Great tasting coffee doesn’t start with fancy beans. It starts with a coffee machine that’s clean, calibrated and running as it should. When oils build up within the machine, minerals harden into scale, and the neglected parts begin to wear down. This will leave your coffee tasting flat, bitter or “off”.
There are simple maintenance tips you can do, to protect your coffee’s flavor, extend your coffee machine’s lifespan and keep it working as it should, on a day-to-day basis.
Why Coffee Machine Maintenance Changes The Taste Of Your Coffee
With every coffee you make with your machine, the coffee oils and residues end up accumulating within the machine. These leftover deposits turn rancid over time, introducing both bitter and stale flavors into your coffee.
Without doing regular coffee machine maintenance, you’re mixing fresh coffee with old and oxidized oils.
Mineral deposits from water builds up, causing limescale within the heating elements and water lines, which can affect temperature consistency when brewing your coffee.
If your water doesn’t reach the optimal temperature range, extraction of the coffee becomes uneven, and this will give you sour or weak-tasting coffee.
Clogged coffee filters can also cause you issues, by creating muddy and over-extracted flavors.
Worn gaskets and seals on your machine also affect flavor. As these parts degrade over time, they allow pressure loss, or permit water to bypass the coffee grounds, giving you weak and flavorless coffee.
How To Clean The Brew Basket And Filter Area
Your brew basket and coffee filter area need looking after, as part of your daily cleaning routine, to maintain quality coffee.
Each time you use your coffee machine, remove the filter basket and rinse it under warm water, to remove any residual coffee oils and coffee grounds.
If you have a regular drip coffee maker, wash the basket with mild dish soap and water. If you get an issue with build-up, you can use baking soda and water to make a paste, to scrub away stubborn residue. Using filtered water helps to reduce the minerals deposits, that build-up over time.
If you have an espresso machine, use cleaning powder or cleaning tablets specifically made for espresso machines.
Make sure you run the back flushing cycle (according to your specific machine’s specifications), in typically 5 to 10 short bursts. This will remove trapped coffee oils from the group head and filter area.
Remove the basket weekly, and soak it in a cleaning solution for 15 to 20 minutes, to dissolve any accumulated residue from use.
Descaling Basics For Smoother, Cleaner Coffee
Descaling is super important, as it removes mineral deposits that build-up within your coffee machine, over time. Scale build-up forms when water containing calcium and magnesium passes through the machine’s components.
Scale build-up affects the flavor of your coffee, by restricting water flow, and altering brewing temperatures. Your coffee will taste flat or bitter, when minerals are coating the heating elements and water lines.
Plus, a build-up of scale also makes your coffee machine work harder, increasing energy use, and shortening its lifespan.
Cleaning Milk Frothers And Steam Wands
Milk residue builds up quickly on coffee machine milk frothers and steam wands, creating bacteria growth, and affecting the taste of your coffee. You need to clean these components after every use, to ensure coffee quality, and good machine performance.
Wipe the steam wand with a damp cloth, immediately after frothing. Purge the wand by releasing a short burst of steam, to clear internal milk deposits. Also, remove any milk remnants from the frothing tip before they dry and harden.
Weekly deep cleaning will prevent burnt milk buildup, that daily wiping won’t fix. Soak the removable frother parts in warm soapy water for 15 to 20 minutes, then scrub gently with a soft brush.
Remember to descale your milk frothing system every month, if you have hard water. When cleaning the frother, be sure to check the gaskets and seals, to prevent steam leaks, and a reduction in the frothing pressure.
