Chemex
Chemex Classic 6-Cup review
Updated 2026-07-27
The CM-6A, a single piece of borosilicate glass with a wood collar, unchanged since 1941. Its thick bonded filters strip oils and sediment, which is the whole point and also the whole argument about it.
Our opinion
6.8/10
Beautiful and fussy
The Chemex makes a cup nothing else here matches for clarity, and it asks you to work for it every single time. You fold a thick filter, rinse it properly or taste paper, pour slowly, then get a bottle brush into the neck afterwards. We think that trade is worth it if you brew at weekends and enjoy the ritual. If you want coffee before work on a Tuesday, buy almost anything else on this page.
- In the cup 8.0
- Value 7.0
- Ease of use 6.0
- Build & longevity 6.0
- Versatility 6.0
- Type
- Manual pour-over brewer and server
- Model
- CM-6A
- Capacity
- 30 oz, 6 cups at 5 oz
- Material
- Borosilicate glass, one piece
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What works
- +The bonded filters give a cup with almost no sediment and very little oil
- +Brews and serves in the same vessel
- +One piece of glass, so there is nothing to wear out
- +It is genuinely lovely to look at, which is not nothing on a counter
The catch
- −The filters cost several times what a V60 filter does
- −Skip the pre-rinse and the paper taste comes through
- −Fragile, and owners do break them
- −Awkward to clean without a bottle brush
What owners say
Recurring themes from public owner discussion (Recurring themes across r/coffee threads and owner discussion, Published long-term reviews of the Chemex Classic), paraphrased. Checked 2026-07-27.
Comes up as praise
- +The cup is what keeps people loyal. Owners describe it as unusually clean and sweet, and they put up with the rest of it for that.
- +It doubles as the serving carafe, which owners like for having people round.
- +Longevity is good if you do not break it. There are no moving parts and nothing to replace but filters.
- +The look comes up constantly, and plenty of owners say it is the reason it stays on the counter rather than in a cupboard.
Comes up as gripes
- −The filters are the recurring gripe: expensive next to other papers, and fiddly to fold correctly.
- −Skipping the rinse leaves a papery taste, and because the filter is so thick there is more paper to taste.
- −Breakage is a common story, and the glass neck is the usual casualty.
- −Cleaning needs a bottle brush, which owners treat as part of the deal rather than an occasional job.
- −Brewing is slower than most other methods, which rules it out for a lot of weekday mornings.
Watch
See it in action
Video: James Hoffmann. Embedded from YouTube.
Full specifications
| Type | Manual pour-over brewer and server |
|---|---|
| Model | CM-6A |
| Capacity | 30 oz, 6 cups at 5 oz |
| Material | Borosilicate glass, one piece |
| Collar | Polished wood with a leather tie |
| Filters | Chemex Bonded, FP-1 / FC-100 / FS-100 / FSU-100 |
| Dimensions | 8.5 in high, 5.125 in diameter |
| Dishwasher | Safe with the collar removed |
Who it's for
The Chemex Classic 6-Cup suits clarity, weekend-brewing, serving.
About Chemex
Chemex is an American maker founded on a 1941 design by the chemist Peter Schlumbohm, who built a coffee brewer out of laboratory glassware. The shape has barely changed since, and it is paired with the company's own unusually thick bonded filters. Examples sit in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Compare with
Kalita Wave 185
A flat-bottomed stainless dripper with three small holes and a ridged wave filter. The flat bed is the point: it makes the brew far less sensitive to how well you pour.
Hario V60 Switch 03
A V60 with a stainless ball valve in the bottom. Flick the switch and it steeps like a French press; flick it back and it drains like a pour-over. It is the only brewer here that does both.
Moccamaster KBGV Select
The US flagship of the Moccamaster range: a hand-built Dutch drip brewer with a copper heating element and a selector that brews a half or a full carafe to the same standard.