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Two Hacks

by Lance Hedrick Chemex 6 Cup

Lance Hedrick's approach to making the Chemex actually work — two physical hacks plus a five-pour 1:16 recipe at 40g/650g that reaches 1.25–1.5 TDS and ~18–20% extraction. The Chemex's chute clogs and bypasses are real; Lance fixes them with a refolded filter and a silicone chute cover, then runs a long, low-agitation brew that leans on the deep coarse bed for clarity rather than pour technique.

  • Sweet
  • Balanced
  • Medium-bodied
  • Light roast
  • Medium roast
  • Long
  • Intermediate
Total
5:00
Ratio
1:16.3
Coffee
40 g
Temp
100 °C

The Two Hacks recipe by Lance Hedrick for the Chemex 6 Cup uses 40 g of coffee and 650 g of water (1:16.3 ratio), at 100°C, with a target brew time of 5:00.

Parameters

40 g
Coffee
650 g
Water
1:16.3
Ratio
100 °C
Temp
8 coarse
Grind
5:00
Total
3
Servings
Grind · 8/10 · coarse
FINE COARSE

Method

5:00 · total
  1. 0:00
    Bloom

    Pour 100g (2.5× the dose) starting from the center, spiraling out. Move the stir stick slowly in spirals from edge to center to fully saturate the deep bed and break clumps.

    +100g 12s Circular
  2. 0:30
    Pour

    Second bloom: pour to 200g cumulative. Move the stick in spirals again until clumps go and the gas column releases.

    +200g 10s Circular
  3. 1:00
    Pour

    Heavy main pour: to 400g cumulative, fast circles in the center. Gentle swirl after to settle the bed.

    +400g 25s Circular
  4. 2:00
    Pour

    Pour to 550g cumulative.

    +550g 20s Circular
  5. 3:00
    Pour

    Final pour to 650g cumulative — softer here so fines don't shoot into the filter. Tiny swirl to finish.

    +650g 15s Slow
  6. 5:00
    Done

    Drawdown over a flat bed. Anywhere from 4:30 to 7:00 is fine.

Notes

The Chemex is most consistent at larger doses — only worth it when brewing for several people at once. 40g is the sweet spot for a 6-cup. Hack 1 — refold the filter: the stock paper sits 1 flap on one side and 3 on the other, which is uneven. Open the filter like a book, cut along the inner crease of the left page ending in a small 45° cut into the middle crease, then refold so each side has 2 flaps. Bleached (white) papers are preferred — the brown ones leave a noticeable papery taste even after rinse. Hack 2 — cover the chute with a small piece of food-safe silicone (an old phone case works). The chute clogs with filter paper (stalls the brew) and lets water bypass through it (uneven extraction). The silicone seals both issues and gives you a ribless, near-suction brewer. Rinse the filter heavily — under-rinsed paper is the #1 cause of the "papery" cup. Dump the rinse water before brewing. Use a thin glass stir stick / chopstick / pen as a spear: lay it flat in the dry bed before adding grounds, then dose on top. After the bloom pour, slowly move the stick in spirals from the edge inward to break clumps and saturate without over-agitating — the deep Chemex bed is prone to stalls. Boiling water for light roasts; drop temperature for darker roasts. Brew time runs 5:00–7:00 depending on the coffee. Glass and wide surface area shed heat fast, so contact time stops mattering past ~3 minutes; don't worry about a long drawdown.

More Chemex 6 Cup recipes

See all Chemex 6 Cup recipes →

Other Chemex methods

More by Lance Hedrick

View all recipes by Lance Hedrick →

Original source

Recipe by Lance Hedrick, published at youtube.com.

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V60
0:00
Pour 2/5
0:30

100g

+50g Add water

3
Wait 0:45
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