- Joined
- Apr 13, 2004
- Messages
- 16,096
Could be your grinder, when coffee oils spoil they get fishy. Grinders accumulate a lot of oil. Could also be a tiny layer of mold in cup or equipment. Buy some Cafiza and soak your brewing equipment for two hours and give it a good wash. It is a cleaning product strictly made to break down coffee oils.
Exactly what I was going to say!
Ok thanks I will get some of that.. I assumed there must be some kind of special cleaner, usually just rinse with pot & pan detergent which does a good job cleaning out the chemex and or wipe it all down but it's maybe in my grinder since I don't think of cleaning it with anything other than a dry paper towel
You will be AMAZED how much cleaner the Cafiza gets your coffee equipment. Another good brand I like to use is Joe Glow.
Found this copypasta (https://www.home-barista.com/grinders/grinder-cleaning-when-and-how-t29250.html) used instant rice since I had some on hand:
The purpose of cleaning the burrs is to clean the burrs. Cleaning retained grinds is a different thing. Let's start with cleaning the burrs.
I. Cleaning the Burrs:
Grinds and oils stick to the burrs and may become rancid if not removed. Clean the burrs when you notice an off taste or at least once a month as prophylactic maintenance.
A. Cleaning with Instant Rice or Grindz
There's no need to remove the hopper for cleaning with a cleaning material. Simply empty the hopper and reserve the beans so you can replace them after cleaning.
Set the grinder to the equivalent of a very coarse espresso or very fine drip grind. Then load the cleaning material -- either INSTANT RICE (do not use raw rice or par-boiled rice) or GRINDZ into the hopper. The amount of cleaning material you need to clean the burrs depends on the size of the grinder. In the case of a Vario, an ounce should be enough.
Run the grinder until all of the cleaning material has been ground and you can hear the burrs "running on empty."
After cleaning the burrs in this way, you'll need to "re-season" them and remove any cleaner caught between them or in the path by running an ounce or so of inexpensive beans through the grinder.
Clean the interior of the hopper with a damp towel. Wash out your grinds container if you have one. Clean the exterior of the grinder as completely as you can.
When everything is clean and dry, you'll need to dial-in your good beans as though from scratch.
B. Cleaning by Brushing and/or Washing
Every six months or so, it's a good idea to remove the burrs; inspect them to make sure they're still sharp and in good shape; and clean them by brushing and/or washing.
Of course, you'll have to empty and remove the hopper, first.
If you wash, make sure the burrs are thoroughly dry before reassembly. It's a good idea to air-dry on a rack overnight.
When you reassemble the grinder, you'll have to re-zero (aka re-calibrate) the grinder. Then you'll need to re-season and dial-in again.
II. Cleaning Out Retained Grounds:
I don't know about zero retention, but your Vario is definitely at the low end of the scale. However even so-called "zero retention" grinders retain at least a few grounds and you might as well tweak your regimen to get rid of them.
Brush the chute before grinding, and brush it at the end of every session.
Any time the grinder's sat idle for more than an hour or so, it's a good idea to blow out the chamber and chute by grinding an appropriate amount of beans. For your Vario and my Bunnzilla, that's a very low dose -- about 5g. In the case of other grinders, my Ceado for instance, it's more like 10g -20g.
III. Trouble Shooting:
The more you get used to drinking good espresso, the more sensitive your palate will become to bad espresso, and the better able you'll be to identify flaws. When you detect stale, "off" or "harsh" tastes, it's a good idea to start by cleaning to get rid of any possible contaminants in the grinder, the pf, or the head.
Hope this helps,
- For one thing, it's effective surprisingly often;
- For another, it's quick, easy and more or less free; and
- For a third, you have to do it anyway. So what can you lose?
BDL
Perfect!!! Saved me a ton of typing!
I've heard of Grindz before. Good to know that they work well. I usually brush out my grinder really good at least a couple times a month and wash the plastic parts in soapy dish water. If I'm using a darker roast I try to do it more often than that. The oilier the beans are the quicker it seems to build up, causing the ground coffee to stick everywhere.
Good call. My in-laws are terrible about cleaning their grinder, and then wonder why their good home-roasted coffee is tasting funny. It's the grinder every single time... You'd think they'd learn.
I am about to try the Minute rice trick right now.
Works well for me!