I have had my Chemex coffee maker for several years now. When I was really into brewing coffee at home, it was my favorite - no fuss, quick, portable. I loved the fact that it has so few parts - fewer to break, fewer to clean. Coffee brewed in a Chemex is free of that awful bitter taste caused by electric brewers, and cleanup is far easier than with a french press. The design is appealing, too - part laboratory, part macrame plant holder. What is that wooden cuff for, you ask? It's a precursor to cup sleeves - a place to hold it so you don't burn the crap out of your hands, lest you think it would look far nicer without it (I discovered this the hard way - d'oh!).
One thing about making coffee, or tea for that matter, was lacking in my household, and for an astonishingly long time: an electric tea kettle. Waiting for water to boil on the stove is tedious, and actually dangerous if your tea kettle whistle breaks like mine did, and your absentmindedness nearly burns the house down "hm, why does it smell like toast.....oh Shi....!"
Heating up water in a microwave is just wrong.
Every single European person knows, nowadays (meaning the 20th century and beyond) you get an electric tea kettle. It warms the water lickedy split, and turns itself off when done. No shrieking whistle to send you running from the shower or to interrupt your favorite tv program, just a gentle "click" and your water is ready.
So I finally got an electric tea kettle. This one is a Hamilton Beach model, which I actually would not recommend for various reasons, but it was available and it was cheap. And you know what, it's light years better than my old kettle. The Chemex definitely approves!
