I wanted to post our current brew spec for a tasty Chemex- a very simple, elegant, and delicious way to enjoy coffee. I have been brewing with a Chemex for years and I really enjoy it. When used properly, the coffee tastes great, is easy to make and clean up, and the brewer also acts as a decanter.
In my experience, the Chemex works best when you brew it at less than full capacity. I have the 8cup (40oz) model, and most of the time I’m brewing between 16-30oz.
offee
You will need:
- Coffee
- Chemex
- Chemex Filters
- Gram Scale (optional)
- Kettle (something with a spout)
- Grinder
- Digital Timer
Instructions:
- Start boiling about twice as much cold filtered water as you’ll need for your coffee
- Immediately weigh coffee and put into grinder, I like 2.2g coffee per oz of coffee served as a starting point- don’t start grinding yet
- for 30oz, 66g
- for 20oz, 44g
- for 16oz, 35g
- for 12oz, 26g
- Unfold Chemex filter and place into brewer- triple layer goes on the spout side
- When the water is at a boil, remove from heat (take the lid off to let it cool down, boiling water is too hot for brewing)
- Using your kettle, rinse filter and preheat brewer with boiling water, then run fingers down seams to make sure you have a good seal all around the funnel, the triple layer should prevent the filter from collapsing into the spout.
- Leaving filter in place, pour rinse water into the sink… it shouldn’t fall out
- Grind coffee - for the Baratza maestro plus, I have been liking grind setting #22/40 (I use ~18 for drip and 28 for press). Since this brewer slows down the flow rate, we can use a coarser grind
- Drop coffee into prewet filter, give it a quick leveling shake, and dig a small divot in the center with your finger for guiding the initial pour of water
- Place your Chemex filled with coffee on the gram scale and zero it out
- By this time (1min later) the water should be ready, at ~207F (for pourover methods I like to start with water that is a little hotter)
- Start timer from zero
- Starting in the divot, lightly pour enough water to saturate/wet the coffee grounds within the first 15 seconds (the amount will vary depending on how much coffee you use).
- Take care not to pour close to the edge- we don’t want the brew water exiting out the sides of the filter.
- If done correctly, surface of the coffee will be saturated with water and the coffee will bloom (if it doesn’t bloom your coffee is not fresh), but nothing should be dripping into the lower chamber at this time. The coffee is now primed for the next pour.
- You’ll want to wait anywhere from 20-45s (until the bloom settles down).
- While you wait, stick your nose in there and notice the aroma of your coffee.
- When the bloom has completed, pour directly into the center then in a spiral motion, pouring fairly quickly, again taking care to avoid pouring water to the edge (stay 1/2″ away). This gets all the coffee incorporated into the water.
- Fill the Chemex with water, to about 2/3 full for a smaller brew to nearly full for the larger brew. We want to fill it quickly to maximize the brew time and keep the heat up.
- Continue to add water to the top to keep the brew level constant, until you reach the target brew water weight (the water weights provided are approximate and include the “preinfusion” water)
- for 30oz, 950g
- for 20oz, 630g
- for 16oz, 510g
- for 12oz, 380g
- Allow the Chemex to drain, when there is just a slow drip, you can pull the filter and toss in the trash. Alternately, if you don’t have a gram scale, you can continue to add water to the top until you have the desired brew volume, then carefully remove the water filled filter and place in the sink.
- for 20oz, the total brew time is about 4min
- for 12oz, the total brew time is about 3min
- Serve and enjoy
- Rinse Chemex when done with the leftover hot water
As with all manual methods, the more you use them the more familiar they become to you. All brewing guides should be viewed as a starting point, and with time should be adjusted to suit your taste.
