Though I once drank coffee religiously in the morning, I am going to admit it: I am not one of those people who needs their coffee in the morning to function.
I’ll give you a moment to get over that because it is shocking, I know.
The only mornings where the I-must-have-coffee feeling occurs in me are:
- Ridiculously cold mornings (such as the ones we have been having in Jersey this week)
- Mornings where I wake up still tired or with a headache
- Weekend and vacation day mornings
It doesn’t make much sense, I know. I think I weaned myself off the daily morning need for coffee because the coffee I was getting was lackluster, to say the least.
When we were first married, I had a traditional coffeemaker and soon made the comment that every person who has switched over to a Keurig has made: ‘It didn’t make sense for me to brew a whole pot just for me’. We all know that with traditional coffee makers, doing anything less than an entire pot is unacceptable (alright, maybe half a pot is okay). Since our first year of marriage, at home, I have only used my Keurig for coffee.* Despite the speed and ease of using a Keurig, I have never found a K-cup that won me over like a cup of coffee brewed from fresh grounds.
*Here is the moment where all you bleeding hearts can roll your eyes at how wasteful I am for using K-cups. They’re horrible, I know.
I knew it was bad when I caught myself purposefully avoiding making coffee at home because I knew the impostor I would be drinking wouldn’t add up to what I was craving. Here lies my problem in regards to coffee. I drink coffee for the flavor of the coffee, not for the jolt it produces in my body.
Enter my first ever French press. My parents bought me my French press for my birthday and this simple, ten-inch tall contraption had me giddy. Finally I was going to be able to brew not only a simple cup of Joe, but a flavorful one at that! It was only a few weeks later that my fourth brother, Andrew and his girlfriend, Jill, gifted me another coffee brewer, similar to a French press, but unheard of by me.
The Chemex looks like it belongs in a science laboratory, therefore, it makes only perfect sense that it was developed in 1941 by German inventor, Dr. Peter Schlumbohm PhD. Aside from its aesthetic design, which has placed it in several New York Museums, it has been constructed to brew the perfect cup of coffee that does not impart any flavors of its own while also ridding the coffee of bitterness and sediment.*
*Here is the only issue I take with my French press. While I love it so much more than my Keurig, no matter how I try, I always end up with a few fine grinds in my coffee.
My first pot of coffee brewed in my Chemex
Unlike our traditional coffeemakers where the coffee passes through a filter, plastic filter basket, plastic drip head, and who knows what else before landing in the coffee pot, coffee brewed in the Chemex touches only the scientifically designed filter and non-porous glass.
After some time of experimenting with my Chemex, trying different grind measurements and learning to trust that the glass is indeed strong enough to sustain very hot water without cracking, I am now hooked.
If you’re someone who likes to explore flavors in coffee, someone who likes to seek out that perfect roast or someone interested in nontraditional ways of brewing coffee–give the Chemex a try. Hopefully, you will love yours as much as I love mine.
*Please note: This is not a paid advertisement for Chemex. I legitimately love my Chemex and decided instead of a Coffeehouse Adventure this week, I would tell the world about my love for Chemex.
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