I have never met a Chemex that I didn’t love, up to and including the little three-cup jammer with their fold-it-yourself filter situation going on. But the iconic coffee brewer is putting even my own unbridled enthusiasm to the test with their newest line of six-cup glass handle Chemexes, which have clearly been dipping into the waviest of the gravies. Still, my devotion remains resolute.
It’s never too late in life to find yourself, and Chemex, now on the other side of 80 years old, appears to have gone off to college and had some new experiences. It’s a tale as old as time. The straight-A STEM kid leaves the nest for the first time to go major in Chemistry, discovers the wacky tobacky and jam bands, and returns home after first semester with uncut hair and baggy, ill-fitting clothes, bedecked in hemp jewelry, and smelling of patchouli oil. Now they’re a Philosophy major with a djembe always within arm’s reach and are considering taking a year off to follow the Dead around the country. The journey to self-discovery is as winding and twisty as the handles on the new Chemexes.
Reminiscent of glassware you promise your parents is a vase and why were you even in my room in the first place MOM, the new handles for the six-cup non-porous Borosilicate glass brewer feature an array of colorful options, including gold and sapphire. But if you’re looking to get a little psychedelic, then it’s all about the twists. The braided pattern handles have citrus, tropical, and “tidal” varieties.
The new six-cup variations range in price from $52 for the solid-colored handles up to $60 for the Half Baked ones (have you ever seen the back of three $20 bills… on weeeeeeed?) and are available for purchase via the Chemex website.
I was initially skeptical of the psychedelic offerings, but after a healthy dose of mind-altering substances, I’ve queued up some RatDog and now I’m all in. I just need to figure out whether the citrus or tropical twist will look better with my velvet mushroom blacklight poster.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
