S3: Episode 10: Start This Habit For Better Tasting Coffee
Following on from last week’s episode about coffee habits, this week’s episode dives into an important habit that we should all cultivate. This week’s FACQ tackles the knotty question of how often we should be doing it.
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Hello and welcome to The Coffee Drinker’s Guide, a podcast for the coffee curious where I explore and explain the world of specialty coffee to make your daily coffee better and more satisfying.
I’m Angela Holder a coffee roaster and writer on a mission to fight back against bad coffee by giving you the knowledge you need to help you get good coffee and a happier (coffee) life in coffee-break sized episodes. So grab your coffee, pull up a chair and take a break…
Following on from last week’s episode about coffee habits, in this week's episode we are focusing on an important coffee habit we should all cultivate…and later I’ll be answering a question about how often we should be doing it so stay tuned for that…
The habit I’m talking about is something that possibly some of us always do, some of us never do and most of us should do more of. If your coffee doesn't seem to taste great no matter how much you tweak your brewing method it’s easy to blame the coffee itself - and honestly, sometimes you might be right - but something else could also be at play. It may seem boring but keeping coffee brewing equipment and machines clean and well maintained is essential for the best home coffee brewing experience. In fact its so important to brewing good coffee that a significant part of a professional barista’s day is spent cleaning and maintaining their equipment and machines. The two things that will build up on your equipment and affect your brew for the worse are coffee oils, which are deposited on any surface they come into contact with, and the minerals in water which form limescale inside kettles and boilers. Neither of these do any favours to your brew so lets get into what you should be doing about them and, crucially, why….
Firstly equipment maintenance and the taste
You might think that buying the best beans you can find and an expensive brewing set up is guaranteed to set you up for home coffee brewing success. And it most likely will - at first. But what no-one really tells you is that you need to look after the brewing equipment too. If you don’t clean it, the build up of stale coffee oil deposits in brewing equipment will eventually taint the flavour of any coffee you brew with it. This can range from a slight murkiness to burnt, bitter, stale or even rancid flavours overwhelming the coffee’s actual flavours making it taste horrible. Machine issues stemming from poor maintenance can also influence your brew’s flavour. The build up of limescale in a kettle or a machine’s water tank can affect the water temperature of the brew which by now we all know influences the extraction of the coffee. And with use grinder burrs gradually wear away and become blunt. This produces a wider range of particle sizes as they begin to crush rather than cut the beans and results in an inconsistent extraction of the coffee producing a muddy tasting brew. These issues may sound daunting, but a little regular attention to your equipment’s condition will go a long way towards getting the best out of your lovely beans and many years of happy brewing.
Next equipment maintenance and the bean
When brewing a coffee the first piece of equipment that the beans come into contact with is the coffee grinder. As beans pass through the grinder, coffee oils and fine particles are deposited on every surface they touch. If left inside the grinder the coffee oils will become stale and rancid over time as they oxidise; while the particles build up into a thick paste which may eventually cause your grinder to seize up. Coffee beans are also surprisingly hard and will blunt the grinder burrs with use leading to the crushing rather than cutting of the beans. The good news is that a decent grinder can last for years if well maintained. And as a grinder is often the most expensive piece of equipment in a home brewing set up it is worth taking care of. Regularly dismantle it to clean the inside surfaces according to the manufacturer’s instructions. How often you need to do this depends on how often you use the grinder. The more you use it the more frequent the maintenance sessions need to be. A pro tip is to buy food safe grinder cleaning tablets to pass through the grinder which will extend the time between cleaning sessions. But if you find yourself regularly having to fine up your grinder settings to keep your coffee tasting right, it may be time to order new burrs, grab the grinder manual and get a spanner out!
Finally equipment maintenance and the brew
Before I get into the nitty gritty, when I talk about cleaning coffee equipment I do not automatically mean washing all of it in soapy water. I hope it goes without saying that you should never plunge an electrical machine into hot soapy water and always unplug it before undertaking any maintenance. Unless you don’t want it, and possibly you, to ever work again! A soft brush, a scraper and a damp cloth is often all you need to clean coffee equipment along with whatever tool you need to dismantle it. That said, some parts of your machine may be OK to clean with dishwashing soap and may even be dishwasher safe but obviously check the manual first! These are things like jugs, bean hoppers, portafilters, filter cones and so on. Be sure to thoroughly rinse off the detergent and dry them after cleaning. Cafetière plungers should be dismantled and each part washed separately rather than just rinsing the whole thing under the tap. Kettles and brewing machines with integral water tanks and boilers (such as espresso machines and automatic drip machines) will need regular descaling in hard water areas and disinfecting too. Neglecting to do this can affect the machine’s performance, encourage bacterial growth or lead to it breaking down. Semi automatic and manual espresso machines are particularly high maintenance, pretty much requiring a full clean every time you use one - which is one of the reasons I don’t have one. If your machine has a steam wand remember to clean that properly too as milk deposits will build up inside the wand. Yeah, think about that for a second.
And now its time for a Frequently Asked Coffee Question…
And this episode’s question is…
How often should I clean my home brewing equipment?
Honestly: every time you use it! All right: with washable parts you can get away with a good rinse under hot water or wiping coffee oils off with a damp clean cloth or kitchen towel for a couple of brews. However if you see brown-black deposits building up or notice a stale coffee smell it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get down to a thorough clean. But as with most things in life, it’s worth keeping on top of the cleaning and maintenance of equipment - and especially so with coffee machines to make sure that a tedious cleaning job doesn’t turn into an expensive repair.
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Coffee Drinker’s Guide and that was all about coffee equipment maintenance. Have you been inspired to give your brewing equipment a long overdue clean? Tell me what you found on Instagram @thecoffeedrinkersguide, email me at thecoffeedrinkersguide@gmail.com or leave me a text message using the link in the show notes. In the next episode I will be taking a look at a different set of machines that also affect your coffee’s flavour but which you don’t have control over. If you are curious to know what they are be sure to hit follow so that you don’t miss it when it drops. If you have a coffee friend who you think would find this interesting please tell them about the show and rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts to help other coffee curious people find the show too. Thanks to my executive producer Viel Richardson at Lusona Publishing and Media Limited. You can find him at lusonapub.co.uk. Until next time I’m Angela Holder thanks for taking your coffee break with me - the best way to tackle life is one coffee at a time and here’s to better coffee!
The Coffee Drinker’s Guide is a Blue Sky Coffee Project