Chemex Ottomatic

The Chemex Ottomatic is Chemex’s electric coffeemaker. Instead of you pouring from a kettle, it heats the water and pours it over the coffee in a Chemex for you, handling the pre-infusion, temperature and contact time, then keeps the pot warm on a hot plate. Daily Coffee News reported Chemex unveiling it in December 2014. The current Ottomatic 2.0 adds an iced coffee mode. Here’s how it works and whether it’s for you.

The short version

• An electric brewer that pours over a Chemex for you.
• Handles pre-infusion, temperature and contact time automatically.
• Hot plate keeps the coffee warm.
• Ottomatic 2.0 adds an iced mode: brew onto ice, hot plate off.
• Sold with a 6-cup Classic Chemex; the common version is 120V for the US.

How does the Ottomatic work?

It’s a filter coffee machine built around the Chemex. You fill the water tank, put a Chemex filter and coffee in a Chemex, and stand it on the hot plate under the spray head. The machine heats the water and pours it over the coffee in stages, starting with a pre-infusion (its version of the bloom), so you get Chemex-style coffee without standing over a kettle.

Hot and iced modes

The Ottomatic 2.0 has two modes:

• Hot: brews into the Chemex, then the hot plate keeps it warm.
• Iced: you put ice in the Chemex first, and the machine brews onto it, like Japanese iced coffee. The hot plate stays off.

What comes with it?

Retailers sell the Ottomatic 2.0 with a 6-cup Classic Chemex, and some bundles add Chemex filters and a cleaner. Bundles vary, so check the listing. The version most widely sold is 120V, made for the US, so check the voltage if you live elsewhere.

What grind and ratio should I use?

The same as a manual Chemex: medium-coarse, about like kosher salt, with the ratio you like. Counter Culture Coffee’s manual recipe uses 1:17, 45 g of coffee to 750 g of water; see the main Chemex guide.

How do you use the Ottomatic, step by step?

1. Fill the tank with fresh, cold water for the amount you want.
2. Fold and seat a Chemex filter, three-layer side to the spout.
3. Add medium-coarse coffee to the filter.
4. Stand the Chemex on the hot plate under the spray head.
5. Choose hot or iced and switch it on. For iced, put ice in the Chemex first.
6. Lift out the filter when it’s done, and pour.

Don’t fill the tank beyond what your Chemex holds: a reviewer found a full tank can overflow the 6-cup carafe.

How do you clean it?

Throw away the filter and grounds, and wash the Chemex as you would any Chemex (collar off first). Descale the machine as its instructions say.

General guidance only. It’s an electrical appliance with a hot plate and glass carafe: follow the instructions that come with yours.

Should I buy an Ottomatic or a manual Chemex?

• Buy the Ottomatic if you want Chemex-style coffee without the hands-on pouring, or like it kept warm.
• Buy a manual Chemex if you enjoy pouring yourself, or want something simpler that works anywhere.
• Look at an automatic drip machine if you just want hands-off filter coffee and don’t mind which brand.

Ottomatic vs other brewers

• Chemex Classic: the same coffee, poured by hand.
• Automatic drip coffee maker: the wider family of filter coffee machines.
• Japanese iced coffee: what the iced mode makes, by hand.
• V60: a single-cup pour-over with a finer grind.

Explore every pour-over in the pour-over chapter.