How do I clean coffee and tea equipment properly?
Two different problems — oils and limescale — needing two different treatments, and why stale coffee residue ruins good beans.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 30 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Coffee oils need detergent or a dedicated cleaner; limescale needs an acid descaler. They are different problems and one will not touch the other, which is why machines that get descaled still make bitter coffee.
Almost everyone doing this cleans one thing and wonders why the drink still tastes wrong. Rancid oils and mineral scale build up in the same machine, look nothing alike, and need opposite chemistry.
Safety
What you'll need
- Washing-up liquid
- Descaler or citric acid
- Espresso machine cleaner (optional)
- Soft brush (optional)
Step by step
- Understand the two problems.Coffee oils go rancid and taste bitter — removed by detergent. Limescale is mineral deposit that blocks and reduces temperature — removed by acid. One treatment does not do the other.
- Rinse everything immediately after use.Hot water through the brewer, the basket, the carafe. Ninety seconds after brewing prevents most of the buildup this guide is about.
- Wash with detergent weekly.Anything that touches coffee. The film of oil is invisible and it is what makes an old machine's coffee taste stale regardless of the beans.
- Backflush or deep clean an espresso machine.A dedicated espresso cleaner in a blind basket, weekly for regular use. Also remove and soak the shower screen and the portafilter basket — the buildup there is usually startling.
- Descale on a schedule based on your water.Every one to three months in a hard water area, less in a soft one. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and rinse very thoroughly.
- Clean the grinder too.Ground coffee retains oil that goes rancid in the burrs. Brush it out regularly, and use grinder cleaning tablets occasionally. Frequently the cause of stale-tasting coffee from fresh beans.
- Deal with tea stains with a mild abrasive.Bicarbonate of soda paste on teapots and mugs, or a soak in a denture tablet solution. Tannin stains are cosmetic but they also hold flavour.
- Rinse thoroughly, then rinse again.Any detergent or descaler residue is very noticeable in the next drink. Run at least two full cycles of clean water after chemical cleaning.
Tips
- If good beans taste stale, clean the grinder before blaming the beans. It is the most commonly neglected part of the whole setup.
- A machine that has become slow or is producing cooler drinks is almost always scaled up rather than failing.
- Do not use washing-up liquid inside a machine's water path unless it says you can. Use a product designed for it.
Questions people ask
How often should I descale a coffee machine?
Every one to three months in a hard water area, less often in a soft one. A machine getting slower or cooler is a sign it is overdue.
Why does my coffee taste stale with fresh beans?
Usually rancid oils in the grinder or brewer rather than the beans. Descaling will not touch it — that needs detergent or a dedicated coffee cleaner.