I have the handblown, smallest Chemex. It is beautiful to look at, and makes delicious coffee.
Negative Product Points
The filters for this size are hard to find and expensive. I order them from fantes.com. This is a personal size coffeemaker, so if you want to share, or want more than one mug, go up a size.
Detailed Commentary
The smallest Chemex makes one good sized mug of coffee with a couple of ounces for a warm-up left over. I put 15 ounces of water to boil, fold the half-moon Chemex filter and insert it into the Chemex, then grind 15 grams of beans, by weight, at two dots to the left of the drip coffee mark on the Solis Maestro Plus. I pour water, just off the boil, just enough to soak the coffee and I stir it with a chopstick. Then I pour the rest through. For me, this is almost a meditative process, a calming coffee ritual when I get home after work. Others may find this a bit too finicky and it does take time, but I enjoy it.
The coffee is delicious and just enough to pick me up through the evening without preventing me from sleeping. (YMMV on caffeine sensitivity!) The brewer's appearance is is elegant and it is easy to clean with a stick-mounted sponge.
Chemex-made coffee was the first properly made coffee I ever drank, before I knew anything other than my mother's perked coffee. It was a revelation then, and it remains one of my favorite methods. If you've never tried it, treat yourself - it's what drip coffee should taste like.
