Chemex Brew Ratio (Recipe)
YIELDS ABOUT 15-16 OZ BREWED COFFEE
By weight: 30 grams coffee / 500 mL water
By volume: 4 tbsp coffee / 17 fl. oz. water
Brewing Instructions
- Fill your kettle with filtered water and heat it (195-205˚F is ideal). If heating on a stovetop, let the water reach a rolling boil, then wait about 30-60 seconds till that rumbling stops and you’ll be good to go.
- Place Chemex filter in the top of the brewer with the three-layered section covering the spout.
- Rinse the filter with hot water then discard water before brewing.
- Grind 30 grams of coffee medium coarse (Baratza recommends setting 20 on the Encore – from there adjust to personal preference/taste).
- Place the Chemex on your digital scale, add your ground coffee and zero/tare the scale.
- Start your timer and pour 60-90 grams of water to evenly saturate all the grounds, then wait about 30-45 seconds.
- At 30-45 seconds add water up to 300 grams. Pour with a medium flow rate in concentric circles starting in the middle towards the edges then back again. Try to keep the colors even on the slurry surface (aim for the dark spots).
- Pause about 15-20 seconds and let the water level drop a bit.
- Add water up to 500 grams and then let all the water drain through.
- (Bonus Tip: after adding all the water gently swirling the brewer a few times, as seen in the middle of the video, can help keep the coffee bed level during the draw down resulting in a more even extraction/better flavor.)
- Once the stream coming out the bottom of the filter goes to a drip it’s done.
- Discard the filter, swirl the Chemex briefly to mix the flavors, serve and enjoy!
Basic Troubleshooting
ISSUE: Brew finishes in under 3:30 minutes or coffee tastes weak and sour, lacks flavor depth
SOLUTION: Try a slightly finer grind
ISSUE: Brew takes longer than 4:30 minutes to drain out and/or coffee tastes dry and astringent, especially the aftertaste
SOLUTION: Try a slightly coarser grind