Great For

Clean Single Origin Coffees • Pour Overs for Two • Lighter, Brighter Roasts

Chemex is a lot of fun to say and look at. It almost looks like it belongs in a nature-loving but mad scientist’s lab. What’s so special about Chemex is the much heavier, bonded filters which result in an unmatched clean cup. This brewing method is a little harder to master, but you’ll get the hang of it with a little practice.

What You’ll Need

Chemex – 8-cup Paper filter – chemex square or circular

Gooseneck kettle

Weighing scale

700ml of filtered or bottled water

43g of medium-coarse coffee grounds

NOTE  Please make sure to weight and measure everything accurately!

Step 1. Prepare Your Filter

Unfold the filter with the three-fold side facing the spout of your Chemex. This is important to avoid the filter collapsing into the spout when it gets wet.

Step 2. Rinse the Filter and Add Beans

Rise the filter thoroughly with hot water to seal it against the glass of the Chemex and remove any traces of the paper taste. This also serves to pre-heat your Chemex so two birds with one stone! Pour out the water and set up add the beans.

Chemex paper filters are thicker and shaped in a way that can restrict water flow so you’ll need to grind your beans at a medium-coarse level to keep things flowing smoothly. 

Step 3. Bloom Your Grounds

Now we’ll need to bloom the coffee. You’ll need double the amount of water as you have grinds so, in this case, 86ml. Pour the boiled water over the grinds slowly, making sure to get all of the dry pockets in the process. Wait 30 seconds for the coffee grinds to completely bloom and then move on to the next step.

Step 4. Pour on Water

This step requires a little patience and finesse as you’ll need to pour periodically and in spirals until the top of the water is about half an inch below the rim of the Chemex beaker. As the water level drops, keep adding water back up to the original “half an inch below the rim” level until you’ve used up all the water. For this recipe, you can expect it to take around 2 minutes.

Step 5. Almost Ready

Let the filter do its magic and, by the time you can see the top of the coffee grounds, you’re ready to remove the filter. Let the rest of the water drain into the sink otherwise you’ll end up with a bitter hit to your coffee.

Finally, pour and enjoy!