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

The Icon That Doubles as a Design Object

The Chemex occupies a unique position in brewing culture: it is simultaneously a serious professional brewing instrument and a mid-century design classic that appeared in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. The design — a glass hourglass vessel with a wooden collar and leather tie — was created by Peter Schlumbohm in 1941 and has remained essentially unchanged since then. What makes the Chemex distinctive as a brewer is not the vessel itself but the filter: the Chemex paper filter is significantly thicker than standard pour-over filters (approximately 20-30% thicker than Hario V60 papers), which produces a more complete lipid and fine-particle filtration and results in a cup that is exceptionally clean and bright — sometimes described as "crystal clear" by comparison to other pour-over methods. This filtration characteristic makes the Chemex particularly well-suited to coffees where clarity and delicate aromatics are the primary value proposition.

The brewing geometry of the Chemex also differs from funnel-shaped alternatives: the wide, conical shape of the paper filter creates a larger bed depth relative to the surface area compared to a shallow V60, which slows the percolation rate and extends contact time. This slower flow rate tends to produce more body from a given grind setting compared to a V60 at equivalent coarseness, which is why Chemex recipes typically call for a slightly coarser grind than V60 recipes at the same ratio. The glass vessel below the filter acts as a carafe, meaning the Chemex brews directly into its own serving vessel — an elegant integration that eliminates the need for a separate server and allows the coffee to be served or displayed in the same vessel it was brewed in.

Practical Recommendations

Use a 1:15-1:17 ratio for Chemex brewing (e.g. 30g coffee to 480g water), water at 93-95 °C, medium-coarse grind. Pre-rinse the filter with hot water and discard the rinse water before adding grounds — this removes the paper taste and preheats the vessel. Pour in two stages: a 60g bloom pour for 30-45 seconds, then the remaining water in a slow, continuous spiral starting from the centre, keeping the water level well below the filter rim. Total brew time should be 4:00-4:30 minutes for a 30g dose. The Chemex excels with single-origin light roasts from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Colombia where its exceptional clarity showcases floral and fruit notes. For blends or dark roasts, consider whether the aggressive filtering might strip too much body from a coffee that benefits from that dimension.