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As a coffee lover, your coffee machine and accessories get a lot of use every day. You have also probably developed a pretty discerning palate when it comes to your ideal cup of coffee. That means you’re taking all the right steps to keep that freshly brewed cup of coffee tasting perfect. Or are you? If you’re not obsessive about cleaning your coffee machine, you could be taking away from your coffee enjoyment. Using Jura coffee machine cleaning products and developing good cleaning habits will help keep your equipment running smoothly, prolong its life and allow you to enjoy the best possible cup of coffee. Here’s our top tips on how to keep your coffee machine clean.
Keep it Clean with Daily Hygiene
Daily care of your coffee machines is cleaning 101 that includes keeping spouts and frothers clean and hygienic. There is a lot of stuff going through your coffee machine and if you take it with milk, it is even messier. Here are the daily steps required for a pristine machine:
Clean the Spouts: Your spouts are forcing the coffee through the machine which can leave behind debris. Although it is quite fine, it can still build up and not only clog your spouts, but also ruin the purity of your coffee. That means you are jeopardizing the taste. Combine that with the possibility of clogs and you could even find yourself without coffee at all. This is simple enough. Just use a special coffee brush that is designed to fit into that thin spout and remove all the gunk for pure, free flowing coffee.
Clean the Milk System: Nothing can make the taste of your coffee go south quicker than sour milk. If you’re not cleaning your milk system, you are going to find some pretty sour tastes, not to mention smells coming from your machine. Of course, curdled milk is the perfect substance to clog up your machine, and you can also be at risk of a small chunk of curdled milk landing in your coffee. Yuck. Buildup in your frother not only ruins the taste but also makes it hard to get that perfectly smooth silly milk foam that helps drive that coffee addiction of yours. Most coffee machines will have a rinse milk setting or system. This is a great start to keeping things hygienic, but when it comes to milk, you want to do more than rinse. To clean your milk system, follow these steps:
- Disconnect the milk pipe and take out the milk frother.
- Wipe the area around the frother with a napkin to remove any residue.
- Take apart the frother which usually has about four parts: the frother, an air regulator, the valve and the head.
- Clean each part using hot water and make sure to wipe them completely dry with a clean Cafelat Micro Cleaning Cloth.
- Reassemble the frother and put it back into the coffee machine.
Keep it Pristine with Additional Care
There are also some non-daily cleaning steps required for a pristine machine. The good news is you don’t have to worry about it too often. The bad news is some of it can take some elbow grease and time depending on the type of coffee machine you use. Here are the additional cleaning steps you can take for hygiene perfection.
Milk Frother: To make sure your milk frother remains clean, you can soak your parts weekly in a good quality cleaner, such as Jura Milk Frother Cleaner, using the instructions on the label. You should also keep an eye on your milk frother spouts and replace them every two months.
Descaling: Your automatic coffee machine has a boiling block that requires care every 600 cups of coffee, but who’s counting right? You can do the math quickly by figuring out the average cups of coffee your home drinks each day and divide that into 600 to figure out how often you need to do the boiling block. So, if you drink 10 cups per day, you should take care of the boiling block every two months (60 days). When choosing a descaling product, make sure you read the instructions in your user manual as some products such as Jura will void the warranty if you don’t use their own products.
There are two types of automatic coffee machines: Superautomatic and Semiautomatic Single block/Thermoblock. Follow these important steps to avoid clogging and to keep your taste pure:
Semi-Automatic Single Boiler/Thermoblock
- Use Jura Descaling Tablets and dissolve them into a full water reservoir.
- Bring the water and descaling mixture through the system by running a cup of water through the steam and/or hot water wand and then close the steam knob.
- Let it sit for about 20 minutes with the machine off.
- Once it sits, run a quarter of the reservoir out of the steam wand, and then a quarter out of the brew head.
- Turn it off and let it sit 20 more minutes.
- Flush the rest of the water through the steam wand and brew head.
- Thoroughly rinse the system by running one or two reservoirs through the machine.
Superautomatic
Superautomatics often have an automatic descaling cycle. If you’re not sure, check your owner’s manual and see if it is a feature, and then use the instructions provided.
If you do not have the automatic cycle, follow these steps:
- Use Jura Descaling Tablets and dissolve them into a full water reservoir.
- Bring the water and descaling mixture through the system by running a cup of water through the steam and/or hot water wand and then close the steam knob.
- Let it sit for about 20 minutes with the machine off.
- Once it sits, run a half of the water out of the steam wand.
- Turn it off and let it sit 20 more minutes.
- Flush the rest of the water through the steam wand.
- Thoroughly rinse the system by running one or two reservoirs through the machine.
Taking proper care of your coffee machine will keep your coffee tasting fresh and your machine operating at peak performance.
If you would like more information on Jura coffee machine cleaning products, click here.
