Pour-Over Using Chemex

In the last few weeks, I have had numerous dm’s sent to our farm social media accounts regarding better brewing at home. For coffee lovers and home coffee brewers it may seem a little overwhelming to step into exploring better at-home brewing methods.

For many people, first and second attempts to explore further brewing at-home methods has not delivered the same smooth, flavorful, coffee they experienced in a cafe or when visiting our coffee farm in Kona. They continue to try but most give in and go back to their old way of brewing or hitting a drive-through coffee stop; because it never tastes as good.

It’s hard to know where to start with better at-home brewing. Searching online can bring confusion, frustration and so many conflicting ideas. Today I am sharing with you exactly how we make a Chemex pour-over in our tasting room at the farm. There are many other recipes/techniques out there, this is just one that works for us.

First a little history on the Chemex…invented by German designer, Peter Schlumbohm. The Chemex has become an icon in both the art world and in popular culture and can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the only coffeemaker in the permanent collection.

The Chemex requires more technique than other pour-over methods and will probably require a bit more practice to get it just right. Did you hear that? Practice. It can be finicky when it comes to the grind size of your coffee. Grounds that are too fine, will make the brew go too long. Too coarse, and the brew will go too fast-either way-leaving you with likely an undesirable cup of coffee.

Turn on the hot water and let’s get started brewing.

Chemex.

Form your Chemex filter into a cone with 3 layers set to one side.

Place the filter in your brewer with the layered side facing the spout. This is important! The multilayered side should always be placed on the pouring-spout side of the Chemex. These layers keep the filter from collapsing and blocking airflow even when wet.

Wet/rinse with hot water, then discard the rinse water. Because of the thickness of the filter, it is important to first wet your filter. Even more important than with any other pour-over devices. The filter can have a more papery taste than other filters. Wetting helps rinse the papery taste away. When you have thoroughly wetted the filter, you should be able to pour and dispose of the water through the pouring spout without the filter unsticking from the sides of the vessel.

Grind 40g of coffee medium-coarse using a burr grinder.

Place the coffee grounds in your filter. Level the grounds by tapping the side of Chemex.

Place your Chemex brewer on a scale, tare to 0.

Start Timer

SLOWLY Pour 80g of water into the center of the ground coffee to bloom the coffee. USING EVEN CONCENTRIC CIRCLES, making sure to thoroughly saturate the grounds. This should take at least 20 seconds.

At 0:30 Pour slowly and continuously 200g of water starting in the center of the grounds circling outward, then inward in a nickel-sized pattern until the scale reads 280g. Don’t pour as slowly as when you poured for the bloom). Take one quick lap around the edge of the coffee bed but be sure to keep from pouring water onto the edge of the cone. This can dilute your brew by bypassing your coffee grounds.

At 1:30 Pour 170g more pouring just as before. Making sure to take one quick lap around the edge of the coffee bed but be sure to keep from pouring water onto the edge of the cone. The total weight will be 450g

At 2:30 Pour 150g again, one last time, continuing to pour as before. Take one quick lap around the edge of the coffee bed, but be sure to keep from pouring water onto the edge of the cone. The total ending weight will be 600g. Let the coffee brew through.

4:00-4:30 END It should be finished well before 5 minutes. Remove and discard the filter.
Serve your coffee once the filter stops dripping. If it went longer than 4-4 1/2 minutes, try a more coarse grind next time. If it ended earlier than 4 minutes then try a finer grind.

Our favorite coffee to brew as a Chemex is our Monarch Estate Gesha. Now give yourself some grace and just start practicing. You know step by step how we do it…give it a try. Let us know in the comments how it goes or tag us in stories on IG.