While there may be various debate concerning the efficiency, consistency, and overall extraction capabilities of the numerous amounts of pour-over brew methods (kalita, bonmac, beehive) there is an obvious superior apparatus for creating coffee for multiple people simultaneously. As stated in the previous post, the Hario V60 method is much easier to make one cup than the ever-popular Chemex, however that truth works the other way around as well. The classic 6-cup Chemex is specifically designed in the angling of the glass and the size of the opening for the filter that more water can still be evenly distributed while passing through the coffee grounds. Another advantage that goes along with the Chemex is the porosity of the filters, which are heavier than most other paper filter brew methods, which holds back some of the negative tasting compounds that can be brought out with uneven extraction. This is a distinct advantage for brewing larger amounts of delicious coffee, while maintaining consistency. Here is the method that Paragraph is partial to.
Necessary Equipment:
-Classic 6-Cup Chemex Brewer
-Chemex paper filter
-55 grams of recently roasted coffee
-Water in a gooseneck kettle (the Bonavita BV3825B will be used in this example)
-Digital Scale (preferably to the gram)
-Timer
-Spoon or paddle
Pre-rinse the filter with heated water.
A necessary step in any paper filter brew method, this washes away any papery residue that could otherwise mix with the coffee flavour. Make sure to thoroughly rinse the filter but, not use too much water, as a significant amount will be needed for the actual brewing. After this, pour out the hot water (if it is in your practice to pre-heat your cup as well, you can conserve water by directly transferring it from Chemex to cup).
Weigh out and grind the coffee.
First-pre-weight the fresh coffee that will be used, and then proceed to grind it at a setting slightly courser than a V60 brew, but finer than a French Press. Finding the perfect grind size will depend largely on the output measurements, which will be discussed later. After this, put the chemex on the scale and zero it before adding the grounds to ensure that there is no grinder retention.
Perform the bloom poor.
Just wet the coffee grounds (while starting the timer). For this amount of coffee, there is no specific amount of water, but if the pour is efficient it should be around 60 grams of water. The purpose of the bloom is to release the gases (mostly CO2) from the grounds so that the flavours can be evenly extracted after this. Therefore, actual extraction is not wanted here, so the less water the drips through the filter the better (but still make sure to cover all of the grounds).
Pour the remaining water.
After the bloom will come eight more pours, letting the water fall fast enough to raise the water level but not hit the brew surface aggressively. The first pour will be slightly more water, bringing up the water weight to 200 grams through circular pours which should end close to the edge of the Chemex. Notice the water level at this point, as the brew should not be higher than this (to maintain consistency of grounds distribution). If there are grounds lining the filter, use the spoon or pour-over paddle from Burntwood Makery (future post to come) to gently fold them away from the edge. After this, carry out seven subsequent pours of 100 grams each, bringing the final water weight up to 900 grams. All of these should be circular pours between the middle and edges of the apparatus.
Finish the brew process.
After the last pour, gently and shallowly stir the brew twice to ensure an even drawdown, which is a crucial element to the overall flavour extraction. Stop the timer after the water has passed through the bed of grounds (future post to come on input/output variables).
This much coffee will healthily serve either seven Gibralter glasses (the 4.5 ounce version) or two Grande Starbucks mugs… Either way, similarly to the V60 method we suggest letting the coffee cool down five minutes so that it won't burn your tongue and prevent you from accurately tasting the delicious coffee.
Written by,
Tyson