Home → Brew Guides → Chemex
ANDAO Brew Guides
How to Brew Coffee with a Chemex
A clean, light and aromatic starting recipe built around the Chemex’s thicker paper filter, with staged pours and simple adjustments for drawdown and clarity.
Jump to the recipe ↓ · All brewing methods
At a Glance
Coffee
30 g
Water
500 g
Ratio
1:16.7
Want to scale this recipe? Read Coffee-to-Water Ratio Explained for the underlying calculation.
Temperature
93–95°C
Grind
Medium-coarse
Time
4:00–5:00
What You Need
Chemex · Chemex bonded paper filter · 30 g coffee beans · Grinder · Scale · Kettle with controlled pour · Timer
Step-by-Step Recipe
1. Fold, Rinse and Preheat
Place the Chemex filter with the thicker three-layer side facing the spout. Rinse it thoroughly with hot water to remove paper taste and preheat the brewer, then discard the rinse water.
2. Grind
Grind 30 g of coffee medium-coarse. The grind should be coarser than a typical small pour-over recipe because of the larger dose and thicker filter.
3. Add the Coffee
Add the grounds to the filter and gently shake to level the bed.
4. Bloom
Start the timer and pour 60 g of water at 93–95°C, wetting all the grounds. Gently swirl once if needed and wait 45 seconds.
5. First Main Pour
Pour steadily in controlled circles, bringing the total water to 300 g by about 1:45.
6. Final Pour
Continue pouring and reach 500 g total water by about 2:45. Avoid pouring directly onto the filter wall.
7. Draw Down and Serve
Let the brew draw down naturally. Aim for a total time of 4:00–5:00. Remove the filter, gently swirl the Chemex and serve.
What You’re Looking For
Look for a clean, bright and aromatic cup with a lighter body and clear separation between flavor notes. A steady drawdown is more important than hitting an exact second.
Adjust Your Brew
The brew finishes too quickly and tastes thin → Grind finer.
The brew is very slow and tastes dry or heavy → Grind coarser.
The cup tastes papery → Rinse the filter more thoroughly before brewing.
The cup tastes sour or lacks sweetness → Grind slightly finer or raise the water temperature by 1–2°C.
The cup tastes bitter or dry → Grind slightly coarser or lower the water temperature by 1–2°C.
Change one variable at a time.
Recommended ANDAO Coffees
Explore these coffees with Chemex, then adjust the recipe to your taste.
Typica Cầu Đất
A light, delicate option with orange blossom, ripe fruit, honey and green apple notes.
Ethiopia Chelchele G2
A floral, clean option with jasmine, apricot, caramel and honeyed green tea notes.