Is cleaning my coffee carafe necessary for better tasting coffee?

[Integral]

I have been watching the coffee patina grow inside my carafe for years, it was a rich brown. Yesterday my wife looked inside and claimed to understand why our coffee was tasting muddy. She made me clean it back down to shiny stainless.

So the question is, to clean or not to clean?

 

[turbo]

I have an espresso machine and I don't clean it. I rinse out my mug with hot water every morning. NO soap or scouring.

 

[Drakkith]

I can't stand anything that even vaguely tastes like coffee, so forgive me for asking this.

Why don't you clean your cup, or mug, or pot, or whatever?

 

[edward]

Yes , but only if I am going to use it to brew up some nectar for the hummingbirds. I do it when my wife isn't home. Then when she comes home she says: "Oh how sweet you cleaned out the coffee maker."

 

[Astronuc]

Eventually the carafe gets cleaned.

We use drip coffee makers, so the carafe or pot is glass.

 

[dlgoff]

With the hard water around here, it doesn't take long before you can notice a less tasty cup. Which is my cue to clean.

 

[AlephZero]

The proper way to make coffee was taught to me by a Norwegian.

* Get an old-style iron kettle, designed for use on a fire or gas/electric stove. Do NOT attempt to use an electric kettle.
* Put a layer of coarse ground coffee in the kettle.
* Fill with cold water.
* Heat slowly till it boils (this should take about 20-30 minutes).
* Pour the hot liquid, unfiltered, into coffee mug, add sugar and/or cold milk to taste.
* Enjoy.

Warning: until you get acustomed to it, this is a very effective laxative!

The kettle must NEVER be cleaned. If you run out of coffee, just fill the kettle with water and simmer for a longer time.

 

[lisab]

I have been watching the coffee patina grow inside my carafe for years, it was a rich brown. Yesterday my wife looked inside and claimed to understand why our coffee was tasting muddy. She made me clean it back down to shiny stainless.

So the question is, to clean or not to clean?

Did the coffee improve after the cleaning?

How did you clean it, btw?

 

[Chi Meson]

I clean my stailess steel coffee pot every other month. I scour the pot with a brillo after cleaning the coffee maker with a vinegar solution. After which I run two pots of water through the coffee making cycle to rinse it. The first pot after that is usually not, shall I say, "The " but it's better than Dunkin or the option at work.

 

[Integral]

Did the coffee improve after the cleaning?

How did you clean it, btw?

Not to my taste. Of course I drink it black while the wife's is about 50% milk + flavoring, so how would I know

I have a stainless vacumn carafe. I cannot get my hand inside, my wife just can but there are very sharp tabs sticking out which slice at her wrists.
I used a large kitchen spoon and a scruber sponge.

I have always just rinsed out the old coffee, making no effort to scrub.

I remember when I was in the navy someone took the effort to clean our coffee urn, about half the shop was up in arms about lossing the patina. I really don't know if it makes any difference, but being a bit lazy I usually take the easy route!

 

[Mororvia]

Do you clean your pots and pans after cooking with them? I don't really see the difference.

 

[turbo]

Do you clean your pots and pans after cooking with them? I don't really see the difference.

I clean glass, non-stick, and stainless. With LIGHT soap only, Iron and ceramics Don't get washed with soap and no abrasives. Ok. Like the South Park kids getting their money back from Mel Gibson... Some level of purity and dedication is required!

 

[Insanity]

typically run white vinegar through the machine twice, then twice more with water to clean it.

I will fill the stove kettle with 1:1 water:vinegar and bring it to a boil for a few minutes to remove the hard water deposits.

 

[Evo]

If you don't clean it the oils that have adhered to the caraffe become rancid, lime bilds up, these things will give a bad taste to your coffee, unless you've developed a taste for tainted coffee.

 

[physics girl phd]

I clean it on a semi-regular basis... my spouse wouldn't ever clean it.

This also appears to be the case with the bathrooms in the house.

