What’s the key to quality in life? You’ve probably realised that it takes at least a letter effort to attain anything of worth whether it’s for personal or professional gain.
It’s no different when it comes to coffee especially if you want to enjoy it to its full extent. For this reason, the manual you get with your new commercial coffee machine shouldn’t be tossed away. Your machine will need a regular clean to ensure that perfect cup of coffee and you’ll need to know how to go about cleaning it. However, fear not, we have summarised the most important steps for you to take when doing a deep clean in case you have in fact lost your manual.
First off, there are 3 different means of cleaning your coffee machine: 1. Cleaning after each use, 2. Regular cleaning, 3. Descaling
- Cleaning After Each Use
This is the one you’ll do daily if you use your coffee machine for that first brew every morning. Grinding, filtering and brewing coffee often results in oils & granules getting stuck in small spaces. For daily cleans you’ll need to:
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- Take out all the removable parts and rinse them properly. These include portafilters, carafes & filters.
- Give the exterior a wipe to remove any dust or granules which can get stuck in the machine if left behind.
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Here’s an important question: Do you leave your grind in the machine?
Leaving beans or coffee grinds inside isn’t a health risk but you risk getting lower quality brew. Beans and grinds quickly deteriorate so it’s best to add new ones each time you start brewing.
Leaving used grinds such as a puck inside the machine shouldn’t be done. These are moist and the interior of a machine will stay warm for a while. The grind must be removed immediately to prevent fungi from growing.
- Regular Cleaning
A furtive cleaning after each brew shouldn’t replace proper cleaning of your machine. The different parts need special care from time to time:
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- A reservoir or carafe can lose its shine and you don’t want those marks becoming permanent. Pouring soapy water inside, letting it stand and then scrubbing it is essential.
- You don’t want a steel exterior to start showing finger marks so a proper clean with the right cleaning liquids helps you retain lustre in the kitchen.
- The warming plate also gathers spilt coffee. This should be scrubbed off for hygienic reasons but also to ensure it keeps on working well.
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- Descaling
If your machine is modern then chances are it will signal when it’s time to descale. Descaling should be carried out at least every 3 months or after 300-500 pods of coffee are made using the machine. If you don’t get around to this the accumulating lime scale can damage the machine, clog it or even end up in your brew.
You can use customised products sold by many coffee maker brands or simply use white vinegar mixed with water:
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- Rinse all relevant parts that come in contact with water in this solution.
- Run a normal cycle after placing white vinegar solution in your reservoir. When the water is accumulated in your cup or carafe you can throw it out.
- Let the machine stand for half an hour.
- Run another cycle with clean water to rinse out the vinegar solution.
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Note: Some machines will have an automated function for this so you must get to know your machine.
Remember that cleaning is all about prolonging the life cycle of your appliance. If your coffee machine performs differently than usual, such as warming up slower, then it’s usually time for a proper clean.
