Pour-Over
Chemex
A thick filter and a delicate, clean texture — the pot for a table of four.
The Chemex filter is substantially thicker than any other paper here, and it holds back most of the oils along with the fines. What is left is a delicate, clean, tea-like texture — the trade being that some of the weight and texture goes with them. It brews enough for several people at once, which is what it is really for.
- Ratio1:16.7
- Base recipe42g to 700g
- Water temperature93 to 95°C
- GrindMedium-coarse — Coarser than table salt, closer to raw sugar
- Total time5 min
- LevelSome practice · 4 cups
Why Chemex?
- The most delicate, clean texture of any method on this page.
- It brews four cups in one go without a change of recipe.
- Brewer and server are one piece, so there is less to wash.
What you need
- Chemex 6-cup
- Chemex bonded filter
- Gooseneck kettle
- Digital scale
Step by step
- 1
Seat the filter
Open the filter so the triple-folded side sits against the pouring spout, and rinse it well with hot water — this paper is thick enough that an unrinsed filter is genuinely tasteable. Pour the rinse water away through the spout.
- 2
Bloom
to 90gAdd 90g of water across the whole bed and let it degas. With a dose this size the bloom matters more than usual: dry pockets here cost you a lot of the cup.
- 3
Staged pours
from 45 sto 700gBuild up to full weight in three or four additions, letting the level fall by about half between them. Keep the water off the paper and away from the folded channel.
- 4
Drawdown and serve
from 4 minLet it finish, lift the filter out, and swirl the flask before pouring. A Chemex holds heat poorly once the filter is out, so serve it promptly or decant it.
If it did not come out right
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Drawdown is very slowGrind too fine for this paper | Grind too fine for this paper | Go noticeably coarser — the Chemex filter needs a coarser grind than a V60 at the same dose. |
| The cup is thinUnder-extraction across a large bed | Under-extraction across a large bed | Grind finer or extend the pours; with 42g of coffee an uneven pour shows up quickly. |
Frequent questions
Can I use ordinary cone filters in it?
They fit, but the whole character of the Chemex is that heavy bonded paper. Use another filter and you have an awkwardly shaped pour-over instead.