From: imber@maniform.com 
  
 On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 00:33:04 GMT, "Mr. R"  wrote: 
  
  
 >I'm more tea than coffee, but I do enjoy coffee occasionally, and I like to 
 >make it for guests.  I use one of those plunger-type cafetier things.  It 
 >produces pretty decent stuff.  Your chemex comment got my attention and I 
 >started doing some Googling.  Do you really swear by this method, which 
 >appears to be all in the filter?  The process looks incredibly simple. 
  
  Oh yes, Chemex is marvelous. Melitta is the most common sort of 
 manual drip device around, and it may be just about as good. But side by 
 side I think that Chemex is a bit better, particularly if you use genuine 
 Chemex filters. 
  
  I haven't actually drunk Chemex-made coffee in years. I'm a coffee 
 fanatic, but I use a vacuum maker now. Nevertheless you have it right on 
 both counts: Chemex/drip is extremely simple and the results are generally 
 extremely good, as long as you're starting with good water and coffee. Drip 
 is a bit more tolerant in terms of grind quality and even the quality of 
 the beans. 
  
  You may wonder how a manual drip could produce better coffee than 
 old "Mr. Coffee". Basically it's the level of control you exercise over the 
 water temperature and flow. You can experiment with Chemex to get just the 
 right extraction, whereas with an automatic, you're at the mercy of its 
 programming. 
  
  The other thing about the Chemex is its classic design. It's 
 beautiful to behold, sits nicely in the hand, cleans easily, etc. And as we 
 all know, a good portion of the joy of eating and drinking derives from the 
 appeal of the utensils and vessels. 
  
  DGI 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)