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Looking for pour over iced coffee that you can make in a Chemex? This Chemex iced coffee recipe takes just 10 minutes and doesn’t even require chilling!
Heyo, coffee lovers! As you may know, Alex and I are devoted coffee nerds. We love the ritual of our morning Chemex pour over coffee. (Two, maybe three pots.) And then of course we’re obsessed with cold coffee, too. We make cold brew coffee, which makes the perfect base for iced coffee.
So why another iced coffee recipe? Well, this iced coffee recipe is seriously quick: it takes only 10 minutes! You don’t have to chill overnight or for hours: you make it right when you’re craving it. Honestly, one fact makes us make this Chemex iced coffee all the time. Here’s how to do it!
How to make Chemex iced coffee
Once you’ve mastered how to make pour over coffee in a Chemex, you can move on to Chemex iced coffee! The main concept is that you’ll put ice in the bottom of the Chemex, then brew the coffee right on top of it. We’ve provided just the right ratios so that you end up with cold coffee at the end. Then, serve with ice (and if desired, milk or sweetener!).
Here’s how to make pour over Chemex iced coffee (or go to the full recipe):
- Grind 34 grams coffee and heat water to 200 degrees in an electric kettle.
- Place 200 grams ice in the Chemex.
- Wet the Chemex filter. Place it in the top of the Chemex with the coffee.
- Pour in a little water and wait 1 minute for the coffee to bloom. Then add the remainder of water, for a total of 320 grams water.
- Once the coffee is done brewing, swirl the coffee so that the ice melts. Pour into glasses and serve over ice.
Note: If it’s the right time of year, use our Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee spices in your coffee for a twist!
What you need to make Chemex iced coffee
We recommend making this Chemex iced coffee recipe if you already have a Chemex and all the related equipment! To make really good pour over coffee, this is the set up we have. (If you want an iced coffee method with less required equipment, make our Cold Brew!) It might seem like a lot, but many of these items are multi-purpose.
- Chemex 8 cup coffeemaker: This is the standard size that makes 4 cups of coffee at once.
- Chemex coffee filters
- Bodum electric burr grinder: We’ve used this grinder for years and love it. For a more affordable option, this handheld coffee mill does the trick (it just takes longer).
- Electric gooseneck kettle: This kettle is perfect for heating water for coffee and tea; we’ve had ours for 6 years. Or, try this more affordable pour over coffee kettle.
- Digital food scale: We use this food scale for many things outside of coffee too, like weighing ingredients for sourdough bread or Dutch oven bread.
Dietary notes
This recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.
Frequently asked questions
Brewing directly over ice results in a cleaner, brighter, and more nuanced iced coffee. It also is much quicker than making hot coffee.
A medium-coarse grind is ideal for Chemex iced coffee. It allows for optimal extraction while preventing the coffee from becoming over-extracted or bitter due to the longer contact time with the ice.
Using filtered water is recommended as it can improve the taste of your coffee by removing impurities that can negatively affect the flavor.
The brewing process itself typically takes around 4-6 minutes. However, factor in the time it takes to grind the beans, prepare the Chemex, and let the coffee cool completely before enjoying.
Chemex Iced Coffee
Looking for pour over iced coffee that you can make in a Chemex? This Chemex iced coffee recipe takes just 10 minutes and doesn’t even require chilling!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups of coffee 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Chemex
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 34 grams coffee beans, medium-fine ground
- 200 grams ice
- 320 grams filtered water
Instructions
- Heat a pot of filtered water to 200 to 205F. We use an electric kettle that shows us the exact temperature. You could also use a teapot on the stove — just heat to boiling, then let the water cool down for a few minutes.
- Use a food scale to weigh out 34 grams of coffee, then grind it to a medium fine grind (slightly more fine than standard pour over grind). We use an electric burr grinder to get a consistent grind.
- When the water is heated, hold the filter over a sink and carefully wet it with hot tap water.
- Place the Chemex on top of the food scale and add the 200 grams of ice. Place the filter in the Chemex, then add the ground coffee into the filter and shake it to level it out. Tare the food scale so that the it reads 0. Slowly pour in 70 grams of water in a circular motion. Then stop and wait for 1 minute: this allows the coffee to bloom (you may have to tap your scale once so that it doesn’t time out!).
- Then slowly add the remaining water in two batches, pouring very slowly in concentric circles, pouring right onto the coffee and not touching the coffee filter. Fill to 200 grams water, wait for the water level to go down a bit, and then fill the remaining water up to 320 grams.
- After a few minutes, all of the water will filter through the coffee grounds into the pot below. Swirl the coffee until ice mostly melts and the coffee is cool. Remove the filter and discard it (we compost ours). Serve over ice, or add milk and sweetener as desired.
Looking for more coffee methods?
Outside of this Chemex iced coffee, we’ve got a series on how to make coffee using all sorts of gadgets:
Super interesting! I found a few other resources that say it needs to be in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours first, then brew it cold. I tried one way already, now I make a list to actually compare what works best. Really wondering if there is any difference in taste… Thanks Alex and Sonja =)
Let us know what you think!
This came out perfect! I was surprised that the coffee was actually cold at the bottom of the chemex (and that the ice didn’t fully melt), and it was also nice and strong! thank you for this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed! This recipe has been keeping us happy through summer :)
This recipe is just another reason why I love the chemex coffee maker. It is such a versatile piece of equipment!