Brewing with a Chemex…

A Chemex or a manual drip filter method of brewing produces a clean, full-flavored cup.

Step 1

Measure two tablespoons or 10 grams of coffee for every 6 ounces of water

Step 2

Bring your measured, filtered water to a boil. It will need to rest for about 20 seconds before it is ready to pour over the coffee.

Step 3

Grind your measured coffee beans in a high quality burr grinder on a coarse setting for Chemex, medium-fine for a pour-over cone.

Step 4

Place a filter in the funnel and add your freshly ground coffee.

Step 5

Slowly pour rested, boiled water onto the grounds. The coffee will bloom, so add the rest of your pre-measured water slowly, ensuring that all the grounds are wetted.

Step 6

When brewing cycle has finished dripping, throw grounds and filter in the compost.

Step 7

Pour and serve.

Place the cone on top of the apparatus that you are going to serve the coffee in, either a mug or a carafe. Cones come in different sizes, so make sure that the apparatus you are using fits the size of the cone. After the cone is set in place, position the filter so that it fits snugly with the shape of the cone. You can choose between a gold filter—which is a permanent filter that can be used over and over again—or a paper filter that is disposed after one use.

Pour-over coffee is usually ground finer than press pot coffee, but not as fine as espresso. If you are using a cone, the grind will be finer than that of a flat bottom pour-over. If you are using a burr grinder, we recommend using a setting a few notches coarser than espresso but finer than a French Press.

We recommend that you know how much coffee you are going to make in advance and set the dose accordingly. Always use a ratio of 2 tablespoons of coffee to 6 oz of water. If you are making a twelve oz cup, for example, use four tablespoons of coffee. The grind of the coffee also affects the dose, as the extraction will take longer and be more complete with finer-ground coffee. The coffee should brew/drip for four minutes. If it finishes in less time, fine up the grind. If it takes longer, coarsen the grind. After dosing, place the grounds inside the filter of the cone.

First, bring your water to a boil and let it sit, off the burner, for about 20 seconds. The temperature of the water should be about 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit. Once again, pre-measure the amount of water you are planning on using. When your water is ready, pour it slowly and deliberately over the grounds in the filter. Make sure that the grounds are saturated evenly and that there are no dry lumps of coffee floating on the surface. The water will slowly drip into the vessel underneath the cone. Add the rest of the water you pre-measured and then don’t add any more. It is important to pre-measure the amount of water you are going to use because once you start pouring it can be difficult to tell how much water you have used already.

Pour-over coffee is the on-the-spot alternative to airpot-brewed coffee. It is meant to be enjoyed within minutes—not hours—of brewing. It is also a heavily filtered coffee, so it is much more clean and snappy than French Press coffee. You should notice the brightness and acidity being highlighted in the cup, while the body is not as pronounced and the mouth feel is lighter.

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