When industrialization shaped our lives for good and a 9-5 working week became our routine, the necessity of a morning cup of coffee before work became inherent.
Coffee machines soon became one of the most important inventions of the 20th century.
Like buying a life insurance policy, owning a coffee machine was another worthwhile investment we had to make at some point.
But if you own a coffee maker and you love a good cup of hot coffee, then you know it’s essential to learn to maintain it. It’s just like owning a car or any other equipment that provides you with a valuable service; you have to check the mileage, change the oil, the tires, etc., every once in a while.
How else would this precious invention of technology keep being the gift that keeps on giving? Therefore, to keep things simple, we bring you an all-things-coffee-machine guide to taking care of your coffee brewer for years to come.
Why is it so essential to rinse individual parts of the coffee machine?
Portland, Oregon-based barista Morgan Eckroth stresses the importance of washing the coffee machine with hot soapy water; she says, “Generally, the coffee baskets on most home machines are going to be some sort of hard plastic, which can ultimately over time start to hold onto some flavor as coffee ends up sticking to it.
So, use lots of hot soapy water. Having some sort of sponge or even some sort of scrubber is also super helpful because sometimes grime can build up if it goes for too long without a wash.”
Experts emphasize the necessity of eliminating moisture and air drying your coffee equipment to tackle germs:
Lisa Yakas, senior product manager of Consumer Products at NSF International, tells us, “Some of these organisms like these moist and damp places, that’s where they like to grow if you eliminate that moisture altogether… then you eliminate their conditions to grow.”
What do experts say about ensuring your water is thoroughly rinsed?
We get asked all the time, ‘how do I know when my machine is fully rinsed? Well, here’s a little trick: take that rinsed water, put a little baking soda in there, just like that volcano you saw in high school, if you see some fizz, that means there’s some acid still present – Mark from Whole Latte Love
How to Descale Keurig K Elite: A Walk-through of Ways
Here’s the thing about not maintaining your coffee machine for too long, it breaks down. Like any machine, it’ll soon reach its last mortal level and keep spewing out hot and cold, gloomy-tasting, bitter coffee (the kind you don’t want), and you’ll hate yourself more on those tedious Monday mornings.
Descaling is perhaps one of the foundations of keeping a Keurig coffee maker performing at its best for years. So we bring you all the clever ways, secrets, and specified details of descaling your espresso magic box to golden brown perfection.
Why Vinegar?
The longer you use the coffee machine, the more bacteria, coffee oils, and lime will build up inside, and vinegar does a commendable job cleaning and disposing of all such miscreants.
Get your hands on some white vinegar, a coffee mug, a clean piece of cloth, dish soap, and filtered water.