How to use a Chemex Coffee

The Chemex: An Iconic Brewer and Icon of Coffee Excellence

There is beauty in this brewer, the clean, bright cup a chemex makes when pulled – the very reasons it remains one of the most iconic brewers today and can be found in homes and cafes around the world. Every cup of coffee acquired using the pour-over brewing method, loving the depth in flavors concerning beans is sharp and refreshing. How to brew using a Chemex, this is how you approach preparation of the equipment on through the brewing step-by-step process to the perfect cup. Read this article and find out about How to use a Chemex Coffee.

What is a Chemex Coffee Maker?

Pour-over coffee maker: It was invented by Dr. Peter Schlumbohm in 1941. This gives Chemex a very sleek design most resembling that of a beaker bottle of chemistry-it’s apt, after all, given the precision of its brew. It uses thick, specialty paper filters to absorb oils and fine dust from the coffee so you can enjoy a bright, clean taste. People who love coffee and prefer their beans roasted to medium or light roast simply love it because it creates interesting flavors within the beans.

What You Need to Brew with a Chemex?

Before you can start brewing, ensure that all your equipment and ingredients are prepared for the brewing process. Here is a list of what you will need

Chemex Coffee Maker

This is the central component. Available in four sizes: 3, 6, 8, 10 cups

Chemex Paper Filters

Much thicker than any pour-over and are to catch oils and sediment so that your cup is clean

Freshly Ground Coffee

Medium-coarse grind is ideal. The grind will resemble sea salt

Hot Water

Must be at 195-205 F. Filtered water tastes best.

Gooseneck Kettle

A gooseneck kettle does help a little in control over the flow over the coffee. Not necessary but nice to have.

Coffee Scale

Nice having a scale for precision with measuring the coffee and the water.

Timer

Time the brew so that you condition them properly so you step them off at the correct pace.

The Golden Coffee-to-Water Ratio

This means 1:15 or 1:16 is pretty much a benchmark on how to brew Chemex coffee-meaning 1 gram of coffee to 15-16 grams of water. That gives one the great ratio flavor. Good breakdown if you need one for different sizes of Chemex.

For example, in a 3-cup Chemex, you’d use 20 grams of coffee and 300 grams of water.

1. Auto Ideal Cup Size for 6 cu. Use 40 g of coffee, 600 g of water.
2. Ideal size cup for 8 cu. used 50 g of coffee, 750 g of water.
3. Ideal size cup for 10 cu. used 60 g of coffee, 900 g of water.

These are the dosing for adjusting ratios to taste and so are the quantities you start with. You can very lightly modify these as the brew recipe based on what you want to be in your brew but this ratio can guide you through to find your perfect brew.

How to Use Chemex Step-by-Step

Let’s prepare everything: all the equipment and all the ingredients. And you’re ready to brew coffee step-by-step in a Chemex.

Step 1: Heat the Water

Heat some water in a kettle. A gooseneck kettle will give you much more control over the flow of water from the kettle. Then, heat your water to 195° to 205°F. If you do not have a thermometer that’s okay; let the water sit there for about 30 seconds after it reaches a boil so it cools slightly.

It gets folded and is rinsed over the faucet until the water runs clear.

1. Prepare Chemex Filter: Take out your Chemex filter, pull out its box and put that inside the top of Chemex. One side has three layers; the other just has one layer. So one layer needs to be directed towards the spout of Chemex; otherwise, you will be watching your filter fold into the spout when you pour water into it.

Preheat your Chemex. That is a hot rinse of the filter, in order to eliminate any paper flavor. Strain the water from the spout so that you are not chilling the glass with the brew.

Measurement and grind your coffee

1. Measure the Coffee: Measure your coffee beans in a ratio as shown above for the brewing style you have. I measure my coffee to 50 grams of coffee and 750 grams of water for my 8-cup Chemex.
2. Grind Your Coffee: Grind your coffee to a medium-coarse, similar to sea salt in texture, using a burr grinder. These grinds have a direct influence on how fast it will extract and, in the Chemex brewing method, a slightly coarser grind helps you move the brewing process along at a more sluggish and balanced pace.

Step 2: Bloom the Coffee

1. Place the just processed filter ground coffee in it and level it on to an even spread for getting grounds equally spread on the bed.
2. Add Water to Bloom Set your timer and add just enough hot water-over the top of your coffee-to saturate all your grounds but not quite cover them completely. You are looking at about 100 grams of water to 50 grams of coffee. It is now going to begin to “bloom”, releasing all of the gases that have become trapped inside of it and expanding.
3. Steeping at 30 -45 seconds: Steep your coffee for 30 seconds to 45 seconds then you will continue further as per the instructions given. It is that simple of a process and leads to the formation of flavor since it allows de-gasification of coffee.

Step 3 : Steeping in stages Steeping in Stages.

1. Rotating Pouring: After a bloom’s effects, let in the remaining water gradually but controlled and slow in a cycle – starting from inside out. It should be gradual and topped occasionally whenever the levels in your water fall below the crests of your coffee grounds.
2. Pour mostly to the sides Never pour water right onto the sides when you are pouring over the grounds. Pour evenly over the grounds and not right onto the sides of the filter. You do not want water to hit the filter unevenly as you are not going to extract all flavors from it.
3. Water volume : Fill according to your total weight of water. So with 50 grams of coffee you can fill up to 750 grams of water; that will bring up your time up to 3 or 4 minutes.
4. Step: Allows coffee to drip

You can let it drip into your cup through the filter. It should take about 4-5 minutes after you have turned it on. If this takes too long, then the grind was too fine; if it takes too short, then the grind was too coarse.

Step 4: Serve and Enjoy

Once the drips have stopped, you can throw away the filter. The filter catches the grounds. Pour the brewed coffee from the Chemex by tilting it. Pour the Chemex into your cup. Best served immediately, fresh, and hot.

How to Brew Using a Chemex: some Tips

Fresh roasted coffee beans offer the best flavor, plus the benefit of whole beans, retaining the largest share of their natural oils and aromas, which will freshly be ground right before the brewing process.

Tend to the gentle pour. You can make the mistake of pouring too quickly, leaving you with a cup of very under-extracted coffee, or take too long and end up with an over-extracted one. You want something in between-steady, moderate.

Of course, this brew is very easy ratio, but do it at any ratio if you like it stronger or weaker.

Clean your Chemex every time you brew: Old coffee oils will affect your flavor profile and may make your coffee stale due to the fact that they have a chance to stay on your brewing equipment. Clean your Chemex every time you are done brewing.

Why Brew with a Chemex?

There are so many reasons why the true coffee aficionados love brewing using a Chemex:

1. Clean Flavor: The paper filters remove several times more oils and fine particles than any other method, and the flavors which come through in Chemex are clean, bright, and crisp.
2. A distinctive coffee flavor: Chemex coffees will really shine with the distinctive flavor from single-origin or very lightly roasted coffees that would be overpowered in most other brewing methods.
3. It’s beautiful: This Chemex is just beautiful, in form and in function. Its hourglass shape makes it pretty nicely to display on your countertop or coffee table in the kitchen.

It will give you a clean cup showing the natural characteristics of your beans. It is from these steps and the fine-tuning to your taste that you can ensure getting the perfect cup of Chemex every time. Be you an aficionado or a newcomer, this mastery of brewing coffee in a Chemex is great reward with sensational results.