Chemex Brewing

Oh, for the love of a Chemex brew... 

For us, it's a way of brewing which (almost) always results in a clean, non bitter cup. The thickness of the filters absorbs some of the oils which can contribute to a less smooth cup, of course, this is all in the mouth of the beholder, but it's a preference of ours. 

Chemex has been around for ages, it's iconic and let's face it, a beautiful can. Try as other wannabes might, they just don't succeed in either style or function. It's been a design that's gone unchanged since the 1940's and the truth is, whether you're serving coffee, water or presenting flowers, the Chemex brewer steps up to the bar and delivers.

Perhaps a little more tricky to brew, but if you grind your beans as coarse as sea salt, you'll be on the right track.

The amount of coffee you'll brew will depend on the coffee to water ratio, try 50g of coffee to 700g of water, but it's all a question of taste. Play around with the amount of coffee and water to get the taste that suits you.

It goes a bit like this...unfold your filter and make sure the triple fold is at the front spout of the Chemex.

Wet the filter with warm water and pour out, tip the ground coffee into the filter and shake it to make it flat. Your water should be about 92-95°C.

Ready for the 4 pour method? 

• First, the bloom. Pour about twice the weight of water that you have of coffee. Work your way from the inside to the outside without pouring water down the inside of the filter. The coffee with bloom, expand and bubble for about 45 seconds.
• Second, pour water in a circular pattern starting in the center. Spiral out toward the edge of the slurry before spiraling back toward the middle. Avoid pouring on the filter. Allow the water to drip through the grounds until the slurry drops about 4cm from the bottom of the filter. You should use about 200 grams of water for this pour.
• For the last 2 pours, repeat the above pour pattern adding water in 200-gram increments. Repeat once more, allowing the water to percolate through the grounds until the slurry drops 4 cm from the bottom of the filter before beginning the next pour.
• The total brew time will take between 3.5–4.5 minutes. If the brew was too fast, consider using a finer grind or a slower pour rate next time. If the brew was too slow, consider using a coarser grind or a faster pour rate.