CGG Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Connecticut Expertise: I love coffee
Drip: Chemex
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2005, 5:59am Subject: Chemex Question
I've been brewing coffee with a chemex for about three months now. It's been fun to experiment with, and my now preferred way to brew coffee. I'm getting excellent results with origin coffees, but so far I'm having no luck with French and Italian roasts. They come out flat, and I don't get nearly as much flavour as when I brew them in my french press. Varying temperature, amount, and courseness of the grind seems to have no effect. Am I missing something?
hyacinth Senior Member Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 228 Location: earth Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2005, 7:18am Subject: Re: Chemex Question
When you use a dark roast coffee, you're mostly going to taste the roast instead of the bean itself. It won't make any differnce how it's brewed. Stick with the lighter roasts.
Terroir has some good info how the roast affects the delicate flavor of the bean:
CGG Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Connecticut Expertise: I love coffee
Drip: Chemex
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2005, 7:36am Subject: Re: Chemex Question
Thanks for the reply. I love a good dark roasted coffee now and then, especially in the evening. Perhaps I should just stick with the French Press when I have that urge. Believe it or not I can taste a difference in the brewing.
hyacinth Senior Member Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 228 Location: earth Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2005, 9:08am Subject: Re: Chemex Question
CGG Said:
Thanks for the reply. I love a good dark roasted coffee now and then, especially in the evening. Perhaps I should just stick with the French Press when I have that urge. Believe it or not I can taste a difference in the brewing.
Well, yes, you would taste a difference between Chemex and French Press. They're opposite ends of the brewing spectrum. I'm beginning to appreciate the Chemex taste; at first i thought it was TOO clean.
"When my examination is complete, all carbon units will be reduced to data patterns."
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2005, 9:20am Subject: Re: Chemex Question
CGG Said:
Thanks for the reply. I love a good dark roasted coffee now and then, especially in the evening. Perhaps I should just stick with the French Press when I have that urge. Believe it or not I can taste a difference in the brewing.
It sounds like you're well on your way to cultivating your own tastes and preferences. While it's true that the darker your roast is the more you're likely to taste the roasting process that doesn't mean they're bad, just different. I tend to prefer lighter roasts where I don't lose the pleasant acids that usually get lost in darker roasts, but every once in a while I like the variety of a very dark roast. I don't know if it's conscensus or coincidence, but I have the same subjective preference as you for a cleaner cup (vac/drip) for lighter roasts and a bolder if siltier cup (French press) for dark roasts.
CGG Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Connecticut Expertise: I love coffee
Drip: Chemex
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2005, 9:57am Subject: Re: Chemex Question
jtsnyc Said:
I don't know if it's conscensus or coincidence, but I have the same subjective preference as you for a cleaner cup (vac/drip) for lighter roasts and a bolder if siltier cup (French press) for dark roasts.
That is interesting. I wonder if it's a common preference.
Experimenting with the chemex has been so much fun. I don't recall getting the same thrill from the press when it was new. Perhaps it's in the design. It makes me feel like a kid with a chemistry set!
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