Sometimes specialty coffee and its preparation methods can seem a little complicated, but in truth they are simpler than you imagine. That is why today we want to present you with a classic and different option to prepare a good coffee at home.

THE SCIENCE AND ART OF A GOOD COFFEE 

The Chemex is a classic and elegant extraction device that was designed by German chemist Peter J. Schlumbohm - yes, a chemist - to create a special coffee maker. 

His inspiration comes from two laboratory utensils: a glass funnel and an Erlenmeyer Flask, to which he added a heat-resistant wooden handle to make a more aesthetic and chic coffee pot that moved away from the scientific realm and closer to coffee shops and general consumption. 

And voila! Thus was born a timeless design that has been produced since 1941 and is even part of permanent collections in some important museums such as the MoMA in New York.  

This is a drip method, which means that the water passes through a layer of coffee and a filter usually made of paper. Compared to a French press, the Chemex gives you an incredibly clean cup, as its paper filters are 20% to 30% heavier than others, so that solids cannot pass through, but retaining more of the oils suspended during the extraction process.

1, 2, 3, READY TO START!

• Specialty coffee will always be the main element. For this method it should be ground to a medium coarseness so that it does not clog the filters, but fine enough so that the water can penetrate it well and then drag the oils to the bottom of the coffee maker.

• The filter will always be a specific chemex brand filter, although we can find substitutes in the private label market. These are coarse filters that retain materials or particles, but allow essential oils to pass into the cup.

• As for the water temperature, it should always be below boiling temperature, ideally between 80 and 92°.

With these three elements we can make a good coffee in this type of coffee maker that especially takes advantage of all those nuances that are not achieved with other methods, for which reason it is especially interesting to use in these cases a good specialty coffee with a denomination of origin.

A NEW RITUAL TO TRY AT HOME

The elaboration of coffee in this type of coffee maker is a ritual that is carried out in a few simple steps:

• First, the filter is placed in the upper opening of the coffee maker, completely open so that a little hot water can be poured over it.

• The recommended measure of 15 ml of water for each gram of coffee is added to the filter, that is to say: for each 150 ml of water we will use 10 grams of coffee (standard measure of coffee meters for medium grind coffee beans).

• The coffee is left on the wet filter and then the hot water is added -between 80 and 92 °C- always in circles.

• The operation is repeated with intervals of 20 seconds between each circle. The water will drip to the bottom of the container due to the effect of gravity.

• When all the coffee is completely wet, wait for the dripping to finish.

• Once the dripping stops, the filter with the wet coffee is removed.

• Finally, the coffee pot is grabbed by the wooden neck and the coffee is poured.

THE GOOD -NOT- IS ALWAYS LONG IN COMING

You may be used to quick preparations, or think that making coffee in Chemex will take you more time, when in fact it will take you about the same time it took you to read this blog. 3 to 5 minutesthe same amount of time it took you to read this blog.

We hope that you will be encouraged to try new preparations and to see how the same bean can result in such different infusions depending on the coffee maker you use.