Chemex Coffee: A Beginner's UK Brew Guide

The Chemex looks like a piece of lab equipment that wandered into the kitchen, which is basically what it is. The hourglass-shaped glass brewer was invented in 1941 by a chemist, and it has barely changed since. That's because the design works: thick bonded paper filters and a slow pour produce some of the cleanest, brightest coffee you can make at home.

It's not the easiest method to learn, but it's nowhere near as hard as the internet makes it sound. This guide covers the gear, the exact recipe, and the mistakes to avoid, so you can get a great cup on your first or second try.

If you want the short version: buy a Chemex Classic 6-Cup, get some bonded Chemex filters, use a medium-coarse grind, and pour slowly. Everything else is refinement.

What Makes Chemex Different

The secret is the filter. Chemex uses bonded papers that are 20-30% heavier than standard filter papers. They trap the oils and fine sediment that other brewers let through, which is why Chemex coffee tastes so clean and bright. You lose a little body compared to a French press, but you gain clarity - the tasting notes of a good single-origin bean really come through. The borosilicate glass takes boiling water without cracking and adds no flavour of its own.

What You Need to Brew Chemex

• The brewer. The Chemex Classic 6-Cup is the size most UK households want. It brews up to six cups and looks great on the counter. There's a 3-cup version if you mostly brew solo, and an 8-cup if you're feeding a crowd.
• Filters. You need the square Chemex filters - a 100-pack of bonded unbleached pre-folded squares or the 2-pack of bonded squares. Don't bother with cheap knock-offs; the thickness of the genuine filters is the whole point.
• A gooseneck kettle. Not strictly essential, but the Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Gooseneck Kettle makes life much easier. The thin spout gives you control over pour rate, and the temperature control takes the guesswork out of brewing at 93-96°C.
• A grinder. Buy whole beans and grind them yourself - it's the single biggest upgrade you can make. The Timemore Chestnut C2 Manual Coffee Grinder is a brilliant burr grinder for around £77. Aim for a medium-coarse grind, like coarse sea salt.
• A scale. Weighing coffee and water makes results repeatable. A digital coffee scale with timer costs around £29 and pays for itself in consistent cups.
• Good beans. Light to medium roasts work best. Coffee Masters Colombian Organic 1kg is a solid, chocolatey start, and Union Original Blend 1kg is a reliable everyday choice.

The Chemex Recipe, Step by Step

Here's the recipe I use every time. It makes about 670ml, or four proper mugs.

1. Weigh out 42g of coffee and grind it medium-coarse. Boil your water and let it sit for 30 seconds.
2. Fold the filter along its seams and place it in the top of the brewer, with the three-layer side against the spout.
3. Rinse the filter with hot water. This removes the papery taste and warms the glass. Pour the rinse water away.
4. Add the coffee and give the brewer a gentle shake to level the bed of grounds.
5. Pour 80g of water over the grounds in a circular motion to saturate them. Wait 30-45 seconds for the bloom - the grounds will puff up as they release CO2.
6. Continue pouring in slow circles, keeping the water level about a centimetre below the rim. Aim to finish your pours around the 3-minute mark.
7. Let the water drain through. Total brew time should be 3.5 to 4 minutes. If it finishes faster, grind finer next time; if it stalls and tastes bitter, grind coarser.

The ratio is roughly 60g of coffee per litre of water, or 1:16. Start there and adjust to taste. See our coffee to water ratio guide for more detail on dialling in strength.

Which Chemex Size Should You Buy?

The 6-cup is the sweet spot for most people. It handles a single 400ml mug easily and scales up to four cups when friends visit. The 3-cup is cheaper and prettier for solo brewing, but it's fiddly and the smaller filter is easier to overflow. The 8-cup only makes sense if you regularly brew for a crowd. For the vast majority of UK kitchens, the Chemex Classic 6-Cup is the right call.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Grinding too fine. Chemex filters are slow, so a fine grind stalls the brew and turns bitter. Medium-coarse is the starting point.
• Skipping the bloom. Fresh beans need that 30-45 second pause to release CO2. Skip it and you get uneven extraction.
• Wrong ratio. Too little coffee gives you weak, sour cups. Weigh your coffee and water until you know the feel.
• Stale beans. Coffee peaks 1-3 weeks after roasting. Buy from roasters with a roast date on the bag, and store beans in an airtight container - the Fellow Atmos Vacuum Canister does this job brilliantly.

Chemex vs V60: Which Is Better for You?

Both make pour-over coffee, but they suit different people. The Chemex is more forgiving - the thick filters mask grind inconsistency - and it makes several cups at once. It's the better choice if you brew for two or more, or you want a beautiful centrepiece brewer.

The Hario V60 is cheaper, brews a single cup perfectly, and gives you more control over flavour. But it's less forgiving: grind, pour and timing all matter more. If you mostly brew for yourself, the V60 is the safer bet. Our pour-over beginner's guide covers the V60 method in full.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

If you want clean, bright filter coffee and you brew for more than one person, the Chemex is hard to beat. It's forgiving for a manual method, looks stunning, and the thick filters make genuinely great cups. The main downsides are the price of the genuine filters and the fact that it's glass - it needs careful handling.

Start with the Chemex Classic 6-Cup, a pack of bonded filters, a Timemore C2 grinder and some freshly roasted beans. Brew through the recipe above a few times, and you'll be making coffee that beats most cafés - for pennies a cup.

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Last reviewed: 3 August 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links