 

[Bararontok]

Cleaning a coffee pot and even preparing coffee is a time consuming process so use instant coffee as opposed to brewed coffee because brewed coffee must be brewed in coffee brewers which use 900W of power on average regardless of whether the brewer uses fire or electricity. The brewer must usually be operated for an hour causing it to use 900Wh of energy while the water used for instant coffee can simply be heated in a microwave which uses 800W of power on average for only 30 seconds before the coffee powder is mixed in causing it to use only 6.67Wh of energy which is 135 times lower than the energy used by the fire and electrical brewers.

 

[cristo]

Cleaning a coffee pot and even preparing coffee is a time consuming process so use instant coffee as opposed to brewed coffee because brewed coffee must be brewed in coffee brewers which use 900W of power on average regardless of whether the brewer uses fire or electricity. The brewer must usually be operated for an hour causing it to use 900Wh of energy while the water used for instant coffee can simply be heated in a microwave which uses 800W of power on average for only 30 seconds before the coffee powder is mixed in causing it to use only 6.67Wh of energy which is 135 times lower than the energy used by the fire and electrical brewers.

...but instant coffee is disgusting.

 

[Bararontok]

The other advantage of instant coffee is that it maximizes the utilization of coffee cream powder and sugar because those two powders are pre-mixed into the instant coffee and the amount that is introduced into each batch is regulated by timed powder injectors. And if there is an error, feedback sensors would relay the information to the computers controlling the production process so that the saturated batches can be re-processed. In this way, the human error of simply estimating the sugar and cream quantity before introducing it to the coffee is eliminated from the preparation process which again maximizes the efficiency of coffee making. Some bottles are even equipped with spring loaded, push actuated trap valves that are timed to close the bottle cap after a certain amount of coffee powder is poured to ensure that just the right amount of powder is mixed in.

I actually find nothing wrong with instant coffee. The taste is fine to me and it provides the same kind of stimulant effect delivered by brewed coffee. I guess some people are just attached to the smell and feel of a coffee brewer.

 

[Norman]

If you don't clean it the oils that have adhered to the caraffe become rancid, lime bilds up, these things will give a bad taste to your coffee, unless you've developed a taste for tainted coffee.

This is my understanding also. I clean our drip glass carafe every weekend. Just lightly with soap and water with a wash rag.

 

[Borek]

Cleaning a coffee pot and even preparing coffee is a time consuming process so use instant coffee as opposed to brewed coffee because brewed coffee must be brewed in coffee brewers which use 900W of power on average regardless of whether the brewer uses fire or electricity. The brewer must usually be operated for an hour causing it to use 900Wh of energy while the water used for instant coffee can simply be heated in a microwave which uses 800W of power on average for only 30 seconds before the coffee powder is mixed in causing it to use only 6.67Wh of energy which is 135 times lower than the energy used by the fire and electrical brewers.

Drinking just cold water is even more energy efficient.

 

[NobodySpecial]

The brewer must usually be operated for an hour causing it to use 900Wh of energy

You must have one hell of a coffee cup if you need a kw for an hour

while the water used for instant coffee

Civilised societies use coffee presses which need to heat precisely the same amount of water as you do for instant coffee.
Plus instant coffee is made by basically making a cup (or tank) of proper coffee and then evaporating it - how much energy do you think that takes?

 

[Bararontok]

You must have one hell of a coffee cup if you need a kw for an hour

This is because I was not referring to a brewer for a single cup but a kettle sized brewer which serves about four cups but if the energy is divided, it takes at least 225Wh of energy to brew each cup, but compared to the 6.67Wh of energy used by the microwave, the microwave still uses 34 times less energy to prepare the coffee.

Civilised societies use coffee presses which need to heat precisely the same amount of water as you do for instant coffee. Plus instant coffee is made by basically making a cup (or tank) of proper coffee and then evaporating it - how much energy do you think that takes?

