Chemex

Buy This If…

You like old world craftsmanship and new world design. (You better...that’s our tagline.) The Chemex was birthed in Germany in 1941 and still looks beautiful today and boy does it make those floral notes pop!

Rundown

• Prep Time: 3 min
• Brew Time: 4 min
• Cups: 8 cups
• Brew ratio: 1:16.5
• In your mouth: A bouquet of flowers with just the right balance
• Grind size: Kosher salt

Gear:

• Chemex 8-cup
• Chemex paper filter
• 42 grams of whole beans
• 700 ml of filtered water
• Burr grinder or hand grinder
• Gooseneck kettle w/ thermometer
• Calculator
• Timer
• Scale
• 8 cups

Pre-Brew

• Use a brew ratio of coffee to water that is 1:16.5
• Place the Chemex filter in the brewer with the single fold away from the spout and multiple folds lined up to the spout.
• Bring your water boil at 205 degrees.
• Rinse the filter with water which will create a nice even seal all the way around. This preheats the brewer and gets rid of any paper flavor from the filter. Dump the rinse water and fold the filter toward the spout to strengthen this area.
• Allow the kettle water to cool 15 seconds more after wetting the filter.
• While it's cooling, load coffee grounds into the Chemex and gently shake it so that they even out.
• Place Chemex on top of a scale.
• Tare your scale to zero.

Brew

Step 1: Bloom (0 - :45 seconds)

• Start your timer and slowly pour from the outside (not touching the paper) in a circular motion finishing in the middle.
• Use 150 grams of water or until they are all saturated.
• Stir with a chopstick or spoon.
• Let it sit until your timer reads 40 seconds.

Step 2: Brew (:45 - 1:20)

• Pour with a back-and-forth quick motion and then a gentle circle until the volume reaches about one inch down from the top of the rim.
• Target the darker areas of coffee and leave the lighter areas alone.
• Circles will be small like a quarter all the way to as big as a baseball size.
• Finish this step at 1:20 and 450 grams.

Step 3: Pulse (1:45 - 2:25)

• Fill the Chemex again with swirls until the level of coffee is flush with the top and reaches 700 grams.

Step 4: Wait (2:25 - 4:00)

• At 4:00, the drip should be almost finished. Lift the filter and hold it as it makes its last few drips and make sure you have enough volume. Pull the filter out completely and toss it in the garbage.