Last Updated on October 10, 2021 by John Moretti
Brewing your homemade coffee can taste much better than buying one from a café with just enough practice. You get to pick your grinds and brew them precisely how you want them, and it’s cheaper.
Which brewing method, however, produces the best-tasting coffee? To find out, we’ll examine two popular ways: the Pour-over vs. the Chemex.
The main difference between Chemex and other Pour over coffee makers is the filters used. Standard Pour over has a paper filter, while Chemex has a thick bonded filter. The thick bonded filter removes most coffee oils which results in a very smooth coffee drink.
Pros and Cons
Chemex
Pros:
- Attractive design
- Coffee that is clear and full-flavored but does not include any oils.
- There will be no coffee grounds to clean up.
- It can brew 10 cup batches
- Dishwasher-safe
- Parts are available for purchase.
Cons:
- You’ll have to buy paper filters.
- Cleaning can be a challenge.
- It’s not cheap.
- Coffee with a lighter body.
Pour Over
Pros:
- A robust and clean cup of coffee.
- You are the king of coffee
- You have control over brew time, which means you have control over strength and, eventually, taste
- You can brew 8 cups at once, which is great for entertaining.
- You can use the Pour-over to make cold-brewed coffee or loose-leaf tea in addition to regular hot coffee.
Cons:
- It is more complicated than turning on a drip machine.
- You have to keep an eye on it;
- Grind size matters, as does water temperature, and you can’t just leave it for several minutes and assume it will taste good.
- If you have a garbage dispenser, cleanup is a breeze. If you don’t, you’re going to end up with a pail full of coffee grounds.
- You can’t just rinse them down the sink drain because this requires finely ground coffee.
- You may end up with residue or gunk at the bottom of the cup based on your gear and how thoroughly you brew the coffee.
Overview: Pour Over vs. Chemex
Pour Over
The pour-over is a traditional, tried, and proven technique that enables you to get bold and steady flavors from your coffee grounds. Place the coffee grounds in your cone or filter, place it over a cup, then slowly pour hot water over the coffee.
The most popular pour-over models are the Hario V60 and the Kalita Wave. The Hario V60 is one of the most renowned and economical pour-over coffee brewers. Pour-over coffee brewers are plentiful, with the majority costing less than thirty dollars.
With a plastic spout and a glass coffee pitcher, the Hario V60 is a masterpiece. Pour-over coffee makers are available in ceramic versions; however, they are always constructed of two components and need store-bought screens. You barbarian, don’t use a pleated napkin with a pour-over. Invest in the filters.
The beautiful thing about a pour-over is that, while it functions similarly to a drip coffee maker, it produces an even cleaner and sharper cup of joe that is mainly free of the acidity of the coffee bean debris found at the bottom of a drip coffee machine.
A pour-over creates a great cup of coffee and requires work (you must boil the water and, ideally, ground the beans manually), but it’s well worth it.
Chemex
The Chemex functions much like a pour-over, except with crucial differences that produce an entirely distinct taste. It’s both filter and carafe in one and can hold up to three to 10 cups of coffee. The Chemex’s biggest secret, however? It’s unique, extra-thick bonded filters that can extract the flavor of any roast.
You should acquire a Chemex if you want the freshest, sharpest, and a most pristine cup of coffee you’ve ever had. The item, which came about more than seven decades ago, is one of the 100 Best Developed Systems of Recent Times at the Smithsonian and Modern Art Museums.
When it comes to brewing coffee, it’s simply ideal. While it is technically a pour-over process, there are a few slight modifications that have a significant impact. The first is that a Chemex is a single, solid piece of brewing art.
It’s both a filter and a server rather than a cone resting on a server. The second difference is that Chemex employs a unique filter. These bonded filters are thicker than regular coffee filters and are essential for making a cup of Chemex coffee.
While it is slower than a pour-over (the time difference is insignificant if you are using a pour-over), it produces a cup of coffee that is even cleaner, with no bitter taste or residue.
