The 2nd Batch

So awhile back I read Chuck Wendig’s post about his new coffee snobbery. Reading it made me desperately want a Chemex. I’m not really a coffee drinker, but I’ve always wanted to be. I enjoy ritual with food and drink and have always wanted to have a nice, slow, enjoyable coffee making process. Unfortunately I could never really get over not liking most coffee. My wife picked up a Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine a couple years ago and I found I did like the milk and coffee drinks it made (the Latte Macchiato in particular) but never the straight up coffee.

Well, Mr. Wendig has a way with words (especially those of the NSFW variety), and his writing has a way of winding me up to want to try things. In this case it made me want to try this new (to me) way of making coffee especially since it’s main selling point—no more bitter coffee!—promised to deal with the thing I disliked the most about the taste of a cup of black. So yesterday my Chemex and new hand grinder arrived, and I went out to get some beans and give it a shot. And lo and behold: I think I like it!

Yesterdays batch was probably too weak (because I used too coarse a grind) and today’s was probably too strong (some bitterness returned as I probably overcompensated and used too fine a grind) but I’m dialing it in and I’m liking my imperfect results well enough so far.

As an added bonus I enjoy the process of making coffee with my Chemex, and it’s very pretty! Hopefully I’ll be able to make this a regular part of my routine and hopefully drinking more coffee will help me cut back on the cola, which I’ve been drinking way, way too much of for months now. Say what you will about coffee, but a cup of straight coffee with nothing added is a heck of a lot healthier than a can of coke!

Anyone out there ever tried a Chemex? And brewing tips?