perfect pour over

One of my goals for the new year is to use my Chemex more (see my blog post here). I loooooooove my Chemex, but since having kids I usually opt for the speed and convenience of my regular old coffee pot much more. But the coffee is so rich and flavorful using the Chemex, you just can't beat it.

My favorite blend right now is Cameron's Coffee Highlander Grog and here is a step-by-step of how I brew it using a Chemex coffee maker:

First you'll want to preheat your Chemex and get your filter ready. I use the Chemex filters, though I'm sure others are fine too. You'll want to unfold the filter so that the side with three layers is on the same side as the Chemex spout. To create a seal with the filter and preheat the Chemex, pour some hot water through the filter into the Chemex.

Pour out the water when you’re done and then it’s time to add your beans. I measure out about 6 tablespoons of whole coffee beans, but I would aim for about 3 tablespoons of coffee per cup of water, depending on how much you want to brew and how large your Chemex is. 6 tablespoons of coffee makes roughly two cups of coffee (or one of my very large mugs full). You’ll want to freshly grind the beans yourself for the best flavor. I don’t have a coffee grinder, so I just use my NutriBullet. Probably not the best method, but it works for me and I don’t think I’m sacrificing much flavor. You’ll want the beans coarsely ground, similar to the consistency of kosher sea salt. It should look like this:

Now the water. For 3 tablespoons of coffee, I pour two cups of water into my tea kettle and get it heating on the stove top. I like to stop my teakettle just before it starts whistling so that my coffee is plenty hot, but not scalding.

While your water is heating, pour your fresh coarsely ground beans into the filter and I give it a little shake to level them out. Now the fun part. Once your water is ready, slowly pour enough water to completely saturate the grounds. It will look like this:

Give it a little bit to work through and then you can add some more water. The key here is not to just pour all water in at once. Slowly saturate your grounds, let them work through and then pour a little more until all of your water is gone. The whole process doesn’t take more than a couple minutes. I like to slowly pour my water in a circular motion, making sure to “catch” the coffee that has worked its way slightly up the side of the filter, catching all of that goodness. It should look like this when the grounds are ready for more water.

Once all of the coffee has drained from the filter into your Chemex, you’re ready to enjoy! I like to give my filter a little shake, loosing up any drops before tossing it.