Intelligentsia Chemex Brewing Guide from Intelligentsia Coffee on Vimeo.

The coffee maestros at Intelligentsia have always been fervent supporters of the Chemex brewing system developed in the 1940s by German inventor, Dr. Peter Schlumbohm. The device is essentially “part chemist’s funnel, part Erlenmeyer flask, with a blond leather band in the middle corseting its hourglass curves.” Where the spectacular coffee comes from is the unique multi-layered paper funnel used to filter the coffee, trapping more of the “undesired” oils that they say kill the coffee’s flavor. After having finally tried this method, consider me a convert — the coffee was noticeably less bitter and layered with a more complex taste.