HOW TO USE A CHEMEX COFFEE MAKER IN 6 EASY STEPS
You could make a cup of coffee like any average Joe… But wouldn’t you rather be a caffeinated Jedi and learn how to use a Chemex to make coffee? Since you’re reading, we assume you want the latter.
Brewing with a Chemex isn’t rocket science, but it’s a level up from pressing the brew button on your coffee machine. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered with this step-by-step guide packed full of helpful hints!
Read on to learn our Chemex brew guide.
What You Need
- 55 grams whole bean coffee
- Filtered water (approximately 1.20 liters)
- A Chemex
- A Chemex filter
- A pouring kettle
- Digital scale
- Burr coffee grinder
- A timer
At a Glance:
Brew time
5 minutes
Yield
Three 8-oz cups
It isn’t hard to do this Chemex coffee recipe, but it does take practice and a willingness to experiment. The recipe below is how I like my morning coffee. It’s okay to tweak it to suit your taste; in fact, it’s encouraged. Mastering the Chemex means embracing the art and the science of the process.
First things first, you’ll need a Chemex. If you don’t own this elegant piece of coffee gear or aren’t sure if it’s right for you, read our Chemex review here.
What Filters To Use For this Chemex Coffee Recipe
The traditional Chemex filter comes as an unfolded circle, which is available either bleached or unbleached. You can also find pre-folded square or round Chemex filters.
Classic Chemex filters are unique because they are double-bonded, making them substantially thicker than most other coffee filters (2).
Chemex paper filters are 20-30% heavier than other filters so they retain more of the suspended oils during the brewing process and solids cannot pass through the filter.
The extra thick filter yields a crisp and clean cup. It allows you to brew a stronger cup of coffee with less concern about overly acidic and bitter flavors.
We’ll use the original Chemex filter in this recipe, but you are welcome to experiment with different Chemex filters. Each delivers a slightly different style of delicious coffee.
How To Use The Chemex to Make Coffee
Now follow these simple instructions to make great coffee with a Chemex.
We’ve also got you covered if you prefer a video Chemex recipe:
Step 1. Weigh And Grind Your Coffee Beans
Use a coffee scale to weigh 55 grams of coffee beans.
The right grind for the Chemex is medium-coarse – somewhere between the size of sea salt and regular sand. Grind your coffee to medium-coarse using a burr grinder.
It may take a few attempts to perfectly dial in the grind size. If your coffee tastes bitter, try a coarse grinder. If it tastes weak, watery, or sour, try a finer grind.
Pro tip: Learn which grind works for what brew method in this article.
Step 2. Fold Your Filter
The traditional Chemex filter comes as an unfolded circle. Fold the circle in half once, so it looks like a half moon. Then, fold that half moon in half again. Now your filter should look like a triangle made up of four layers.
Separate the 3rd and 4th layer of the triangle with your fingers and open it up. You should have a cone filter with one side made of a single layer of paper and the other side having three layers.
Step 3. Rinse The Filter
Place the filter into the top of the Chemex with the 3-layer side along the pour spout of the Chemex. This orientation is extremely important for ventilation and extraction.
Once you’ve placed the filter in the Chemex, run some of your boiled water through it before you add the coffee. This eliminates any paper taste from your coffee, seals the filter to the Chemex, and preheats the brewer.
Don’t forget to drain the excess water.
Pro tip: The rinsing step is particularly important if you are using unbleached filters, which have a more pronounce paper or woody flavor.
Step 4. Reel In Your Ratio
The coffee-to-water ratio is nearly as important as the grind size when brewing a great cup. And like the grind, it may require some experimentation. Standard suggestions range from 1:14 to 1:19 (3).
I like to use a brew ratio of 1:15, which means 1 liter of water for 55 grams of ground coffee. If you don’t have a scale, that’s about 7 tablespoons of ground coffee and 25 fl. oz. of water.
Pro tip: Consistency is the key to great coffee, so I highly recommend getting a coffee scale. Even inexpensive models should be accurate to 0.1 grams, and many have convenient built-in timers.
Step 5. Pour Water
Place the Chemex on your scale an tare it to 0.
Heat your water to between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal extraction temperature according to the Specialty Coffee Association. If you don’t have a thermometer, bring your water to a boil and then wait 30 seconds.
Start your timer.
The first pour is the bloom (4). Add about 100 grams of water, just enough to wet the coffee grounds evenly. Let the coffee and water stand for 30 seconds.
For your second pour, start in the center to break the “crust” on the bloom, then slowly pour spiraling outwards in concentric circles toward the rim of the Chemex. Keep the water level just barely below the top, and pour until the scale registers 750 grams.
Let the coffee stand until all the water drips through. Check your timer; the total time should be around 4 minutes.
Pro tip: The total brew time is a direct consequence of the grind. If your brew is too fast, try a finer grind – or vice versa.
Step 6. Enjoy!
When all your water has drained through the filter, remove the filter, pour the coffee, and enjoy a finely-brewed Chemex. You’ve earned it! If you’re interested in learning more about this style of coffee, read our beginner’s guide to pour over coffee.
Final Thoughts
Once you learn how to use the Chemex to make coffee, you can explore a whole new world of coffee flavor. The best Chemex brews unlock subtleties and flavor notes you’ve probably never experienced. Prepare to see your favorite coffee beans in a whole new light – and it’s a flattering one!
FAQs
Yes, you can make iced coffee in a Chemex. The best method is flash brewing, which is also known as Japanese-style iced coffee. You can use the same recipe as above, but add approximately 400 grams of ice to the Chemex before brewing. To serve, pour over more ice in chilled glasses.
The best coffee for Chemex depends on the flavor profile you enjoy; there is no wrong choice. Many coffee experts prefer to brew light or medium roast single-origin beans in a Chemex. The combination of slow extraction and extra-thick paper filters makes Chemex an ideal brewing method to showcase complex and subtle flavors.
The amount of water you put in a 6-cup Chemex, if you’re making a full pot, should be just about 1 liter. This yields plenty of coffee for 2-3 people – about four 8-oz cups. And if you’re using the “golden ratio,” this makes the math easy: grind 55g (about 2 ounces) of coffee for 1 liter of water and you’re, well, golden.
Chemex is not different from pour over; it’s a type of pour over coffee. A pour over coffee is any coffee made by manually pouring hot water over ground coffee in a filter, allowing the extracted coffee to drip into a cup or carafe below. This includes coffee from a Chemex as well as other popular brewers like the Hario V60, Kalita Wave, Origami Dripper, etc.
You can make 1 cup in a 6-cup Chemex, but be warned that it may take some trial and error to get it just right; after all, it’s not what the brewer was designed for. The amount of coffee still needs to be enough to form a proper coffee bed. I use 25 grams of coffee with 350 grams of water, and I like to let the coffee bloom for up to a minute in this recipe.
References
- Oatman-Stanford, H. (2013, October 04). Mr Chemex: The Eccentric Inventor Who Reimagined the Perfect Cup of Coffee. Retrieved from https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/mr-chemex/
- History. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/gallery/album/history
- How to Brew Coffee. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/How-to-Brew-Coffee
- Brewing 101 With Chemex. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/brewing-product-care-instructions
