A Nice Cuppa

Last week I noticed my coffee tasted a little??? off. I couldn???t really put my finger on how. A little stale, a little funky. I didn???t give it much more thought and went about my day. The next day, same thing. Coffee that tasted almost dirty. Strange. I did a little check of my coffee beans. While I don???t yet have a grinder, the beans had only been ground at the store a couple days before. They were airtight sealed, and stored in the freezer. The ground coffee beans still smelled intoxicatingly good. The items I use to doctor up my coffee, cream, a little cinnamon and brown sugar, were all fine. I was perplexed. I called a friend who is more knowledgeable about coffee, and asked if she???d ever experienced this kind of thing. Her reply was so simple I almost didn???t believe it. ???When was the last time you REALLY cleaned your coffee pot? Like not just soap and water cleaned???? I sheepishly answered ???Um, Never???? She told me her preferred method, and if you haven???t done this lately, allow me to recommend it.

Ingredients:
?? cup of white distilled vinegar
Enough hot, but not boiling, water to fill your pot

Just pour the solution into your pot (mine is a French press) and push the straining apparatus through it several times. Let it sit and soak for at least 15 minutes. If you use a drip-pot, pour this mixture into the water reservoir and turn on the pot to allow the solution to cycle through.

Once your pot has sufficiently soaked, pour out the mixture and thoroughly rinse with warm, soapy water. Trust me on this, if you think you???ve rinsed enough, rinse some more. I can???t tell you how nasty vinegar-flavored coffee is.

I did this with both my French press and with my insulated coffee cup. What a difference in taste. I hadn???t realized just how much old coffee oil was still clinging to the glass. My coffee tasted like, well like coffee again, instead of the brown liquid that???s been sitting on the warming coil of a truck stop diner for the last week.

There are some store-bought cleaning products that will also strip the oils from your pot, but since most come in a bright blue liquid full of ingredients I can???t pronounce, I try to avoid them. Especially since a little vinegar does the trick.