In a nutshell, that's the big plus for this. You can control the coffee, the grind, the brew temperature, the beans, you name it. If you have a coffee grinder, great. That is the simplest way to control the grind. Even a whirly bird (blade) grinder should work fine with this coffeemaker. If not, then find a shop that sells fresh beans that will grind them for you. If you buy the canned reground coffee, you probably use an automatic drip maker, so go no further.

I was just in a Whole Foods today that has coffee beans with their roast date on the dispensers. They have a grinder right there. Buy a few ounces of coffee and grind it. Purists say roast beans should be used within 15 days of their roast and within 15 minutes of their grinding. In spite of what I read against it, I find I can extend coffee's life several fold by refrigerating or better freezing it. YMMV, as they say.

You need a thermometer calibrated to the boiling point of water. If you are working in Fahrenheit water will boil at 212° minus 2° for every 1000 ft above sea level you are. I said that because you need to verify the calibration of your thermometer by dipping the tip into actively boiling water.

1. Open the filter and put the 3 layer side against the channel. That channel is there to allow air displaced by incoming water to escape from the brewer so you don't bubble coffee on everything and so you don't build up a positive pressure which would slow filtering.

2. Preheating the Chemex by pouring boiling water through the filter. I like to use at least 12 ounces in my 48 oz Chemex. Don't forget to discard this water before you start filtering. Voice of experience.

3. Measure the volume of water you will be using to brew your coffee and heat in the microwave, in an electric hot pot or on the stove.

4. While the water is heating I grind my coffee. I generally measure my coffee using beans rather than ground coffee. Sometimes I weigh them instead. Go ahead and add the ground coffee to the filter.

5. When the water boils, I remove it from the heat and begin measuring its temperature. The "standard" brewing temperature is 195 to 205 degrees F. If my beans were frozen, I'll cheat a little to the high side. This is one area where you can "break the rules" to get a coffee you like. Some say brew a darker roast at a lower temperature and a lighter roast at a higher temperature. You're the boss.

6. Discard preheat water and begin by pouring a small amount over your grounds. If your beans are good and fresh they will bubble ("bloom") when you pour that first water. The general idea is to get all the grounds wet before you begin the Pour.

7. The Pour. Note the time or start a timer. Fill the V nearly full. I like to pour away from the center and track that around nearer the circumference. I almost always will stir using a spoon or whatever implement is handy. Keep the V nearly full either by pouring frequently or very slowly, distributing the water around more or less evenly.

8. If all went well, somewhere around 4 minutes just about all the coffee has dripped through. Enjoy your coffee!

If your coffee finishes through the filter in less than 4 minutes, you want a finer grind coffee. If it takes too long, you want a coarser grind.

I generally pour my coffee into a vacuum bottle so I can enjoy it over the next few hours. Rather than discarding my Chemex preheat water I simply use it to preheat my thermos.

Cleanup is easy. Glass washes clean and often I get by with only a rinse. It is glass and will break. I avoid following hot coffee with cool rinse water. One down side for the Chemex is the filters are relatively expensive. I often will get multiple uses from my filters by rinsing them in hot tap water and allowing them to air dry. I notice no ill affects on flavor by doing this but your experience may be different. There are cloth and metal alternatives to the filter paper. Both of these allow more sediment into your cup than does paper. Coffee presses allow for similar level of control as the Chemex. When I want clean coffee I use the Chemex with paper. If I don't mind the sediment I use the press.

Im an amateur coffee geek, there Ive said it, whew. What a relief. As a result of this, when Im at home I have many different ways to make coffee at my disposal. I had been looking at a Chemex for awhile, not sure how long, but I was intrigued by the simplicity of the device, and that it doesn't require its own power source, but with drip coffee makers, espresso machines, AeroPress, and French Press in my kitchen, I just didn't want to add another relatively large coffee device to my home. And then it happened. We were just about to come home from a recent vacation, where the coffee was free, but just ok, not even very good, the house sitter announced the disaster that she has encountered and was just about to be revealed. The French Press had fallen from the dish drying rack and broken. Oh the horror. Don't worry no house sitters were harmed in the making of this review.

Enter the chance at a Chemex. I ordered one and it arrived a few days later thanks to the wonders of Amazon Prime and UPS. A few days after that I had the opportunity to open the box and explore the new coffee gear. The coffeemaker itself is very simple. Just glass with a collar make of wood and retained by a leather thong, simple and utilitarian. The glass is of reasonable quality not quite as think as a pint glass, maybe the same quality as a mason jar. It is an attractive device with its smooth simple lines. When full its not a light pour, so I recommend a good grip on the collar, and if you have it, a finger on the stem of the lid.

Making coffee is simple, but not without work. The steps are simple in principle, add the filter, add the coffee, add the water and wait. However its not quite that straight forward. First, rinsing the filter is in your best interest. I recommend placing the filter into the vessel, and then rising it completely, wetting the entire paper, and then dumping the water maybe into a plant so its not just wasted. Doing this will help keep the paper pulp taste out of your coffee. You can skip this step, but you will know that you did this since there will be some chewed cardboard flavor in your cup, which I presume that you do not want. After the filter is in place, add the coffee. It can be any coffee really, Ive used drip grind and espresso grind just in my experimentation so far. These both work, but clearly the espresso grind will extend your brew time. From there you pour in the water. If you search for directions or watch videos on youtube you will see that there are many opinions on pouring water, who would have guess it, but yes, many people have many opinions on the right way to pour water. I pour the water in slowly, wetting the grinds fully and then letting them settle a bit before pouring more water. This is truly the most labor intensive part of this brewing method. Reason being that the top of the Chemex holds about 2 cups of water, so if you are making more than that you have a regular cadence of adding more water to the top as it brews and drains to the bottom. In this way this is not a fully unattended brewing method and it requires a bit more time dedicated to making the coffee. Its not long, and not hard, but just a different step for this device.

Once your desired amount of water has filtered through the desired amount of grinds, remove the filter, and you can pour the coffee into your favorite mug and drink. The resulting brew is very clean and very smooth. The filters do an amazing job of keeping all the silt out of the drink. The coffee is smooth and creamy, with lots of body and very litter bitterness. The Chemex holds the coffee indefinitely and when you've poured off the last of the coffee the bottom is clean since only the liquid coffee made it through. Just a quick rinse and its ready for the next brew.

Im glad that I have purchased this, and will continue to use this when I have a few (5-10 minutes) to invest in great coffee in the morning.

This review brought to you by the Chemex and Jittery Joes Espresso Blend, Dark Roast 12oz Whole Bean

Love this. It's so sleek and slender. Very easy to clean and use. Definitely worth it. Only way my hubby drinks coffee. He said the taste of his coffee is much better now!!!

Makes good coffee, although I find it a bit bitterer and thinner than my French press. Glad I bought it, though.

I loved this. We are not bug coffee people so we decided to downsize from a large coffee maker to this and honestly, it's a lot easier to clean even with his shape. One good bottle scrubber and you're good to go. It is glass and not the thick Pyrex kind so be gentle with it because it will shatter. So keep a pot holder under it to protect it and the counter.
Definitely getting a new one, my husband accidentally shattered the one we had when he dropped it on the ground.

Pro tip: pour the hot water over the coffee grounds slowly and in circular motion, it makes a difference with coffee flavor.