What’s the most important part of brewing coffee?
No matter if you are brewing for one person or fifty, from pour over to drip machine to French press, and for any coffee type, there is one factor that is more important than any other. It’s the thing that happens after the perfect cup of coffee is enjoyed.
The big secret to making great coffee is…cleaning!
Cleaning!
Yes, I know reading a blog about cleaning your coffee accouterments isn’t New York Times level exciting, but it’s extremely important. It doesn’t matter what quality of coffee you’re using. If you aren’t using a clean brewing device, your perfectly roasted coffee beans will not taste the best. And the longer you wait to clean your coffee maker, the worse the coffee will taste.
Signs Your Coffee Maker Needs Cleaning
A sign your brewing equipment is getting dirty is whether or not the coffee is tasting burned. Now, if you’re using a heavily roasted coffee bean, it is always going to taste burned; but, if you know the coffee is a good medium roast and it still tastes burned, then get to cleaning!
How to Clean Your Coffee Equipment
So you might be thinking, “Ok well that’s easy, I’ll just pop my coffee pot in the dishwasher and we’ll be fine.” That is the easy way to do it (unless you’re using a stainless steel insulated pot which aren’t dishwasher friendly), but normal dishwashing detergent can leave behind a soapy film, odor, and sometimes taste. Plus, built-up coffee staining can be difficult for soap detergents to remove. The best product to use to remove coffee stains built up by coffee oils is a coffee machine detergent.
Here at Baba Java, we use Cafiza. It’s not expensive and it doesn’t take much, so the bottle will last a while. What makes this product so amazing is how it eats up coffee oils. Oil buildup is what makes coffee equipment look, smell, and taste terrible. Cafiza melts it away with no smell or aftertaste.
Now get to cleaning!