The Importance of Professional Cleaning: Five Things Potentially Hiding in Coffee Machine and Affecting Flavour
The flavour of your coffee can be affected by the age of your beans, how long they were roasted, the grind you selected and many other things. After you've taken the time to control all those factors, however, there is still one thing you need to think about: the inside of your coffee machine. If it's not clean, that can affect the flavour. Wondering what might be lurking inside and why you should have your machine professionally cleaned and maintenanced? Take a look:
1. Mineral Buildup From Water
If you have a carbon filter that you use on the water before you put it in the coffee machine, you likely don't have to worry about mineral buildup, but in all other cases, there are likely minerals in the water that could end up in your coffee machine. Depending on your water source, the minerals may include beneficial things like calcium or more harmful things like lead.
2. Mold
Mold spores like to set up camp in dark moist places, and the reservoir for water in your coffee machine may be the perfect host. The pipes that the water travels through as it's percolating can also be hospitable to mold. If your coffee is coming into contact as you are brewing it, that can leave a bitter taste in your cup.
3. Old Coffee Grounds
If any coffee grounds have migrated from the brew basket to the reservoir or into the other parts of the coffee machine, they can linger there, affecting the taste of future pots of coffee. When water runs over old and spent grounds, it lends a bitter, burnt taste to the water. When that flavour combines with the coffee you are brewing, that can taste icky.
4. Residual Oils
Just as grounds can get backed up in the coffee machine, so too can old residual coffee bean oils be stuck in the machine. This doesn't alter the taste of your coffee as terribly as old grounds, but it doesn't allow your coffee the flavour purity it deserves.
5. Germs
Unfortunately, if germs are flying around the air in your kitchen, they could land on or inside your coffee machine. The water you run through a coffee pot typically never even boils (it's just shy of that temperature). As a result, the germs can thrive and affect not just the taste of your coffee but your health.
You deserve coffee that tastes amazing, and if you are worried about what might be lurking in your coffee pot affecting flavour or any other issues, you may want to schedule a professional cleaning and maintenance session for your coffee machine.