Counter Culture Coffee's Chemex recipe

Recipe by Counter Culture Coffee · See the original

Counter Culture Coffee, a roaster from North Carolina, brews the Chemex at a 1:17 ratio with lots of small pours. You top up every 30 seconds, or whenever the level drops by about a centimetre, which keeps the water height steady.

The longer ratio gives a lighter, very clear cup. It makes two large mugs.

Chemex recipes

Classic

Two mugs, a bloom and two steady pours.

30 g · 1:16.7 · 4:00 to 4:30

Stumptown's Chemex

A big batch with a generous bloom and three pours.

42 g · 1:16.7 · 3:45 to 4:15

Counter Culture's Chemex

Small, regular pours every 30 seconds for an even brew.

45 g · 1:16.7 · 4:00 to 5:00

Recipe

Coffee

Water

Makes about

Change any amount and the whole recipe scales with it.

Ratio: 1:16.7
Water temperature: 93°C
Grind: Medium-coarse, like kosher salt
Time: 4:00 to 5:00

What you need

Chemex and a Chemex paper filter
Kettle, ideally a gooseneck kettle for a steady pour
Digital scale with a timer
Burr grinder
Two mugs

Method

1
Heat water to about 93°C. Put the filter in the Chemex, rinse it with hot water and tip the water away.
2
Grind 45 g of coffee medium-coarse, put it in the filter and shake it level. Zero the scale.
3
Start the timer and pour 100 g of water to wet all the grounds.
4
At 0:30, pour in circles to 200 g.
5
By 1:00 the level should have dropped about a centimetre. Pour in circles to 300 g.
6
Keep going every 30 seconds, or each time the level drops a centimetre, until the scale reads 750 g.
7
Let it drain. It should finish between 4:00 and 5:00.