As a coffee aficionado and sometimes snob I know my coffee gear should be sparkling clean every time. But let’s be honest, half the time when I’m making coffee I’m holding one of my kids while the others grinding or scooping coffee everywhere. I just don’t always get to clean up afterwards (or sometimes drink my fresh coffee)!
How do you clean a French Press, Percolator or the glass carafe coffee maker? Lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, Bar Keepers Friend or even bleach can all be used to clean your coffee maker. To prevent corrosion or staining issues the best method is to clean and dry it completely after each use.
Whether you use stainless, aluminum or glass you can clean your brewing equipment with ease! Read on for my methods to keep your equipment barista ready for great coffee brewing!
Why do you need to clean?
The first question is why you need to clean your equipment. Much like a dirty grill no one wants to be served coffee from a grimy Chemex that looks like you pulled it out of the dumpster! Been there… I know some rough and tumble types take pride in there blackened and grease stained coffee pots. “Gives it more flavor” them mumble in between drags of their cigarette as they dismantle a transmission.
That’s not you is it? Your a fancy guy or gal right?! You take pride in your meticulous brewing methods, careful temperature control, dedication to fair trade organic coffee, the perfectly observed steeping time in the french press, getting the milk just the right frothiness to impress that special guy or gal?!
Well you get the idea. For me having a clean coffee pot just makes the coffee seem all the more magical! So keep those carafes and shiny percolators looking like sparkly unicorns!
One more note I will add. Some people say to not clean your Moka pot except with warm water due to the coffee residue acting as a seal coating much like seasoning on cast iron. After thinking and debating this myself I came to the conclusion this is not valid. While the coffee probably does act like a coating or seasoning over time, I doubt it adds anything to the coffee flavor.
A cast iron pan works by creating a fat polymer layer over the cast iron much like a Teflon coating. In my opinion this is not what’s going on in an aluminum Moka pot. In essence it is developing a coating but there’s nothing there that would affect the taste of the coffee regardless. I will always recommend stainless equipment though it’s a superior metal with better corrosion resistance and durability over aluminum. And some have hesitation about using aluminum in cooking, so stainless is a better choice for those concerned about aluminum.
Can one product really clean everything?
Now the real challenge is what do you need to clean. Stainless, aluminum, glass, Moka pot, percolator, or Chemex? How do you clean each of these? Can you clean them all the same way?
Relax, I have an easy solution to clean them all. I discovered this magic product long ago from a friend who’s a trained chef. I finally gave it a try one time because I had a baked on mess on a pan that was taking days to get off. This magic powder took it off in 5 minutes!! Drumroll, that product is Bar Keepers Friend! Bar Keepers Friend or BKF is amazing for cleaning messes.
I have used BKF on all my coffee gear with no ill effects. It works great and it leaves glass looking crystal clear! It even makes plastic look amazing again. Stainless steel looks like its been polished even! That said I have never used this as a rinse for my auto drip coffee maker. I think that would probably not be the safest or most effective use of BKF. I suspect it would get trapped in the nooks of the coffee maker and be really hard to get out.
Using BKF for coffee gear
Now before you panic that you are going to use some harsh chemical to clean your brewing equipment to drink your organic fair trade coffee from, I will point out you can find the main ingredient of BKF in your favorite green smoothie in the form of Spinach. That’s right the same ingredient that’s in spinach, oxalic acid, is in BKF. That said, it is not safe to ingest and around 15 grams, about the weight of a AAA battery, will kill you dead!!
Really it’s not some toxic cleaner made from ten other toxic chemicals, it is found in your body and food you eat. See Wikipedia below for a general overview. Be aware BKF does not work as an abrasive rather it works as an acid. I have had a little trouble finding the exact cleaning mechanics but based on my personnel tests I would conclude its a mild acid. I do find it seems to have some minor abrasive properties but overall it works by being an acid. Case in point I cleaned my carafe by letting it soak in a BKF water solution and wiping it clean with little effort of a soapy sponge.
From Wikipedia:
“Unlike more abrasive cleaning powders such as Comet and Ajax, Bar Keepers Friend uses oxalic acid as its primary active ingredient.[14] A similar abrasive cleaning product, Zud Heavy Duty Cleanser, also contains oxalic acid.[15] Prolonged use and extended skin contact may cause irritation,[13] peeling and contact dermatitis, which is avoided by wearing gloves. The product can also be an eye irritant.”
One minute of scrubbing to shiny!
Try a little bit of Bar Keepers Friend for one minute on any brewing gear stained with coffee and you will see its magic. I scrubbed my percolator stem for about one minute and got 99% of the residue off with little effort. Have some hard to reach places? Put some on a tooth brush and scrub those nooks and crannies with ease. I advise using a new toothbrush by the way let’s keep it clean and not nasty!
Be proactive and clean it before it burns on!
The best offense is a good defense and not let your coffee equipment sit or burn on the stove with old coffee. To prevent corrosion issues the best course of action is to clean and dry it completely after each use. Do not let coffee or water sit in it for prolonged time. I know the worst residue I get is when I leave my percolator empty on a burner and forget to turn it off right away. Once it starts building up on surfaces it quickly gets out of control.
As well it’s good to clean your equipment just because it improves the function of the equipment. For example I firmly believe, though I haven’t proven, that a clean coffee burner on a auto drip will keep coffee hotter as it doesn’t act like an insulation layer between the burner and pot. Same goes for small holes in a french press screen. They work better if they are not plugged up and can let water and coffee through.
Other methods?
What about lemon juice, baking soda or bleach? These are all great methods I will talk about in the future. Most of the time people ask about these in relation to an autodrip maker. You can use any of these products mixed with water as a rinse that gets brewed through the maker. And its a good idea to clean your autodrip maker often, as it has lots of enclosed places where mold and bacteria can grow.
Wrap up
Hopefully after reading this you are inspired to tune up your brewing equipment and make it look new again. I know after cleaning my percolator pot, I couldn’t help myself and cleaned my auto drip up too. The results are amazing and makes that next cup all the better!
In my next post read about if you can clean your Aeropress in the dishwasher, the answer might surprise you!