Chemex Brew Guide.

Hands-down, the Chemex is our favourite way to brew. Not only does it brew a beautifully balanced cup, but the Chemex is also the most attractive piece of kit on the market. 

There are lots of different ways of brewing with the Chemex. We use a pretty straightforward technique that Arvind Khedun (Irish Barista Champion 2018) taught me when we worked on a busy bar together.

We use 30g of coffee (coarsely ground), 500ml of water and the brew time should be somewhere between 4 minutes and 4 minutes 30 seconds.

METHOD

Place the filter in the Chemex, making sure that the tripled layered side is lined up with the pouring spout.

Pour hot water around the inside of the filter, making sure it’s completely wet and stuck to the brewer. Rinsing the filter helps seal it inside the Chemex and also gets rid of any papery taste. Discard the water.

Put the Chemex on a scale. Pour 30g of freshly ground coffee into the filter and shake gently flat.

Start your timer as you begin to pour 90g of hot water slowly and evenly over the grounds, ensuring that all the grounds are wet. This should take about 10 seconds. Allow to bloom for another 30 seconds.

Pour 210g of water continuously in a slow, circular motion. Start your pour at the centre, move slowly outwards and then back towards the centre again. 

At 1 minute 45 seconds pour the remaining 200ml of water in the same circular motion.

Allow the water to drain through the entire bed of coffee. The total drip time should be around 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Remove the filter from the dripper, discard the grounds and enjoy!