Actually, because the batch brewing and spray drying process is precisely controlled by automated systems and a variety of chemical processing systems, the efficiency of instant coffee production is higher than if a regular coffee brewer is used. Now they could install such accessories in coffee brewers but that would greatly increase the cost of purchasing the brewer which is why these systems are best suited for the mass production of instant coffee. The instant coffee also has a longer shelf life thanks to its dehydrated form and has a lower shipping weight and volume than ground coffee or beans which decreases the energy used to ship the coffee and the amount of coffee that expires in the groceries. This is the reason why the average cost efficacy of ground or bean coffee is 5c/g while the instant coffee costs only 3c/g which makes it 67% cheaper and this is without mention of the sugar and coffee cream powder bottles that have to be purchased separately if ground or bean coffee is used. The coffee brewer that people have to purchase alone has a penalty on resources because it takes energy and materials to make and distribute the appliance whose only use is coffee brewing. The cost of purchasing disposable coffee filters, and the energy and materials used to maintain the brewer which is the initial dilemma posted by the thread originator are also additional penalties.

 

[Integral]

Cleaning a coffee pot and even preparing coffee is a time consuming process so use instant coffee as opposed to brewed coffee because brewed coffee must be brewed in coffee brewers which use 900W of power on average regardless of whether the brewer uses fire or electricity. The brewer must usually be operated for an hour causing it to use 900Wh of energy while the water used for instant coffee can simply be heated in a microwave which uses 800W of power on average for only 30 seconds before the coffee powder is mixed in causing it to use only 6.67Wh of energy which is 135 times lower than the energy used by the fire and electrical brewers.

One has to wonder how much energy is consumed in making that powder?

Did you factor in the environmental damage done by those chemicals.

 

[Integral]

The other advantage of instant coffee is that it maximizes the utilization of coffee cream powder and sugar because those two powders are pre-mixed into the instant coffee and the amount that is introduced into each batch is regulated by timed powder injectors. And if there is an error, feedback sensors would relay the information to the computers controlling the production process so that the saturated batches can be re-processed. In this way, the human error of simply estimating the sugar and cream quantity before introducing it to the coffee is eliminated from the preparation process which again maximizes the efficiency of coffee making. Some bottles are even equipped with spring loaded, push actuated trap valves that are timed to close the bottle cap after a certain amount of coffee powder is poured to ensure that just the right amount of powder is mixed in.

I actually find nothing wrong with instant coffee. The taste is fine to me and it provides the same kind of stimulant effect delivered by brewed coffee. I guess some people are just attached to the smell and feel of a coffee brewer.

1. You are way off topic. This is not a thread about energy consumption.
2. The concoction you are talking about sounds so discusting that you may as well save lots of energy and not even make in the first place.

What has this got to do with cleaning a coffee carafe?

 

[Integral]

If you don't clean it the oils that have adhered to the carafe become rancid, lime builds up, these things will give a bad taste to your coffee, unless you've developed a taste for tainted coffee.

Fortnightly we have very good water. It just a few days from the snow pack and springs of the Cascade mountains. We have used that carafe for nearly 10 yrs with NO mineral build up. Nor is there any mineral build up in the https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006F2MI/?tag=pfamazon01-20 itself. It is a vacuum carafe so the coffee does not get cooked after brewing, ie no heat is applied to keep it warm.

I cannot taste any difference from pre clean to after clean. We are currently using cheap a$$ Costco beans, I may go get some good http://www.sivetzcoffee.com/" beans to see if they taste better. The difference is $5/lb vs $10/lb.

 

[lisab]

Fortnightly we have very good water. It just a few days from the snow pack and springs of the Cascade mountains. We have used that carafe for nearly 10 yrs with NO mineral build up. Nor is there any mineral build up in the https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006F2MI/?tag=pfamazon01-20 itself. It is a vacuum carafe so the coffee does not get cooked after brewing, ie no heat is applied to keep it warm.

I cannot taste any difference from pre clean to after clean. We are currently using cheap a$$ Costco beans, I may go get some good http://www.sivetzcoffee.com/" beans to see if they taste better. The difference is $5/lb vs $10/lb.

What's your water quality like the other 2 weeks of the month ?

 

[Integral]

What's your water quality like the other 2 weeks of the month ?

OMG! I am still wearing my glasses today, and my vision aint all that. The spell checker usually know what I mean, guess it didn't correctly read my mind this time.

Obviously that should read FORTUNATLY!

Suppose I should but my contacts in?

