For years I've said I can taste a difference between different brew methods (Chemex, Beehouse, & Kalita pour overs, Bunn auto, vacuum, press, moka pot, and espresso) when using the same quantity of water and coffee.

Today I decided to use some of my commercial Bunn filters instead of the "fits Bunn" Brew-rite filters that I have been using for the past several months.

There IS a difference in taste between filters of different manufacture when used in the same machine, using the same coffee (and weight) and the same volume of water.

Not sure which is my preference but there IS a difference.

There, I've said it

I've tried the Chemex filter in the V60. There is a taste difference - like you I don't have a preference. But the filter required some bizarro folding to get it to fit the V60 (and it never really fit well), and the flow rate is so different between the Chemex and the V60 filters that other adjustments had to be made. I ended up thinking I'd rather just use the proper filters.

turtle wrote:...Not sure which is my preference but there IS a difference...

Years ago, I went to Melitta. I fold them when I need to fit the Hario/BeeHouse. Reasons:
- Availability
- Price
- Quality

They sell a boatload of filters. Keeps the "these seem to be new make" as sometimes occur when manufacturing gets re-subb'ed.

CathyWeeks wrote:I've tried the Chemex filter in the V60. There is a taste difference - like you I don't have a preference. But the filter required some bizarro folding to get it to fit the V60 (and it never really fit well), and the flow rate is so different between the Chemex and the V60 filters that other adjustments had to be made. I ended up thinking I'd rather just use the proper filters.

"Standard" 6 cup Chemex filters are the same as the Hario as both brewers are 60 degree funnels. Hario and Chemex filters will work in any 60 degree brewer. I use them in my Bodum pour over (I'll post a pic of that one as it is a very rare bird in the wold of pour over coffee)

You must have tried the 3 cup Chemex filters that are much steeper (90 degrees or more).

Try using the standard pre-folded Chemex 60 degree filters, not the 3 cup flat 90 degree "half moon" ones. You will need to grind coarser for the Chemex filters as it is a little more restrictive than the Haro stock filters are.

Time your pours and shoot for 4-5 minutes total brew time. Adjust your grind to shorten or lengthen your pour time.

You want to use the 6 cup pre-folded square or rounded Chenex filters which look like this:



The steep sided 3 cup ones will not work (well not very well anyway)






Chemex filter in a double wall Bodum pour over that uses a detachable 60 degree brew funnel. Try finding one of these. 80% of the ones manufactured were broken in the initial shipping from Bodum to the retailers. The rest have mostly been broken over the years and there are very few out there "in the wild". It is a double wall insulated blown glass carafe with a removable 60 degree glass funnel

Boldjava wrote:Years ago, I went to Melitta. I fold them when I need to fit the Hario/BeeHouse. Reasons:
- Availability
- Price
- Quality

They sell a boatload of filters. Keeps the "these seem to be new make" as sometimes occur when manufacturing gets re-subb'ed.

My "traveling coffee" consists of a Beehouse dripper, Melitta filters, OE modified Kyocera CM-50 grinder, a 1 liter thermal carafe, and a 1 pound airscape storage container.

The reason..... I can find Melitta filters everywhere. I used to travel with a Chemex but found it too difficult to source filters out "in the wild". This is not a problem with Melitta as every grocery store has them on the shelves.

I should say that I keep my "traveling coffee" in this container

turtle wrote: You must have tried the 3 cup Chemex filters that are much steeper (90 degrees or more).

That is exactly what I did!

At the time, my only coffee brewers were a Melitta ceramic (I think I said v60 before - but on thinking about it, I didn't get the Hario until later) and the 3-cup Chemex. Once my daughter got old enough to get more coffee than just the ounce or so I gave her from my own cup, I upgraded to the larger Chemex, but I never attempted the experiment again with the bigger filters. Speaking of that, I'm almost out of my 6-cup filters. Sadly, I've got a nearly full box of the 3-cup filters, but I broke the small Chemex several years ago, and have yet to replace it. The thing is, I so rarely make that amount of coffee, I haven't had much impetus to replace it.

Added: I like the idea of the insulated carafe - that Bodum looks great. When I wanted my Chemex to hold heat better, I knitted a wool cozy for it, which does a surprisingly good job.

I have a couple of Chemex brewers but usually end up using a Kone metal filter in them instead of the thick Chemex filters. I agree that they're pretty large so I usually brew coffee in my Kalita Wave Style 185 set instead with their filters, but I found that the Chemex lid actually fits and seals better in the Kalita Style carafe than it does in the Chemex (because their's no pour channel opening) and this really helps to keep the coffee warmer longer. It seems to prevent evaporation (or at least condenses the vapor on the cooler lid) and even forms a bit of a vacuum seal as the coffee cools down, but not enough of a seal to make removing the lid difficult or risky.

For some reason I've broken several Chemexes but knock wood haven't had a problem with Kalita Style set.

CathyWeeks wrote:That is exactly what I did!

Added: I like the idea of the insulated carafe - that Bodum looks great. When I wanted my Chemex to hold heat better, I knitted a wool cozy for it, which does a surprisingly good job.

You gotta post a photo of your knitted Chemex Cozy.... That is so COOL

Those 3 cup Chemex brewers are not very common, especially the old style with the impressed logo in the glass. The filters are even harder to source (locally anyway). I bought most of my Chemex brewers used when I was in college (late 1960's) so they are all very early embossed glass brewers.

I rinse my filters with boiling water (2 cups in the microwave for 3 min, then through the filter into the Chemex to heat it) then I pour the hot water from the Chemex into my 1 liter thermal carafe to heat it. Once the coffee is made, I pour it into the pre-heated thermal carafe

turtle wrote:You gotta post a photo of your knitted Chemex Cozy.... That is so COOL

If you or someone you know, wants to knit one, you can find the pattern here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library ... offee-cozy < -- this is the pattern, I used, anyway.

The pattern is free, but you have to have an account at Ravelry to access it. And if one is a knitter or crocheter, you REALLY should know about Ravelry.

It's written such that it'll work for any size of Chemex (you don't knit a specific number of rows - rather you knit the bottom until it's the right diameter to fit the Chemex in question, then go from there). The yarn I used is my husband's homespun.

ETA: here are two more patterns:

Crochet Chemex Cozy: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library ... hemex-cozy
Wooden Collar version: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library ... eepot-cozy