You’ll have a lovely Chemex on your kitchen countertop and not coffee shop gift cards if you care about your coffee consumption. The Chemex is the perfect coffee brewing instrument, and it works similarly to a regular pour-over.
Product Material & Design
Pour Over
Depending on the brand and model, you can make pour-over coffee in a glass, stainless steel, ceramic, and plastic. These are usually relatively compact and are easy to bring around when traveling. Pour overs can come in a cone or flat-bottom styles.
Because stainless steel, glass, and ceramic stainless steel are poor thermal insulators, they will lose some of their warmth to the surrounding atmosphere before stealing more heat from the brew to get back stability.
Only a few materials combine low thermal mass with excellent thermal insulation. Acrylic drippers are lightweight and have a simple design to be used often, but they are more stain-prone.
Finally, there’s the matter of money. Resin acrylic and polypropylene drippers are less expensive, but their lifespan is shorter. Ceramic and copper are more durable, but they are also more costly.
A polypropylene dripper is an excellent all-around solution for individuals getting started with pour-over coffee. It’s the most cost-effective dripper. There is less influence from your brewing variables and therefore takes less control. When opposed to a ceramic dripper, you don’t need as much hot water to warm it.
Chemex
The Chemex has a beautiful, iconic design that has found its way into the permanent gallery of the Museum of Modern Art. Its main parts chiefly comprise glass, making it extremely sturdy but also not very mobile.
All Chemex coffeemakers comprise non-porous Borosilicate glass, which doesn’t absorb odors or chemical residues.
Coffee may be covered and chilled for reheating without losing flavor, thanks to the proprietary Chemex pour-over system.
Since it is all glass that cools quickly, the manufacturers offer a few warming solutions. Here are a few methods for keeping your coffee warm:
- On a gas stove, we can maintain the carafe on a low flame
- Keep the carafe in a warm water bath
- At a low temperature, we can place the carafe directly on a glass top stove
- They sell a wire grid that we can use on an electric coil burner and then place on top of the carafe. We have to set the stovetop to a low temperature
- We can wrap a towel around the carafe
- We can use the Chemex glass coffeemaker top
Pour Over vs. Chemex Brewing Time
Pour-Over.
Depending on the model and materials, a pour-over may brew coffee in 3-5 minutes.
Chemex
The coffee drips into the cup at a significantly slower rate, about five or six minutes, due to the thicker filters.
Ease of Use
Pour Over
Pour overs necessitate a high level of involvement in the process to maximize the taste and flavor of your coffee, but with enough skill, it becomes relatively simple. Many pour-overs can only brew 1-2 cups every brew; thus, it’s ideal for small families but not large-scale brewing.
Chemex
Due to their density, Chemex filters must be pre-soaked before use, although they can brew anywhere between three and ten cups of coffee per cycle. Otherwise, the procedure is very similar to conventional pour-overs.
Taste & Quality of Brew
Pour Over
If you tinker with brewing periods, temperatures, pouring methods, and brewing equipment, you can personalize the flavor of your coffee. Pour-over coffees are silky and light, and they’re ideal for roasts with solid flavors.
Chemex
Chemex coffee drinks are cleaner, fuller, and better suited to emphasize subtle nuances due to longer brewing durations.
The Bottom Line
Finally, the cost disparity between these two processes is undeniable: the Chemex begins at a higher cost than the Pour-over. Chemex filters are roughly double what pour-over filters.
The tiny, ceramic pour-over devices are much more versatile than the delicate Chemex, making them a good choice for vacation or coffee beyond the home.
Both the pour-over and Chemex produce smooth, excellent coffee. Chemex coffee has a distinctly bright, clean flavor profile that we may enjoy without detracting from typical pour-over procedures.
If you enjoy pour-over coffee, upgrading your brewing skills with a Chemex brewer may be the next natural step as you pursue your newfound enthusiasm for coffee. We strongly advise you to try pour-over coffee if you haven’t before.
In the end, you decide what is the ideal brewing method. Each process produces a coffee that tastes completely different, so pick the way that best suits your likes and preferences.
