Chemex Brew Guide

March 26th, 2021

The Chemex is a harmonious brewing method that combines the simplicity of a pour-over technique with a little more elegance. This Chemex brew guide will yield a beautiful cup of pour-over coffee for you to enjoy in the comfort of at home.

Chemex brew time is approximately 4 minutes.

Yields: This Chemex recipe makes approximately 500ml of coffee.

What you’ll need

  • 36 grams (5 tablespoons) of freshly roasted Firebat coffee beans
  • Water kettle 
  • Coffee grinder (medium or coarse setting) 
  • Timer
  • Scale (optional)
  • Chemex filters
  • Chemex

Create a delicious pour-over coffee at home with a Chemex.

  1. Grind your freshly roasted Firebat coffee beans to coarse or medium-sized grinds. You want the coffee grinds to be roughly the size of raw sugar.
  1. Bring your water just below boiling point, approximately 30 seconds before boiling. Place the Chemex filter inside the Chemex ensuring the three-layered side of the filter is covering the pouring spout. 
  1. Rinse the filter. Using hot water gently pour over the filter in a circular motion. Keeping the filter in place, discard the rinse water. This step will help get rid of papery taste. 
  1. Place your now prepped Chemex and filter on your scale. Add 36 grams of ground coffee to the Chemex and give it a gentle shake to flatten the coffee grounds allowing for a more-even pour.
  1. Start your timer and begin to pre-infuse your coffee grinds with about twice the amount of water you have on to coffee, approximately 80 grams. Adding water causes the coffee to expand, or bloom. Allow it to do so for 45–55 seconds. A solid bloom ensures even saturation.
  1. Start for your second pour by continuously pouring in a spiralling motion. You want to agitate the coffee grounds while keeping them submerged. Try to avoid pouring directly in the centre, or on the filter. Continue pouring in a circular motion until your scale reaches 300 grams. 
  1. Allow the coffee grounds to settle and the water drawdown through the filter. Then start your third pour and add the remaining water with gentle agitation until your scale reads 500 grams. Allow the water to completely drain through the filter.  
  1. The final step is to enjoy your delicious Firebat Coffee from your Chemex! 

Tip: If your final brew time is longer than 4 minutes then your grind is probably too fine. If your final brew time is shorter than 3 minutes then your grind is probably too coarse. We encourage you to play around with the grind size next time you try your Chemex pour-over coffee until you find the sweet spot!

Some of our recommended products and roasts for Chemex:

If you enjoyed this Chemex Brew Guide be sure to check out The Firebat Guide to Cold Brew to learn how to make a simple yet nuanced cup of delicious cold brew!

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