Sunday with Chemex
A marvel of minimalist and effective design, the Chemex coffeemaker has been in my household for about twenty years. There is not much to it, except the closely held belief that cleanliness is paramount if you want a clean, smooth brew to assuage and rejuvenate the far recesses of your palate, and of course, your mind. A glass carafe, a paper filter, some fresh roasted, medium-fine ground coffee, and some clean, filtered water, heated to 195-205 F, and you have some of the cleanest, smoothest coffee that is humanly possible.
This manual pour-over technique eliminates all bells and whistles, the same ones that lead to the accumulation of "gunk" (a most scientific term) in office coffee machines that perhaps carry more mold and critters than coffee. Invented by Peter Schlumbohm in 1941, the Chemex is such a significant "back-to-basics" object of the coffee world that it finds itself in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The hourglass-shaped carafe or flask finds itself at home in the museum, in a Chemistry lab, at a trendy café, and as easily at chez Garimella. The thick paper filters ensure that any bitter oils are held back, letting only the purest of the coffee taste get through.
On this Sunday morning, with the bright sunshine, greenery, and the chirping birds, I could not find a better way to spend it than to fire up the old Chemex.
First, pre-wet the paper filter to eliminate any papery overtones in the taste, and then pour a little water to wet the grounds and let them "bloom," i.e., swell and let the off gases escape, and also, with the capillary action of water through the pores, form a collection of coffee grounds that regulates the soaking-in and imminent extraction process.
Once this is done, be a bit more liberal with the pouring process, moving around in an inside-out, outside-in, and spiral motion to wet the ground evenly. The pouring rate should be kept so that the ground are just about wet, with not a lot of standing water.
And just a few minutes later, you have the glorious decanted brew, waiting to transport you into a happy place.
Although I typically prefer the stronger, shot glass sized brews from my Aeropress and the Bialetti Moka Pot for my daily brew, a Sunday morning like this called for the smoother, more leisurely experience. In my pre-Plant Based Whole Food diet days, a couple of slices of buttered toast and two eggs over-medium with some home fries would have gone along nicely with this.
Cheers!
This manual pour-over technique eliminates all bells and whistles, the same ones that lead to the accumulation of "gunk" (a most scientific term) in office coffee machines that perhaps carry more mold and critters than coffee. Invented by Peter Schlumbohm in 1941, the Chemex is such a significant "back-to-basics" object of the coffee world that it finds itself in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The hourglass-shaped carafe or flask finds itself at home in the museum, in a Chemistry lab, at a trendy café, and as easily at chez Garimella. The thick paper filters ensure that any bitter oils are held back, letting only the purest of the coffee taste get through.
On this Sunday morning, with the bright sunshine, greenery, and the chirping birds, I could not find a better way to spend it than to fire up the old Chemex.
First, pre-wet the paper filter to eliminate any papery overtones in the taste, and then pour a little water to wet the grounds and let them "bloom," i.e., swell and let the off gases escape, and also, with the capillary action of water through the pores, form a collection of coffee grounds that regulates the soaking-in and imminent extraction process.
Once this is done, be a bit more liberal with the pouring process, moving around in an inside-out, outside-in, and spiral motion to wet the ground evenly. The pouring rate should be kept so that the ground are just about wet, with not a lot of standing water.
And just a few minutes later, you have the glorious decanted brew, waiting to transport you into a happy place.
Although I typically prefer the stronger, shot glass sized brews from my Aeropress and the Bialetti Moka Pot for my daily brew, a Sunday morning like this called for the smoother, more leisurely experience. In my pre-Plant Based Whole Food diet days, a couple of slices of buttered toast and two eggs over-medium with some home fries would have gone along nicely with this.
Cheers!
Perfect for a Sunday morning!
ReplyDeleteLooks like it has an amazing taste strong taste!
ReplyDelete