Chemex Ratio: Coffee To Water Ratio - A Chemex Brewing Guide

How to Make Chemex Coffee

What is a Chemex?

If you are new to the coffee world and wondering what in the heck this word is you are not alone. Is it an exotic ingredient to brew, a new type of coffee bean? Or some new coffee maker that is going to cost you an arm and leg?

Simply put, no.

A Chemex is a manual, glass pour-over coffee-style coffee maker that is as easy to use as it is aesthetically pleasing. And what better way to make a great cup of coffee (or two cups) than when it looks as good as it smells?

The Chemex brewing method is taking the world by storm and is the new drip coffee option for enjoying fresh coffee in style. (part of MoMA collection)

Why Choose a Chemex Brewer?

Because of the unique filter, the Chemex coffee maker is the preferred choice when it comes to creating great-tasting brew coffee.

The glass carafe is chic as it is effective as it imparts no additional flavors into your coffee, and the tapered glass shape makes everything that much more seamless during the brewing process.

The wood handle allows for easy pick-up, and accented by a leather cord offers an organic element to the kitchen space.

How does Chemex pour-over coffee work?

A Chemex and a pour-over coffee brewing methods both work well and result in delicious cups of the perfect brew.

In a nutshell, you want to place the ground coffee into the Chemex filter and soak through with water temperature just below boiling, and leave it to 'bloom.' Ideally, medium coarse coffee grounds work best for this Chemex recipe, and yes grind size does matter with coffee.

After 30 - 45 seconds the blooming process has been completed (you will see large bubbles in the coffee). Next, pour over coffee the remaining water in a circular motion.

As the hot water seeps through the coffee grounds, you are essentially now brewing coffee in your new Chemex brewer, which may well become your new go-to option for morning coffee making.


Best Chemex ratio:  1 gram of coffee to 15 grams of water

You may not have thought that making a humble cup of coffee would involve ratios and knowing how many grams of coffee is needed for the final cup, but once you get familiar with the process it will become second nature and you could essentially eyeball your coffee and water ratio.

Until then, you want to carefully consider the grams of water and Chemex coffee ratio technique so that your morning sip is decadent and you can enjoy that perfect Chemex coffee.

Coffee Equipment

What You Need To Make The Best Chemex Coffee

a pile of medium coarse ground coffee
chemex coffee filters
A coffee scale with coffee beans
black gooseneck kettle for making pour over coffee
chemex coffee maker

How To Make Coffee With A Chemex

We all know personal preference rules at the end of the day. Whether you stick to concentric circles for your second pour or aren't bothered by shapes or methods as long as you get that great coffee flavor, this perfect chemex recipe might change your mind.

Let's see how chemex brewing is as easy to execute as it is delicious.
A person pouring water into a chemex coffee maker

Step 1

Rinse The Chemex Filter

A coffee filter clogged with leftover coffee grounds is not going to taste pleasant and your cup of coffee may well end up tasting sour. Be sure to rinse filter with hot water. Place the filter with the triple-fold portion facing the spout section when putting it into your Chemex.

While the hot water temperature is not as crucial, nor whether you use filtered water, these steps make your cup of coffee that much tastier.
A person adding coffee grounds to a chemex coffee maker

Step 2

Add Some Coarsely Ground Coffee

A coarser grind size will result in a weaker coffee so keep this in mind before you start brewing, as a finer size of ground coffee offers a stronger cup of coffee.

Measuring your grams of water and the grams of coffee according to this successfully tried and tested Chemex coffee-to-water ratio recipe, leaves the ground coffee beans to bloom.
A person adding water to a coffee maker to first wet the grounds

Step 3

Wet The Grounds

The blooming brew time is separate from the brew method time so keep this in mind to prevent an over-extracted brew. You will be able to see by the end of the process whether your coffee was good or not by looking at the coffee bed.

The coffee bed tells us if the grind size was too fine. You can tell by the way the grounds go up the side of the filter of your Chemex brewer.
a close up of a chemex coffee maker

Step 4

Give It A Stir

Be sure to stir the grounds. You want to ensure the grounds are completely wet which can be tricky in a cone-shaped filter, but the brewing stages, when done well, will make all the taste difference.
a person making coffee in a chemex coffee maker

Step 5

Add Some More Water

Add the remaining grams of water into your chemex brewer (according to the chemex ratio) in batches. You can do so from an electric kettle, some have an easy-to-use pour spout like the gooseneck kettles, and pour in with the same circular motion as the first time.

Be sure not to touch the sides of the filter, you don't want any paper taste dissolving into your bloomed coffee. Unlike other brewing methods, taking your time, step by step means fuller flavored cups of coffee in the resulting brew.

Let the first batch of the water drain through into your chemex before adding the rest so you have control and the coffee does not overflow.
A chemex coffee maker and a coffee mug on a counter

Step 6

Relax

While you wait for the brew to be done brewing in your chemex, you can grab a few cookies on a side plate to dip into your steaming cup of java when it's done.
A person pouring coffee into a coffee mug from a chemex coffee maker

Step 7

Grab Your Favorite Coffee Mug

As your chemex coffee nears its final brewing moments, heat water slightly and then rinse water into a clean cup to be sure you are pouring coffee into a taste-free vessel.

Personally, my ideal water temperature is boiling from the kettle, it heats your cup so when you pour your ready coffee in it stays hotter for longer.

Often we assume no dust has fallen into our cups or mugs, but a quick washout before use will dispel any residues just in case.

How to adjust your Chemex ratios

The 3-cup chemex is the smallest available, but adjusting your needs is easily done.

3 Tablespoons of coffee for every 1 cup of water converts to 1 gram of coffee for every 15 grams of water, this knowledge becomes second nature the more you make coffee. And if you have a brew guide handy, be sure to refer to it often or when unsure.

The chemex ratio is a guide and depending on your preference of stronger or weaker cups of java, you can adjust the grammage ever so slightly.


Final Tips for brewing the perfect cup of Chemex coffee

A lasting thought.

Many people believe only in one method of coffee brewing and have done so for years, but as times change and product advances offer more convenience and efficacy, so should we.

Take a moment to put your French press to the side. Grab your newly purchased chemex brewer, treat your family and friends to an elegant-looking coffee brewing vessel on the table, and pour a cup of handmade-with-love cuppa to impress.

Coffee Questions:

Have more questions about Chemex coffee?

For two cups of delicious Chemex coffee, you'll need about 50 grams or 1.8 ounces of coffee beans. This Chemex brew ratio is based on a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, meaning 1 gram of coffee for every 15 grams (or milliliters) of water.

Feel free to tweak the coffee and water amounts to suit your taste buds.

For a 6-cup Chemex, you will use 675 grams or 675 milliliters of water.

Start with a 1:15 coffee to water ratio. Using this ratio you can brew up any size batch of Chemex coffee. For every 1 gram of coffee, add 15 grams of water.

All About Chemex Coffee

Embrace the Chemex experience and enhance your at-home coffee rituals.