Part 4: Keeping your machine clean
Part four of our five-part Secret To Good Coffee series.
What happens inside your coffee capsule is nature's magic! Your coffee machine has a big role to play and it needs to be on its game.
The process is pretty simple. Water flows from the water tank to the water heater, pressure is created in the water pump, the water is injected through the ground coffee in the capsule and into your cup.
Coffee machines are a bit like us. We’ve just got to keep the pipes clean – literally – and that allows everything to flow smoothly for longer.
Over time residual coffee can build up in your machine. It can affect the pressure that your machine is able to create. That changes your extraction rate (i.e. taste). Coffee residue can also go off and have a big bad effect on the taste of your coffee.
Here’s how to make the perfect espresso every time:
- Before you make a cup – flush a short pour through the machine without a capsule – tip it out. It’s a great way to warm your cup
- Make your coffee(s) as normal
- Eject the used capsule and run another short pour without a capsule into another cup. You can use that hot water to flush out the milk frother
- Empty your capsules from the catcher and empty the drip tray
Once you are in this routine it’s a bit of a no brainer. Louise and Patrick do it without thinking every time they use one of their machines.
It’s no secret that making good coffee is easy when you keep your machine clean
We recommend cleaning your milk frother after every use. Not only does left over milk go off fast, which is not great for taste or tummy, it can also burn and stick to the bottom of your frother.
Every couple of months you can run the full cleaning cycle and give your machine a thorough clean. It’s very easy, just google “descale” and your machine model as Nespresso have great videos on what to do.
Here's a hot little tip! The part of your machine where you drop your capsule in can get a build up of residual coffee or sticky stuff from the sweeter drinks. Get in there and give it a very gentle scrub with a soft toothbrush to kick out any gremlins and keep everything working smoothly.
Keeping your machine clean will mean that your coffee pours consistently, tastes good and your machine lasts longer.