How to use: Chemex

How to make coffee with a Chemex

There is no one right way to make coffee. Nowadays we have many different devices and ways to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee. One of these devices is a Chemex. The glass coffee maker has a handy pour-out model and is used to make slow coffee. It is reminiscent of Dutch filter coffee, but is just a little bit different. Curious about how to make coffee with a Chemex? Follow the steps of KoffiePiraat.

Straight from the lab

The Chemex is beautiful to look at and has not been around for very long. The glass device was designed in 1941 by the German inventor Peter Schlumbohm. Peter was originally a chemist and used his knowledge to design the device. It is therefore not surprising that the Chemex looks like it came straight out of a laboratory. The design became so iconic that the Chemex was added to the permanent collection of the world-famous Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The shape allows for longer contact time between the coffee and the water, which creates a unique flavour.

What do I need for a Chemex?

Enough about the history, it's time for coffee. With a Chemex you can make soft and tasty coffee. Really coffee to enjoy. The device is easy to work with. In no time you will have mastered it yourself.

You don't need much to make coffee with a Chemex. Of course, the glass jug itself. In addition, you need boiling water, coarsely ground coffee and a filter. You can choose to grind the coffee yourself, but this is not necessary.

When choosing your filter, it is important to choose extra thick filters. A filter for a chemex is about 30% thicker than the regular filters you know from the supermarket. Chemex filters are even better at removing oils and solids , which makes for a very clean and pure coffee.

It is also the reason that your coffee should not be ground too fine. That can cause the filter to become clogged and you do not want that. You can get special Chemex filters to make sure that you have the right filters.

How does the Chemex work?

1. Boil a liter of water.

2. Place the filter in the Chemex and pour some of the boiled water onto the filter. It is important that you do not use any coffee in this step! You only pour water to heat the Chemex. This ensures that your coffee does not taste like paper.

3. Grind your coffee about as coarse as sugar. The amount depends on the size of the Chemex and of course your own preferences. You can assume 20 grams of ground coffee for 360 ml of coffee.

4. Discard the water that is now in the Chemex. You will not need it anymore.

5. Let the rest of the water cool down to 88 - 96°C. In the meantime, distribute the coffee in the filter

6. Carefully pour a small amount of water (50 ml) onto the coffee in a constant stream. During the infusion, the coffee expands. Wait until there are no more drops in the coffee. This takes about 30 - 40 seconds.

7. Pour the rest of the hot water onto the coffee. Do this slowly in the form of a circle. Try not to touch the outer edge while pouring. You can simply pour the Chemex up to the top edge.

8. Let the coffee run into the Chemex. This will take about 3-4 minutes. Let the filter drain down to the last drops.

9. Remove the filter before pouring.

The coffee from a Chemex tastes just a little better when it has cooled down a bit.