I fell in love with u/dopplegangerofmyself 's coffee chest when he posted it 6 years ago and wanted to someday make a version for myself. After many hours of analyzing the photos he'd posted, drawing it in Sketchup, and then help from the man himself, I was able to set about making it. It still took me 7 months to construct. The outer case is 12.5 x 16.5 x 9, grain wrapped (to include the doors) Sapele.

I couldn't find a keyhole escutcheon I liked so I made one myself from brass bar stock using my Shapeoko CNC.

Only one of the timers is actually needed but threes look so much nicer! I removed the glass timers from their original metal frame and made a little dovetailed frame for them. The whole thing is held in place with tiny magnets and the sand timer has to be removed for the bean boxes to come up and out.

Partly due to a mistake, partly because I like the look, I chose to make little wooden pencil style boxes for the whole beans. A little finger slot at the bottom lets you push the boxes up to remove them from a slot at the top. I left the inside of the boxes unfinished to not effect the taste of the beans.

This area was the most fun to organize and layout. I obviously pulled heavily from the original but wanted to combine the grounds scoop and the wooden stirrer into one item. I designed it in Fusion 360 and carved it out on my cnc. The scoop is calculated to hold 25ml and the handle is thin but flat, perfect for stirring the grounds and scraping the side of the bowl while you brew.

The first time I've ever lined anything with felt. The slots were cut on the cnc and felt outlines cut on a friend's Cricut. There was still plenty of hand cutting and gluing to be done though.

The top drawer is where I keep the cloth filters plus extras. The maple piece is a foldable stand, based on the Roubo bookstand, to hold the upper bowl while it's not in use. It's a good concept but didn't come out great so there aren't good pictures of it here.

Little demitasse cups. According to the original maker, these little 5 oz cups are a typical serving size for coffee in Japan. Serendipitous since the brewer and the recipient of the chest are both from there.

A tin for the denatured alcohol that goes in the burner. There should be a little bar of chocolate in the slot to the left but it was long since eaten.

Roll that beautiful bean footage!

The grinder was removed from its original base and I made a new one for it. The little drawer is held in by little magnets.

Alcohol burner and the match safe.

It's by no means a fast process. It takes about 25 minutes to get a cup of coffee if you only use what is in the chest.

Once the water comes to a light boil, you insert the upper bowl that contains the grounds. The pressure forces the water up the tube into the upper bowl and mixes with the grounds. The timer is set and the coffee steeps for two minutes.

Once the coffee has steeped, removing the flame allows the lower bowl to immediately begin cooling, which draws the coffee back down through a filter in the upper bowl.

Voila! coffee for four! (or 0.25 hospital nurses)

Sweet cuppa Joe.

Gotta clean up! All plastic handles were removed and replaced with walnut. It was my first time playing on a lathe!