Chemex CM-8A 8-Cup Coffee Maker

Pros: Nothing to interfere with coffee's flavor
Cons: Special filters may be hard to find. No modern conveniences (timer, clock, etc)

Good coffee is like good wine, with complex but subtle flavors and aromas that are easily lost through bad storage or handling. In an ideal world, I'd roast my beans each morning. I'd grind them in a top of the line burr grinder to eliminate the uneven ...

Pros: Great tasting coffee; Easy to clean; Heat-safe glass; Simple to use.
Cons: Coffee cools off rapidly; No automation; Requires tea kettle for heating water.

I am a huge coffee drinker. I cannot drink as much as I used to, but I have owned a few dozen makers of all shapes and methods. I am always in search of the perfect cup.

Through it all, I have always return to either my Bodum French Press, or...

Pros: Makes the best coffee of any coffee maker I've ever tried but use Chemex filters.
Cons: Breakable - can't buy Chemex automatic drip units anymore.

I'll date myself - I purchased my first Chemex in the mid 80's when Chemex made an automatic drip unit. I still have that unit, Chemex repaired it about 5 years ago (they still had parts) for more than it would have cost to buy a new coffee maker (my ...

Pros: incredible coffee, simple to make and clean
Cons: glass can be fragile. Have to order special filters.

I'd visited CoffeeGeek and other sites to find what the best drip coffee maker available would be. I had been using a small french press but it wasn't ideal as I don't like having to pour coffee into another holder after it's made.

To my surprise, one of the most highly regarded coffee makers was a nerdy beaker looking simple glass device (the Chemex) which costs about $35 and uses special filters they make.

The filter is a large square folded 2 ways.

The trick, which I'd noticed at my favorite coffee roasting cafe, is to first merely wet the grounds so that they "bloom" then do not pour a ton of water in but slowly add water.

The result is incredibly rich smooth coffee.

I bought it at Peet's coffee.