Not only is the Chemex easy on the eyes, it also produces a delicious cup. This iconic brew method was designed in 1941 and has made appearances in the MOMA design collection, many countertops across the world, and the hit sitcom Friends. Chemex is set apart is its delicate, tea-like flavor.
What you will need:
Prep and preheat
Place the Chemex Filter in the brewer with single fold away from the spout and multiple folds lined up against the spout. Rinse the filter with hot water to get a nice even seal all the way around. This preheats the brewer and gets rid of any paper flavor from the filter. Dump the rinse water and fold the filter toward the spout to reinforce this area.
Weigh and grind coffee
Add 42g or about 6 Tablespoons of coffee ground kind of like Kosher salt. Center the coffee in your brewer and zero out the scale.
Saturate grounds
Start the timer when you add the hot water. Pour until all the grounds are saturated or until you reach about 150g. Stir with a chopstick or spoon to make sure there are no dry clumps.
Add more water
At :45, start the second pour, making sure to reintegrate the coffee and water. Pour with a wiggling motion, then a gentle spiral until the volume reaches about a fingertip down from the top of the rim or 450g of water. Pour over the dark spots and avoid the light ones.
Fill to the top
At 1:45, fill the brewer flush to the top or about 700g of water.
Wait for it to brew
At 4:00, you should be pretty close to volume. Lift the filter. It’s okay to hover for a couple of seconds to make sure you have enough volume. Then pull the filter out completely and let it drain into the sink.
Serve and enjoy
Swirl the Chemex around a little and you’re ready to serve two cups of brewed coffee.
Pro Tip: you know your pour technique and grind size is on point if the grounds are stuck to the filter walls after all the water has drained out. If all the grounds have fallen to the middle try pouring in a smaller spiral away from the walls or going slightly finer with your grind.