How to make coffee with a Chemex

The Chemex combines manual brewing and a thick paper filter to produce a very clean, smooth, and aromatic cup. It's especially good when you want to brew coffee for several people.

Basic Recipe

Coffee: 30 g
Water: 500 ml
Temperature: 92–96 ºC
Grind: medium-coarse
Total time: 4–5 minutes

Step-by-step

1. Prepare the filter
Place the Chemex filter with the thickest part facing the spout. Rinse it thoroughly with hot water and discard the water.

2. Add the coffee
Add 30 g of medium-coarse ground coffee and gently level it.

3. Pre-infusion
Add about 60–70 ml of water, making sure to wet all the coffee, and wait 30–45 seconds.

4. Continue pouring
Add the remaining water slowly in circular motions. You can do this in several pours until you reach 500 ml.

5. Allow extraction to finish
The total time should be around 4–5 minutes.

6. Remove the filter and serve

Want to adjust it to your liking?

Too light or acidic → grind a little finer.
Bitter or dry → grind a little coarser.
Water passes too quickly → grind finer.
Extraction takes too long → grind coarser.

Which coffee do we recommend?

The Chemex is fantastic for Ethiopian coffees with floral, citrus, tea, and delicate fruit profiles.

Its thick filter produces an exceptionally clean and elegant cup, making it work very well with washed coffees.

Our recommendation

The Chemex benefits from a calm and steady pour. There's no need to obsess over technique: start with this recipe and adjust it gradually.