Not too long ago, we were lucky have Ristretto Roasters out at the grand opening of our Portland store to provide a tasting of some of their fabulous coffee. While they were in we got to chat with them about their approach to brewing and Ryan even allowed us to film him as he brewed on a Chemex. As we have seen with our other local roasters, Ryan had his own unique approach to the process, which was interesting to compare with the other techniques we have seen. We love having roasters in our store for coffee tastings, and Ristretto Roasters have already been back to visit us a second time, and they are hosting a third tasting at SCG Portland on September 6th, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you haven’t tried this locally roasted Portland coffee, this is your chance to do so. Likewise it is a great opportunity to pick up additional tips and tricks from Ryan and his crew.
How to Brew Chemex Coffee Ristretto Roasters Style:
For this brew we used Ristretto Roasters’ Kenya A/B Roast, which has taste notes of black current, Meyer lemon, and maple syrup. You get the maple syrup and current flavors right up front, and the Meyer lemon acidity is sort of a nice finish.- Start by weighing out your beans on a scale (make sure to zero out the scale once you have put your container on it, but before you add the beans).
- Measure out 50 grams of coffee into your container.
- Grind the coffee to a grind that is a little finer than a French press. When Ryan made his Chemex, he used a Baratza grinder set to the 28 mark.
- Program a Bonavita Electric Gooseneck Variable Temperature Kettle to 196 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next, open a Chemex filter and put the three fold side of the filter on the side of the Chemex that the spout is on.
- Hold the filter in your Chemex, and use the water you heated up in the kettle to damp the filter down. The damping helps the filter suck in against the Chemex, gets paper tastes out and also heats up the vessel.
- Pour out the extra water that has collected in the base of the Chemex.
- Add 100 grams of water to the 50 grams of coffee in your Chemex and allow it to bloom for 30 seconds; starting your timer when you add the water for the bloom.
- While the coffee is blooming, the coffee the coffee is expanding and oils are coming to the surface of the grounds. This process will slow down the brew and actually start adding water to the coffee.
- After 30 seconds, add water to the center of the bloom and slowly do little circular spinning motions of pours around the bloom. This agitation brings out a nice acidity in the coffee. Over the course of four minutes, you’ll be adding up to 700 grams of water.
- You don’t want to rush your pour, so make sure your water line stops a quarter inch from the rim of the Chemex.
- Once you reach the four-minute and the 700 gram mark, you will be able to drink the wonderful Chemex coffee you have brewed.
- When the brew stops dripping, you can remove the filter with the grounds and toss it into a trashcan or compost.
- Before pouring a cup of the coffee, give the Chemex a little swirl, to make sure everything is well combined.
- Then serve it up!