Steel reusable filters are better
this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2025
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Here's an Italian company that sells food grade filter paper: https://www.polsinelli.it/en/filter-paper-disc-%C3%B8-200-100-pieces-P3276.htm
Before you say "it's not the same", you have to understand that you're moving to an entirely different non-Chemex product anyway, so you're going to have to experiment with what products work for you as well.
~~You could try googling for "chemex compatible filters" then carefully looking for where the products come from.~~
~~Here's one that says "from Canada" on the box, and "Canadian pulp" in the description.~~ ~~https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8BFP4C3~~
~~But where was it actually made?~~ ~~Doesn't say~~
Never mind. It's made by the parent company of NutriBullet, Alchemy Worldwide, which is American.
I'd say the short answer is most likely no.
Chemex popularity is attributable more to their filters than their brewer design I would say. They are known for strong thick filters that produce a clean cup with heavy multicup brews and a wide open brewer that does not require a lot of support for the filter cone to allow large open surface area that compensates for the thick filter and allows rapid drainage. I have not encountered anything that is a valid substitute for a paper filter.
That being said. I really like the brew that a coffee sock in a chemex produces. Brand name coffee socks are also American made and they make one specifically for chemex. I bet you can find a non American fabric sock alternative though. Or if you buy from coffee sock, at least it's a one time purchase and not a commitment to pay on a regular basis.
Hario V60 is from Japan.
A Hario V60 would not scratch the ich?
Also have you considered one of these metal reusable filtres? I have a chemex from tschibo and it has a metal filter and it's quite good.
The metal filters let all the oils and stuff through into the cup, so if you're looking for the same profile you get from paper filters you might be disappointed. Not to say it makes bad coffee! Just different
Though, that makes me wonder, maybe you can put a paper V60 filter into the metal filter to get similar filtration and not have to worry about the thinner paper breaking
Part of the reason I'm so hesitant to buy a Chemex is that the filters are comparatively so much more expensive than others, and there doesn't seem to be an acceptable, affordable substitute (I recently bought 600 filters for my V60 for just a little more than a single 100-count box of Chemex filters!).
The only reasonable competition out there seems to be the Lardera filters, but that company is based in New Jersey, so those also don't fit your criteria.
I'm not 100% certain about the dimensions of a Chemex, but I wonder if it would be feasible to stack 2 V60 filters together to achieve the same effect as the thicker Chemex paper
It's not a huge expense compared to the coffee, and especially as I'm a bit rough when grinding it (some early 20th century grinder from a flea market) I appreciate that it somehow always seems to produce a decent cup no matter what I put into it.
I'll give stacking V60s a try before buying the next round of Chemex filters. Seems a bit far-fetched but you never know. Thanks for the advice!
Lardera looks decent, too bad it's American.
@AWTM_James
Definitely far-fetched! But who knows, maybe it'll work out 🤷♂️
Another commenter below got me thinking, maybe you could try putting a V60 filter inside one of those metal mesh filters. Might not get quite as much filtration as the thicker Chemex paper, but you wouldn't have to use two filters for every brew, and it would support the filter and keep it from breaking. I also think there are thicker V60 filters out there, so you might be able to get pretty close
I used to have a Bodum coffee maker with a metal filter, but it never really worked that well for me, and I lived in Italy where paper filters are not that easily available. Now I'm beating myself up over giving it away without testing more alternatives.
I think maybe the best solution is to explore the world of V60 (as much as I love my Chemex). But I'll try double filters for sure before doing anything too dramatic.
@AWTM_James
That looks ideal, thank you so much! Also found it's available in a local shop. Good stuff. :)
@kjett
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