How-to Brew Coffee With a Chemex
Chemex Overview
The Chemex can make a cup of coffee that is delicate & light-bodied, which is why it’s found its place amongst home baristas & coffee enthusiasts. It’s a staple in our home and is used nearly every morning for our first cup of coffee.
This recipe is a general reference to how we brew coffee with a Chemex, but depending on the coffee, we may tweak weight or grind size to bring out different flavors & nuances of the coffee. We suggest starting with this recipe & ratio, then adjusting it, once you become familiar with the process.
What You’ll need
8-cup Chemex Carafe & Filters
Kettle
Grinder
Digital Scale
Timer
38 g Coffee
708 ml Water
Time
Approx. 3 - 5 Minutes
Step 1 - Fold your Filter
Bring your water to a boil in your kettle. Open your Chemex filter, and place it in the brewer with the thicker, 3-fold side facing the spout of the Chemex. If you’re having trouble getting it down, check out Chemex’s step-by-step guide to getting the perfect folded Chemex filter.
Step 2 - Weigh out your coffee
Weigh our 38g of freshly roasted coffee on your scale. If you don’t have a scale, you can use tablespoons to measure your coffee, however, it is less accurate & will affect your final cup (1 tablespoon ≈ 6 grams).
Step 3 - Rinse your filter
Once your water is up to temperature (195°F), rinse your filter with the first 100ml of water in your kettle. Then discard the water in the carafe. This gets rid of any taste that the paper has, while also heating up your carafe so the coffee doesn’t cool down as fast.
Step 4 - Grind your coffee
Grind your coffee, a little bit coarser than you would for a regular drip coffee. It should resemble sea salt.
Step 5 - Tare your scale
Pour your ground coffee in the carafe with the rinsed filter, then tare your scale to 0. This is pretty important unless you can do quick math on the side.
Step 6 - Bloom the coffee bed
Start your timer and Bloom the coffee bed by pouring 76ml of water in concentric circles around the coffee grounds, then let it sit for roughly 30 seconds.
Step 7 - Slowly pour the remaining water
Slowly pour the remaining 532ml of water over the already bloomed coffee bed while making concentric circles. Try staying away from the center & edges of the coffee bed so that the water maintains contact with the coffee.
Step 8 - Enjoy a delicious cup of Chemex coffee
There is nothing better than waking up, making a cup of Chemex coffee, and enjoying the morning.
Tips & Tricks
Keep the temperature of your water between 195-200°F during the entire brewing process if possible, this will help for a more even extraction of your coffee.