Chemex Brewing Guide

BREWING GUIDES

CHEMEX

The CHEMEX brewer is an excellent choice for amateur or advanced coffee brewers. Simple and beautiful, the CHEMEX creates a full-bodied cup of coffee, with very little bitterness, and no sediment.

What you need

To brew with a CHEMEX, you need only a few things:

Chemex Brewer
Chemex Filter
Gooseneck Kettle
Burr Grinder
Kitchen Scale or Tablespoon Measure
Whole Bean Coffee
205° Water

Getting Started

Fold a Chemex Filter, and place it into the top of the brewer. The three-layer portion should cover the pouring spout. Wet the filter with warm water to rinse the filter and preheat the brewer. Once the water has drained through the filter, pour it out while keeping the filter in position.

measure & grind

Grind your coffee to a medium coarse grind. Use 20 grams of coffee for every 325 grams of water. (Approx. a 1 to 16 ratio.), or if you don’t have a scale, use one rounded tablespoon of ground coffee for every 5 oz. cup. Put coffee into the filter.

Let it bloom

Once you have brought your water to a boil, remove it from the heat. (Ideal brewing temperature is 205°.) Pour a small amount of water over the coffee grounds to wet them (usually around double the amount of the weight of the coffee ie: 20g coffee to 40g water.), and wait for 45 seconds.

brew on

After 45 seconds has elapsed, slowly begin pouring the water over the grounds using a circular or back-and-forth motion as you pour to ensure an even soaking of the grounds. While keeping the water level at a finger’s width below the top of the Chemex, slowly pour the remaining water over the grounds.

finish up

After you have poured the full amount of water, wait until the flow reduces to a slow drip before removing the filter. Your total brew time should be between 3 and 4 minutes. If your brew is too fast or too slow, then you may want to consider adjusting your grind size.