Chemex Pour Over Coffee

Chemex Pour Over Coffee Intro

Chemex Pour Over Coffee is the quintessential way to brew coffee. This iconic brewer has appeared throughout pop culture, and is an ideal brewer for both beginners and experts a like!

The Chemex Pour Over Coffee brewer was invented in the 1940s by a German chemist (hence the name), in order to brew a perfect cup of coffee. By following my Chemex Pour Over Coffee brewer recipe (and using the right technique), you too can make the perfect cup of coffee!

Why Chemex Pour Over Coffee?

The Chemex Pour Over coffee brewer is a pour over filter coffee brewer. You can think of it sort of like a manual drip coffee maker.

You may be asking why would anyone want to go through all the work of manually brewing their morning coffee? Sure, automatic drip coffee is easier. But with most things in life, the extra work is worth the reward!

The Chemex Pour Over Coffee brewer makes much better coffee than most automatic drip machines. You can control the rate of pour, the bloom, and reduce channeling which all lead to a better cup of coffee.

I love starting my day with a perfectly brewed cup of coffee from my Chemex. It is my form of morning mediation, and is my favorite way to ramp up into my day.

Advantages of Caffeine:

Most of the worlds coffee comes from from a miraculous little plant called the Coffea Arabica (and Robusta). These coffee plants produce cherries that contain two coffee beans a piece.

Once processed, the coffee beans are roasted and then can be brewed to extract the caffeine. The caffeine in the brewed coffee can help to:

• Improve your mood
• Increase energy levels
• Burn fat
• And (in moderation) even lower your risk for a variety of serious health issues

Disadvantages of Caffeine:

There’s no way around it, coffee can be expensive. Even more so if you are buying coffee from popular chain coffee shops.

Some experts are even predicting a 50% increase to the cost due to environmental factors associated with growing coffee beans in the future.

While that is certainly a bummer, you can mitigate some of those costs by brewing great coffee in your own home!

There are some startup costs with getting the right gear to make the perfect Chemex Pour Over Coffee at home. However, when you weigh these costs vs the price of a cup of coffee, you will save a ton of money in the long run!

Tools for Chemex Pour Over Coffee

Getting the Right Gear

To start, you will need the Chemex Pour Over Coffee Brewer. I found this one on amazon that has held up well, and works flawlessly.

You will also need a filter to use with the Chemex. There are a few different types:

• Paper – Provides clarity and brightness to your cup of coffee.
  • Paper filters can be composted. But you will need to order more filters eventually. You can use #2 filters, or buy these speciality made Chemex filters.
• Metal – Provides a full bodied mouthfeel similar to a french press.
  • Great for sustainability. You will not need to buy additional filters, but does let through more particles than a paper filter. I highly recommend the Able Cone metal filter.
• Cloth – Provides a mixture of the two, but requires way more up keep.
  • Generally do not recommend cloth filters as mildew and mold can build if not cleaned properly. Who wants that?!

Weighing Your Beans

You will want to purchase a good digital scale. I recommend a digital food scale that also has a built in timer, in order to track the time when brewing.

I use this digital food scale purchased from Amazon, but any type of scale the measures in grams will work fine.

The digital scale is not only used to weigh out the coffee beans, but is also important in measuring the amount of water used in each step of brewing.

This leads us to the next, and possibly most important piece of gear…

Grinding Your Beans

Buy a Coffee Grinder:

If you can only invest in one piece of gear, choosing a quality grinder should be your choice. Grinding fresh, whole coffee beans is the single best thing you can do to improve the quality of your coffee!

This is due to the fact that the oils found in coffee beans are the strongest directly after grinding. Pre-ground coffee, while convenient, can become quite stale after opening, losing the aroma and potency that makes coffee so great.

Getting the Right Grind Size:

Another disadvantage of pre-ground coffee is the size of the grind. Most pre-ground coffee comes in a coarse grind size. This is fine for drip coffee, but will not work for pour over coffee.

Freshly grinding your own coffee beans allows you to control and fine tune the grind size. Consistent grind size is key, because it will reduce the likely hood of channeling.

Channeling occurs as the water finds a path of least resistance through the an inconsistently ground coffee bed. This causes some of the coffee to become over extracted (bitter), while other parts are left under extracted (sour).

For this Chemex Pour Over Coffee recipe a finer grind size works best. A sea salt sized grind is ideal.

Choosing the Right Grinder:

These days, there are quite a few different types of automatic coffee grinders. Among your options are; blade grinders, flat burr grinders, conical burr grinders, and direct drive grinders.

Of these options, Burr grinders are regarded as the best for a consistent grind size. Generally, Flat Burr grinders are best, but they also carry a premium and can be quite expensive (in the $1,000’s)

For a more budget friendly burr grinder, I highly recommend the Encore. It has won many awards, and may just be the most popular home grinder. It is a work horse and does a great job at producing a consistent grind size.

Pouring Your Water

A gooseneck kettle is ideal for making Chemex Pour Over Coffee. The longer spout offers more control over the flow rate and strength of your pour.

I use this electric gooseneck kettle, and cannot recommend it enough. It heats the water to the exact temperature I dial in. And does so very quickly. Much faster than I could using my gas stove!

The temperature to set when heating your kettle depends on the type of coffee bean. Here is a general breakdown of temperatures:

• Dark roast 185-195 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Medium roast 195-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Light roast 195-203 degrees Fahrenheit.

How to Serve Chemex Pour Over Coffee

I love to drink my morning Chemex Pour Over Coffee black. Depending on the type of bean used, you will notice a deeper flavor with more hints of sweetness brewing with this method.

It is always a good idea to let your coffee cool down for 10-15 minutes before serving. This allows you to taste more of the subtle flavors found in the coffee.

Of course, you can also add in some dairy or sugar if you prefer!