# Coffee recommendations for chemex?



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Hello all, first post on this site, only recently getting into (good) coffee and hope to learn a lot!

I'm using a chemex at the moment and have really been enjoying what HasBean have to offer over the past few months - I love the fact that they use resealable bags (currently don't have a grinder, on a student budget!) and so it's really useful for freshness!

Also, I find that on most roaster sites, their "grinded for filter" setting just isn't coarse enough... I can't get enough of an extraction and so I use the "jug" option on HasBean and it works great for my chemex brew!

So my question is, can anyone recommend a good coffee that preferably offers a coarse jug-like grind and also preferably sends coffee in a resealable bag?

In terms of what sort of roast and what flavours, I am very open-minded, I enjoy most things if fresh and at this stage of my coffee journey am willing to try most things


----------



## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Don't drink any coffee for a few weeks and save up for a cheap hand grinder


----------



## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

jeebsy said:


> Don't drink any coffee for a few weeks


 nearly spat my dinner out


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

As Jeebsy says, you need a grinder. Something like a Porlex, Rhino etc will do a decent job for Chemex for which the grind should be pretty coarse. With pre-ground coffee, you're losing a lot of the volatile aromatics which disappear alarmingly quickly once the beans have bean ground.


----------



## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

If you get your post count up you'll be able to purchase well looked after pre-loved equipment from the forum. Handgrinders do come up here regularly at good prices.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

YerbaMate170 said:


> Also, I find that on most roaster sites, their "grinded for filter" setting just isn't coarse enough... I can't get enough of an extraction and so I use the "jug" option on HasBean and it works great for my chemex brew!


This is a little counter-intuitive, finer grind should extract more, not less (unless you go mega-fine where it will drop off again). Can you tell us about your method? Times & weights?


----------



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

MWJB said:


> This is a little counter-intuitive, finer grind should extract more, not less (unless you go mega-fine where it will drop off again). Can you tell us about your method? Times & weights?


hmm, I find that with fine grinds, I don't get much water passing through - the chemex/filter just gets blocked. So, for example within 3 minutes of extraction, I get less coffee.

I realise I can adjust this and I have done, but overall I just find that a coarser grind works better with chemex... Of course I'm very new to this so maybe I'm just doing it wrong.


----------



## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Yep, you will get the most improvement by getting a grinder rather than switching roasters.

I'd really recommend a cheap hand grinder if you don't want to spend a lot, like the Hario or Porlex.

You don't want a too fine grind or you get horrible overextraction as you say, due to the cone shape of the filter and the smaller particles sinking.

What size of chemex do you have, what dose (g) of coffee are you using, what dose water (g) ? Try and not use too much coffee, as you can loose a lot of the subtle taste of the coffee if you do.

What water do you use too? If you are in a hard water area consider bottled water, hard water can mask a lot of the taste and simply not extract properly. Remember the cup is 95%+ water, good water is important!

HasBean is a good choice, if you want to play around with other roasters look for those that offer lighter roasts or separate profiles for filter and espresso. Honestly though, you want to address the grinder and water first and you should see a massive improvement.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

YerbaMate170 said:


> hmm, I find that with fine grinds, I don't get much water passing through - the chemex/filter just gets blocked. So, for example within 3 minutes of extraction, I get less coffee.
> 
> I realise I can adjust this and I have done, but overall I just find that a coarser grind works better with chemex... Of course I'm very new to this so maybe I'm just doing it wrong.


I doubt you're doing it "wrong", more that there is a lot of conflicting advice regarding brew times. There isn't a brew time that will work across all brew weights (so these would be helpful). Indeed, the Chemex paper can clog & Chemex themselves recommend a very coarse grind.

If brewing by a ratio (e.g. 60g/l) the brew ratio assumes that the filter will drain out, unless you are using a marking on the carafe, relating to a known volume of brew produced, killing the brew at 3:00 may make it harder to brew consistently.


----------



## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

If you're interested I can offer you this Grunwerg stainless steel and acrylic hand grinder (see info on York Coffee Emporium site) for £15 delivered? I've used it about 5 times whilst travelling and I've upgraded everything since, so it's just going unused (photo next to a 6 - 8 cup chemex for scale only). Not with the original box and didn't have any instructions anyway...










I'm planning to put it up for sale if you don't want it. Thanks


----------



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

jlarkin said:


> If you're interested I can offer you this Grunwerg stainless steel and acrylic hand grinder (see info on York Coffee Emporium site) for £15 delivered? I've used it about 5 times whilst travelling and I've upgraded everything since, so it's just going unused (photo next to a 6 - 8 cup chemex for scale only). Not with the original box and didn't have any instructions anyway...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi, thank you that's very kind - I probably should have been more specific, I do actually own a Hario hand grinder... Just that in the mornings when in a rush I often get lazy.

I suppose I should really save up and get a decent grinder. Will make that my next task and do some research.


----------



## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

How many cups are you making?

Shouldn't take too long to grind enough beans for 1 cup in the Hario in the mornings!


----------



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

aaronb said:


> How many cups are you making?
> 
> Shouldn't take too long to grind enough beans for 1 cup in the Hario in the mornings!


Yeah I know, I did it for a few months then went back to pre-ground... I get through a bag in around 3-4 days (share with flat) so it's still *fairly* fresh... But yes, I need to start looking for grinders!


----------



## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

YerbaMate170 said:


> Hi, thank you that's very kind - I probably should have been more specific, I do actually own a Hario hand grinder... Just that in the mornings when in a rush I often get lazy.
> 
> I suppose I should really save up and get a decent grinder. Will make that my next task and do some research.


In which case you should know better than drinking the pre-ground stuff ;-P


----------

