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Tag: chemex

Brewing Large Batches of Coffee With the Chemex

Christmas is only a week away. Work parties and family gatherings are imminent and if you are excited about coffee, there is a good chance that you are contemplating taking your manual brewing show on the road.

Sharing your love of coffee with the world can pose some interesting questions that don’t come up in every day manual brewing scenarios. One of the topics I see floating around a bit (especially this time of year) is how to brew large batches of coffee via the pour-over method.

The Chemex is my large batch brewer of choice. It comes in a variety of sizes with capacities from 350 mL or to about 1400 mL (1850 mL if you have the Thirteen Cup Chemex).

Simply owning a brewing device that has the capacity to brew large batches of coffee isn’t enough. Brewing a big batch of coffee has different challenges and nuances that should be addressed. It is not the same as brewing a small cup of coffee for yourself.

Over the past month and a half, I have been experimenting with brewing large batches of coffee on the Chemex and here’s what I learned.

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The Chemex Brew Guide and Informational

Ah the Chemex, where to begin; an iconic manual brewer invented in the 1940’s by Peter Schlumbohm? A third-wave coffee stronghold? One part pour-over, one part carafe and one part science-i-ness?

The truth is, I haven’t owned my Chemex for even a year yet but I adored it from the first time I used it. I love the classic vintage design, the amazing thick filters and it’s unmatched potential for brewing large batches of good coffee to share with the world.

It’s forgiving. It’s photogenic. It brews a pretty great cup of coffee.

Because it is one of my newer additions to my manual brewing arsenal, I have been dragging my feet on posting a brew guide. This is not because I lack confidence. I just wanted explore and answer some of my questions I had about the device.

Just because I haven’t owned the Chemex for a decade, doesn’t mean I haven’t spend time using it, I’m halfway through my third box of filters, which means roughly 250 brews.

After spending a solid month of concentrated Chemex brewing, including brewing for large family gatherings, work colleagues and even a few less than stellar Periscope performances. I’m ready to talk. Here is a my Chemex brew guide and some other relevant information.

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Flash Brew- Two Easy No Mess Iced Coffee Recipes

When I wrote about cold brewed coffee last month, I shared some pros and cons of the brewing method. One thing I neglected to mention was that for me, one of the biggest drawbacks of the method is the mess it can make. While it is not unmanageable, when it is coupled with needing the foresight to start a brew 12 hours in advance, I will frequently take a pass on cold brewing and instead opt for flash brewing my coffee instead.

Sometimes you just want a quick and easy iced coffee. Here is an overview of flash brewed coffee (Japanese Iced Coffee) and a few recipes that should get you enjoying a cold, refreshing coffee over ice within minutes instead of tomorrow.

Is it Iced Coffee or Cold Brew?

You may recall from my post about cold brew coffee that there is a difference between the terms iced coffee and cold brew coffee. Cold brew, as well as flash brew, are methods of brewing coffee. Iced coffee describes a way of serving a brewed coffee.

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