Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Note: I got the 8 cup version I've been through a lot of coffee makers, and hated them all till now. My biggest issue has always been cleanup! I'd leave coffee-grounds in, be too lazy to clean it up later, get mold growing in the coffee maker's reservoir, and on and on. The Chemex solves all these problems AND makes a stunning cup of coffee. Making the coffee takes a bit longer, as you basically have to spend about 5 minutes or so watching and pouring... however, it's fun to do! I actually look forward to the task. You find yourself making fine adjustments to your coffee making methods every day, just to see the differences you can make. Cleanup is where you make up for the 5 minutes of pour time... Takes about 15 seconds... Drop the filter in the garbage, rinse the chemex out, put it back on the shelf. If you use hot water to rinse, it dries instantly... No small parts, no reservoirs that remain damp 24/7 collecting fungus, no series of tubes and tunnels that can never be cleaned. And the coffee is as perfect as you make it. I'll never use another coffee maker. Note, I also purchased the lid and stove grid. Helps a lot... I brew 8 cups of coffee in the morning, put it on the stove with the mesh, turn my range to low-medium, and put the lid on. Keeps my 8 cups hot all day. Update: Well, I've had this coffee maker for about 8 months now, and I'm still loving it. Update: Well, I've had this coffee maker for over 3 years now, and I'm STILL loving it. Works as well as it did the day I got it. Update: Well, I've had this coffee maker for over 5 years now, still loving it, and still my only coffee maker. Update: It's past 6 years now, still my only coffee maker and still loving it. Just ordered some filters :) - Kind of got into the spirit of my coffee making this last year and bought me a manual burr grinder to go with it and started purchasing beans directly from my local roasters. Kind of like the idea that I could take some beans, a pot, my chimex and my new manual grinder out camping and still brew one hell of a cup sans electricity. It amuses me to no end that such a simple brewer could do so well. I wish my phone/computer tech had this kind of staying power! Update: Over 9 years now? Still my only coffee maker and still loving it. I just took a look at all the 1 star reviews out of curiosity. They all seem to be about fragility? 9 years and no breakage, however I do treat it just like I'd treat any thin glass carafe when it comes to hot and cold. Once I've got it hot, I don't come near it with cold water! My intuition and experience with thin glass tells me that's a bad idea. I have exploded carafe's in the past putting them under cold water while still hot. I have stone counters so it probably takes a small pink here and there, but I'm careful with it. I've never put it in the dishwasher. Seems like a bad idea and isn't necessary. On another note, I got my dad to get one of these but he got the smaller size (3 cup). It works fine, but I wish he'd got a bigger size. 3 cups? No, try one for one thing. The filters are also more difficult on the smaller size maker. You can easily make 1-3 cups on the larger ones (easier than on the smaller one IMO), so I think I'd never recommend the 3 cup version.