How to brew Chemex coffee?

Chemex 6-cup recipe: 42 g of medium-coarse ground coffee (coarser than granulated sugar), 700 g of water at 94 °C, ratio 1:16.6. Fold and rinse the filter (three layers against the spout), bloom with 80 g of water for 45 s, then continue pouring up to 700 g by 2:30. Total brew time 4:00 to 5:00. Remove the filter, swirl the carafe, serve.

The filter is where the Chemex asks for extra attention. It arrives folded as a square and has to be opened into a cone: the three-layer triangle goes against the spout side, the single-layer side opposite. Rinse generously with hot water (200-300 ml) for two reasons: to remove the papery taste typical of new filters, and to pre-warm the glass carafe. Drain the rinse through the spout without lifting the filter.

Grind 42 g of medium-coarse coffee — coarser than V60, roughly the size of large granulated sugar. Add grounds, tap to level. Place carafe with filter and coffee on the scale, tare. Start the timer. Bloom: pour 80 g of water at 93-94 °C in a spiral from centre outward, wetting every particle. Wait 45 seconds. Grounds should bloom and release visible CO2.

Main pouring: two schools. Continuous method (Nordic style): pour at a steady slow spiral until you hit 700 g by 2:30-2:45, then let it drain. Staged method: three 200 g pours at 0:45, 1:30, 2:15, hitting 700 g total by 2:15. Either way, keep the water level below the top edge of the filter and target a full drawdown around 4:30-5:00.

If the flow stalls before hitting target volume, the grind is too fine or the pour too aggressive: fines have clogged the filter. Conversely, a drawdown under 3:30 points to too coarse a grind. In Belgium, Chemex suits Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees served by local specialty roasters, where its clean cup reveals floral and citric notes. A 6-cup Chemex (about 700 ml) serves 3 to 5 Belgian cups of 150-200 ml depending on the pour — a classic Sunday brunch format in Genval or La Hulpe.

Chemex 6-cup recipe — 42 g / 700 g