systems. The "cleaner" cup extracts caffeine and flavor while removing bitter notes. The thicker filters may also assist in removing more

cafestol Cafestol is a diterpenoid molecule present in coffee beans. It is one of the compounds that may be responsible for proposed biological and pharmacological effects of coffee. Sources A typical bean of '' Coffea arabica'' contains about 0.4-0.7% ...

, a cholesterol-elevating compound found in coffee. The most visually distinctive feature of the Chemex is the heatproof wooden collar around the neck, which allows it to be easily handled and poured when full of hot coffee. The collar is turned and then split in two to allow it to fit around the glass neck. The two pieces are held loosely in place by a tied leather thong. For a design piece that became popular post-war at a time of Modernism and precision manufacture, this juxtaposition of natural wood and the organic nature of a hand-tied knot with the laboratory nature of glassware was a distinctive feature of its appearance. Chemex coffeemaker half moon unfolded filter with regular filter

Chemex coffeemaker half moon unfolded filter with regular filter

Brewing coffee

Coffee is brewed by first folding the paper filter into shape by using the folded side with a printed number 3, where the pour spout is located and placing it into the neck of the flask. The Chemex filter should be rinsed with hot water to remove any paper taste. After dumping the water, ground coffee is added to the rinsed paper filter. The coarse grind will resemble kosher salt for the best flavor. Hot water (93–96 °C/195–205 °F) is then poured through the coffee and filter, depositing brewed coffee into the flask. There is a spout located on the top half of the brewer. This allows for easily pouring out coffee post brew and ensures airflow while brewing.

References

External links

Chemex Coffeemakers & Filters – Official Website
{{coffee, nocat=1 Coffee preparation Articles containing video clips Products introduced in 1941 American inventions