Make the best pour over coffee of your life in a Chemex coffee maker! Here’s how to make pour over coffee and all the gear you need to do it. Plus, we’ve got instructions on how to use a v60 to make a single serving cup!
What’s the best coffee brewing method? Pour over coffee. Take it from us coffee nerds: pour over coffee in the Chemex is the ultimate way to extract all the nuanced flavor of a coffee bean.
You know, that oddly shaped glass beaker that looks like it should be in a science lab? The Chemex coffee maker makes the best cup of coffee we know. We’ve tried all sorts of methods, from French press to Moka pot. But for our everyday cup of joe: it’s the Chemex (or v60, for a single serving!). Here’s how to make a perfect pot of pour over coffee!
Why use the Chemex for pour over coffee?
Alex and I have been trying different coffee methods for years! Why did we land on the Chemex as the best pour over coffee maker? We’ve used about every single coffee gadget there is. Here’s why we think it’s the best pour over coffee maker there is:
- It makes the best flavor. The unique Chemex coffee filters bring out the best of quality, single origin coffee. Once you taste it, you’ll never want to go back! It’s great for light and medium roast coffees to let the flavor of the bean shine through.
- It’s beautiful and functional. The Chemex coffee maker is so beautiful to look at, with its organic shape and materials. So it’s a lovely art piece for the counter as well.
Best pour over coffee maker
The Chemex coffee maker we recommend is this Chemex 8 cup coffeemaker. It can make up to 4 cups of coffee at once. We make 2 pots a day in it. There are cute smaller versions of this coffee maker, but they’re much too tiny for our coffee consumption.
Chemex coffee filters
The Chemex coffee maker uses special coffee filters that bring out the smooth flavor in the coffee. We recommend these Chemex coffee filters. (Some commenters have mentioned that you can reuse the paper filters a few times if you wash them out.)
Best pour over coffee kettle
An electric gooseneck kettle is perfect for using with your Chemex coffee maker. It gives you more control so you can slowly pour the water onto the coffee beans, allowing it to extract maximum flavor.
We use this electric gooseneck kettle: it’s perfect for heating water for coffee and tea. We’ve use ours for 6 years and it’s held up great. Or, you can try this more affordable pour over coffee kettle.
Alternative for single serving: v60
The v60 is a great alternative for single serving pour over coffee. Use the recipe below, making the recipe with half the quantities. Alex uses it almost every day! We have this v60 and use these v60 filters.
Basic steps for how to make pour over coffee
Using a Chemex or v60 to make pour over coffee takes a little practice, but it will become second nature! Keep in mind, light roast or medium roast beans are best for pour over coffee, which lets the flavors truly shine. Our ratio is for every 1 gram of coffee, use 15 to 16 grams of water. Here are the basic steps for using a Chemex to make pour over coffee, or jump to the recipe below.
Step 1: Heat filtered water to 200 to 205°F in an electric pour over coffee kettle. Then use a food scale to weigh out the amount of coffee. For 2 cups of coffee, we use 34 g (or use 17 g for the v60). Grind it out to a medium coarse grind.
Step 2: Wet the Chemex coffee filter, then add the coffee and let the it bloom for 1 minute by wetting the grounds and letting it sit. The bloom releases CO2 from the coffee and causes the grinds to rise.
Step 3: Gradually pour in the remaining water. For 34 grams of coffee, use 520 g of water (or 260 g for the v60).
And that’s it! Once you’ve practiced a few times, it will feel like second nature. It is 100% worth the few extra minutes to use your Chemex coffee maker. Because it truly makes our perfect cup of pour over coffee. Have questions or comments? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch this video
A lot of learning how to use a Chemex coffee maker is just watching other people do it! Before you start, watch this video of me showing you how to make pour over coffee.
Variation: iced pour over coffee
Love iced coffee? You can make that with pour over too! Head to our Chemex Iced Coffee recipe. It’s seriously quick and takes only 10 minutes! You don’t have to chill for hours, you can make it right when you’re craving it. Because it’s so quick, we make pour over iced coffee all the time.
More coffee methods
Outside of pour over coffee, our Barista series shows you how to make coffee using all sorts of methods! Here are some of our favorite coffee drinks:
- Make French press coffee
- How to make espresso
- Best espresso drinks: latte, cappuccino, macchiato, flat white, and Americano
- How to make Moka pot coffee
- How to make Aeropress coffee
- Make Iced coffee or Cold brew coffee
Frequently asked questions
Pour over coffee is a manual brewing method where hot water is poured over ground coffee beans in a filter. The water slowly drips through the coffee and filter into a cup. This method results in a clean, flavorful cup of coffee.
The total brewing time for pour over coffee typically ranges from 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the grind size and brewing method. With setup, the process typically takes about 7 to 8 minutes total.
Rinse your brewer and filter holder thoroughly with hot water after each use. If using paper filters, discard them after brewing. Cloth filters should be washed and dried thoroughly.
How to Make Pour Over Coffee
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 0 minutes
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Total Time: 10 minutes
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Yield: 2 cups
Print RecipeDescription
Try pour over coffee in a Chemex coffee maker (or v60*)! Here’s how to make pour over coffee and all the gear you need to do it.
Ingredients
- 34 grams light roast or medium roast coffee beans*
- 520 grams filtered water (the flavor is best with filtered water**)
Instructions
- Heat a pot of filtered water to 200 to 205F. We use an electric kettle that shows us the exact temperature. You could also use a teapot on the stove — just heat to boiling, then let the water cool down for a few minutes.
- Use a food scale to weigh out 34 grams of coffee, then grind it to a medium coarse grind (about the size of kosher or sea salt). We use an electric burr grinder to get a consistent grind.
- When the water is heated, place the filter in your Chemex (see the video below for exact instructions). Pour in just a bit of water to wet the filter, then pour out the water into the sink. Place the ground coffee into the Chemex and shake it to level it out.
- Place the Chemex on the food scale and tare it so the scale reads 0. Slowly pour in 70 grams of water in a circular motion. Then stop and wait for 1 minute: this allows the coffee to bloom (you may have to tap your scale once so that it doesn’t time out!).
- Then slowly add the remaining 520 grams water in two batches, pouring very slowly in concentric circles, pouring right onto the coffee and not touching the coffee filter. Fill to about ½ inch from the top (it will likely be around 400 grams water), wait for the water level to go down a bit, and then fill the remaining water up to 520 grams.
- After a few minutes, all of the water will filter through the coffee grounds into the pot below. Remove the filter and discard it (we compost ours). Enjoy!
Notes
*If using a v60, use half the coffee and water quantities listed. In our large Chemex, the most you can make at one time is 50 grams of coffee and 800 grams water, which makes about 3 to 4 cups of coffee. To scale up or down, just use our magic ratio: 15-16 grams water to 1 gram of coffee.
**If you’re a true coffee nerd like we are, the flavor of filtered water is best. Here’s the filtered pitcher we use!
Category: Drink
Method: Pour Over
Cuisine: American