CHEMEX - HOW TO USE IT

CHEMEX- WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO USE IT

It was back in 1941 when a German chemist, Peter J. Schlumbohm, invented this brewing device. He combined a laboratory glass funnel and an Erlenmeyer flask still widely used in laboratories. In this combination, an air funnel was needed to make a space for the air escaping when water was poured in. This funnel is up in the front of the device. Also, to save hands from the heat, he added a wooden belt to the waist of Chemex.

Method when brewing coffee with a Chemex

This is one of the devices that use brewing method called ”infusion”, sometimes also called ”drip” or ”gravity brew”. Infusion is the method where water is running through the coffee bed in a filter and down into a vessel below. Other methods of brewing are immersion.

How to brew coffee with a Chemex?

A barista should remember the fundamentals of brewing coffee, what ever the method and the device is. Follow the list below for TOP TIPS FOR THE PERFECT CUPPA!!

1. GRIND SIZE AND BREW TIME:

These two walk hand in hand. Coarser the grind, faster the water flow. Aim to at least a couple of minutes when using a Chemex - depending on the dose. Use quite coarse grind. Not too coarse as the water will pass the coffee bed too quickly and you will end up with under-extracted coffee. On the other hand, too fine grind size can block the brew completely and nothing comes out from the filter. The key is finer the grind, more extraction and more flavour.

2. FILTER:

There are a couple of types of filters you can use for a Chemex. First, the bleached and unbleached paper filters. We recommend the bleached ones, read here why! Papers are available in square form, halfmoon shaped as well as round ones and they all are pre-folded. Half-moon shaped are available also unfolded. No matter which of the paper filters you choose, it is important to place it correctly into the Chemex. Here is how the manufacturer guides you to do it:

• Place your finger between the 3rd and 4th layer and open into a funnel. • Place the funnel in the top portion of the Chemex coffeemaker, with 3 layers on the groove side

THE CHEMEX BREWS ARE LIGHT REFRESHING BODIED COFFEE

THE CHEMEX BREWS ARE LIGHT REFRESHING BODIED COFFEE

The groove is an air vent (as well as the pouring spout) and allows air to escape from the lower portion of the coffeemaker, letting the coffee filter at the proper rate. Placing the filter as directed prevents vent clogging and facilitates filtration

3. DOSING:

The Chemex brews are pretty light bodied coffee. Keep that in mind when creating your recipe - you might want to use a little higher coffee to water ratio than for some other pour over brews.

WATER TEMPERATURE:

Go ahead and experiment between the SCA standard of +90-96 Celsius. Higher temperature, more extraction, more flavour!

5. POURING AND AGITATION: First you need to bloom the coffee in order to get rid of the excess CO2 and to make the coffee bed wet thoroughly. This is important to avoid channeling. Pulsing your pour gives the coffee grounds the opportunity to take time for extraction as they are not immediately fully saturated with just one pour.

6. SERVING AND AFTERMATH Toss the filter, swirl the batch and serve! You might want to place a lid or cup on top of your Chemex after the first serve to keep the coffee warm longer and prevent the aromas escaping. The outcome will be a remarkably clean brew. Chemex paper filters are 20-30% heavier than other filters. Due to this they retain more of the suspended oils during the brewing process. Also, many of the coffee solids cannot pass through the filter.

Remember to keep your Chemex clean! Remove the wooden handle and continue to hand wash with warm soap and water.

What Kind Of Coffee Beans Has The Most Caffeine?

The morning caffeine fix is a necessarity for many people. Or maybe just to get through the day. So which bean should you use, to get the most caffeine? Here is a break-down on the caffeine content of the different coffee beans.

First, we will take a look at the two main coffee beans you will find in coffee sales: robusta and arabica. The robusta bean contains 2,4 percent caffeine while arabica only contains 1,5 caffeine. So robusta contains twice as much caffeine as arabica.

With that knowledge, let us move on to the roasting of the bean. The smaller the roasting time, the higher the caffeine content. So, because a light roast has a small roasting time, you will find the highest caffeine content.

So, you can probably guess that the dark roast contains the least caffeine. The beans have a lesser mass than the light roasted. This means that when weighing your beans, you will see a clear difference. But depending on how you measure your coffee, the caffeine content can vary. Maybe you or your coffee house measure your coffee in a way where there will be no difference in the caffeine content in the brewed coffee.

So of course, you must remember the grinding and brewing will have a great impact on the caffeine content as well. Therefore, you should definitely enjoy a good cup of coffee with the bean you find fits best taste-wise for you.