How to clean a Chemex

To clean a Chemex, pour out the grounds and filter, rinse the glass with warm water right away, and give it a proper wash with a little mild dish soap and a soft brush about once a week. For stains, use a spoonful of baking soda and warm water. That is the whole job, and it takes about two minutes.

What do you do after every brew?

The daily rinse is what keeps the glass clear. Coffee oils dry on the glass if you leave the carafe overnight, and they turn stale and bitter on the next brew.

1. Lift out the paper filter with the grounds and compost or bin it.
2. Pour out any coffee left in the carafe.
3. Rinse with warm water, swirling it up the sides and through the spout channel.
4. Turn it upside down on a rack to air dry.

Use warm water, not boiling and not ice cold. Glass does not like sudden swings in temperature, so do not run cold water into a carafe that just held a hot brew. Let it sit a minute first.

How do you deep clean a Chemex?

Once a week, or when the glass looks dull, wash it fully.

1. Fill the carafe a third of the way with warm water and add a small squirt of mild, unscented dish soap.
2. Scrub with a soft bottle brush, or use a bottle cleaning brush with a long handle for the narrow neck. Skip steel wool and scouring pads, which scratch glass.
3. Rinse until the water runs clear and there is no soap smell.
4. Dry upside down. For a shine, wipe the outside with a soft cloth.

If your Chemex has a wooden collar, keep it out of the sink. Wipe it with a damp cloth and let it dry. Soaking can make wood swell and crack.

How do you remove stains and cloudy glass?

Coffee stains and mineral film are different problems, so they get different fixes.

• Brown coffee stains: put a spoonful of baking soda in the carafe with a little warm water, scrub gently, and rinse.
• White cloudy film: this is usually from hard water. A rinse with equal parts white vinegar and warm water, left for 20 to 30 minutes, usually clears it. Rinse several times so no vinegar smell stays behind. Our guide to descaling a drip coffee maker explains the same idea for a machine.

A tiny scratch or chip near the rim is worth watching. Do not keep using a carafe that is cracked.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Leaving the filter in overnight. The wet paper and grounds go sour and the smell soaks into the glass.
• Using strongly scented soap. The spout and any collar can hold a smell, and the next brew will pick it up.
• Thermal shock. Do not move the carafe from a hot brew straight under cold water, and do not set a cold carafe on a hot burner.
• Abrasive scrubbers. Scratches hold coffee oils and make staining worse over time.

With those four avoided, a weekly wash is plenty. A quick check for a clean carafe is the smell test: fill it with warm water, wait a minute, and sniff. It should smell of nothing.

How is it different from cleaning a French press?

A Chemex has no mesh and no plunger, so there is less to take apart, but the narrow neck is harder to reach. Our guide to cleaning a French press covers the mesh and the plunger. If you also use a coffee grinder, cleaning it matters just as much to the taste of the cup.

What should you brew in a freshly cleaned Chemex?

A clean carafe lets the coffee do the talking, so pick something with a clear flavor. We would start with No. 1 Common Sense: cocoa, red apple and brown sugar on the label, and a forgiving cup. For doses, use our Chemex ratio page, or the 6 cup Chemex and 3 cup Chemex pages for the exact grams. If the next cup tastes harsh, see Chemex coffee too bitter.

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