 

[Bararontok]

What has this got to do with cleaning a coffee carafe?

If instant coffee is used then a coffee carafe is unnecessary.

Actually, because the batch brewing and spray drying processes are precisely controlled by automated systems and a variety of chemical processing systems, the efficiency of instant coffee production is higher than if a regular coffee brewer is used. Now it is possible to install such accessories in coffee brewers but that would greatly increase the cost of purchasing the brewer which is why these systems are best suited for the mass production of instant coffee. The instant coffee also has a longer shelf life thanks to its dehydrated form and has a lower shipping weight and volume than ground coffee or beans which decreases the energy used to ship the coffee and the amount of coffee that expires in the groceries. This is the reason why the average cost efficacy of ground or bean coffee is 1.59c/g while the instant coffee costs only 0.74c/g which makes it 115% cheaper and this is without mention of the sugar and coffee cream powder bottles that have to be purchased separately if ground or bean coffee is used. The coffee brewer that people have to purchase alone has a penalty on resources because it takes energy and materials to make and distribute the appliance whose only use is coffee brewing. The cost of purchasing disposable coffee filters, and the energy and materials used to maintain the brewer which is the initial dilemma posted by the thread originator are also additional penalties.

The two images below were taken from an online supermarket and it shows the prices per gram of both types of coffees:

[PLAIN]http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8484/groundl.png

[PLAIN]http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/323/instant.png

In dollar terms, this equates to 1.59c/g for the ground coffee and 0.74c/g for the instant coffee which makes the instant coffee 115% cheaper than the ground coffee. In fact, even with the lowest average price posted for bean coffee at $5/lb which equates to 1.1c/g, the instant coffee still turns out to be 50% cheaper than the bean coffee.

 

[xxChrisxx]

Drink tea.

EDIT: Also to the poster above, instant coffee tastes ****. So no point in making it in the first place. Then you can save your 47p by not buying Tesco rubbish.

 

[Phrak]

Never, never sporadically clean a coffee cup or brewer. This is a very bad idea, and will lead to psychological episodes of insatiation.

Every coffee maker and coffee cup develops it's own fauna and flora. These develop on their own to become key, and necessary flavor enhancers. My own flavor additive happens to be provided by pale gray fungus garden residing in the water reservoir.

 

[Dembadon]

We clean our equipment every Sunday, mainly for the reasons Evo mentioned. Coffee starts to taste a bit funky after a few weeks of buildup.

 

[NobodySpecial]

EDIT: Also to the poster above, instant coffee tastes ****. So no point in making it in the first place. Then you can save your 47p by not buying Tesco rubbish.

There are nice instant coffees Nescafe Gold Blend and Blend37 - but instant has such a bad rep outside the UK you can't buy them anywhere else.
They are better than 'supermarket brand' ground coffee in the USA and a lot more convenient.

 

[physics girl phd]

There are nice instant coffees Nescafe Gold Blend and Blend37 - but instant has such a bad rep outside the UK you can't buy them anywhere else.
They are better than 'supermarket brand' ground coffee in the USA and a lot more convenient.

Or just have the best of both worlds... Augment your brewed coffee with instant. But still clean the pot. The idea of gray fuzzy mold...

 

[Proton Soup]

easiest way I've found to clean coffee patina off glass is automatic dishwasher powder (which i think is mostly trisodium phosphate and a bit of chlorine bleach) and hot water. shake/swirl/sit/rinse. easy-peasy.

for calcium deposits on the water heating element of the coffee maker, i pour hot vinegar into the back of the thing where the water goes and turn it on. you get rewarded with a pot full of vinegar, calcium acetate, and calcium sand.

 

[Proton Soup]

There are nice instant coffees

this statement is false

 

[Evo]

this statement is false

I've actually had a few instants that weren't bad. They were in foil pouches, maybe that helped.

 

[Integral]

Yesterday I decided to take the next step. I added ~250ml of white vinegar to the water and ran in thorough the coffee maker. Today I actually think I tasted an improvement in our coffee. I am still not convinced that cleaning the patina out of our carafe made any difference but just maybe there were some mineral deposits in the heater mechanism which were adding something to the water.