Chemex Classic Series Coffeemaker Review, Tested by Food & Wine

Truth be told, it took me a long time to really start enjoying my morning coffee routine. For years, making coffee at home was less about the journey and more about the destination — namely, caffeinating as quickly as possible. A nice pour-over or an artful latte was something best left to the pros, so when a craving called, I’d head to my favorite local coffee shop rather than attempt making either at home. But when I bought my first Chemex Classic Series Coffeemaker, it changed everything.

I never would have thought I’d be capable of making great pour-over coffee myself, but the Chemex has changed the game, producing a smooth, balanced cup of coffee that lacks the bitter bite of some drip coffee. If you’re looking to upgrade your at-home coffee situation, the Chemex will have you well on your way to making coffee shop-level pour-overs in no time.

How I Use the Chemex Classic Series Coffeemaker

I use my 6-cup Chemex to brew pour-over coffee several times a week. The 6-cup capacity yields a little over two large mugs of coffee — Chemex measures 1 cup as 5 ounces — which is the perfect amount to kickstart my work day or split with my husband on a lazy weekend morning. 

After grinding my beans, I grab a filter — I use the pre-folded rounds — open it into a cone shape, and line the side with multiple folds up against the spout. I’ll give it a quick rinse under hot water to get rid of any paper flavor, dump the water out, and then weigh the coffee and add it to the Chemex. 

Using my Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle, I bring the water to a boil and, over the course of a few pours spaced out across several minutes, saturate the coffee grounds with the hot water. While it took a bit of adjustment to get all the different variables right — from the size of the grind to the timing of my pours — I eventually dialed it in, and my Chemex routine soon became a meditative ritual for starting my day.

What I Love About the Chemex Classic Series Coffeemaker

Put simply, I love the coffee that comes out of the Chemex. While a high-quality drip coffee maker is certainly capable of producing a delicious cup of coffee — and a convenient one at that — the Chemex is in a class of its own. As someone who was turned off by bitter, acrid coffee at an early age, I was amazed by the smooth, velvety coffee I was able to brew myself using the Chemex. 

Initially, I was a little intimidated by the process, which involves a lot more precision than the simple push of a button. But with practice — and the right tools — it’s quickly become second nature. As someone who always seems to be running low on counter space, I love that the Chemex is easy to store but also sleek and stylish enough to display on a shelf if you’re short on kitchen space. I also appreciate the larger capacity, which allows me to enjoy multiple cups or brew a carafe to share. 

The Caveats

If you’ve never brewed pour-over coffee before, the Chemex can require a bit of a learning curve. The brand’s single-use paper filters come folded or unfolded; if you opt for unfolded, you’ll need to carefully fold the filter in a specific way so that it doesn’t collapse when saturated with hot water, which can take a little practice to figure out. 

One of the most important variables in pour-over coffee is the speed at which water saturates the coffee grounds, so you’ll also want to have some additional tools on hand to master the process. 

A quality kitchen scale — one that’s heat-resistant, waterproof, and large enough to hold the Chemex — and a kettle — ideally one with a gooseneck spout — are essential here. And while the Chemex is technically dishwasher-safe, the glass carafe is delicate — I clumsily broke the first one I purchased — so I’d recommend hand-washing to avoid breaking it. 

Tips and Tricks

• The Classic Series Chemex is available in four sizes: three-cup, six-cup, eight-cup, and 10-cup (the manufacturer measures 1 cup as 5 ounces). 
• Chemex offers several different types of filters, so consider which might be best for you. You’ll want to make sure the filter fits the size of your coffee maker, but other than that, the differences largely come down to personal preference — you can choose square or circle filters, with the option for pre-folded or unfolded circles.
• On the Chemex website, you can mix and match different collar and rawhide colors, from blue, green, and pink to gumball orange, saffron yellow, and crimson red.
• The Chemex coffeemaker is dishwasher-safe, but you’ll need to remove the wood collar and rawhide first. To avoid breakage, we’d recommend hand-washing instead.
• The manufacturer recommends brewing coffee with a medium coarse grind in the Chemex.

How It Compares

The Chemex Classic Series Coffeemaker is our favorite pour-over coffee maker, but it’s not the only worthy model on the market. 

For a single-cup option that makes stellar coffee at an affordable price, we recommend the Melitta 1-Cup Porcelain Pour-Over Cone Coffeemaker. This porcelain coffee maker features a deceptively simple design, including “windows” at the base that help you gauge the flow rate and prevent overfilling and ridges inside that pull the water downward at a steady pace. In our tests, it brewed a floral, not overly bitter, cup of coffee. As a bonus, this coffee maker is also easy to clean.

If the single-use paper filters required for the Chemex feel too wasteful, consider the Coffee Gator Paperless Pour Over Coffee Maker Set instead. This coffee maker set includes a reusable stainless steel mesh filter that reliably produces balanced coffee with a fruity, slightly floral flavor in our tests. It’s easy to use but does require more frequent and thorough cleaning than pour-over coffee makers that use paper filters. 

The Verdict

For coffee shop-level pour-overs, you truly can’t beat the Chemex Classic Series Coffeemaker. The elegant glass carafe consistently produces bright, clean coffee, and its larger capacity is great for households with multiple coffee drinkers. 

Our Expertise

Heather Riske is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience in food and lifestyle content. For nearly eight years, she worked as an editor at Feast Magazine, a regional culinary publication covering the state of Missouri, southern Illinois, and eastern Kansas, where she was honored with a “Top Women in Media” award by Folio. She has dedicated much of her career to highlighting local chefs and restaurants and sharing helpful cooking knowledge for publications such as Better Homes & Gardens, Men’s Health, Feast Magazine, and St. Louis Magazine.