Two Hacks

Chemex 6 Cup Chemex by Lance Hedrick

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.

1:16.3 Ratio

5:00 Total

40g Dose

100°C Temp

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Parameters

40 g
Coffee: 650 g
Water: 1:16.3
Ratio: 100 °C
Temp: 8 coarse
Grind: 5:00
Total: ~650 ml
Yield

Grind · 8/10 · coarse

FINE COARSE

Method

5:00 · total

Bloom 1 / 6
0:00

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→ 100g Spiral 12s
Pour 2 / 6
0:30

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

+100g→ 200g Spiral 10s
Pour 3 / 6
1:00

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

+200g→ 400g Spiral 25s
Pour 4 / 6
2:00

Pour to 550g cumulative.

+150g→ 550g Spiral 20s
Pour 5 / 6
3:00

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

+100g→ 650g Spiral 15s
Done 6 / 6
5:00

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.

Original source

Recipe by Lance Hedrick, published at youtube.com.

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By

Lance Hedrick

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In the cup