If you’ve bought some of our Nespresso® compatible compostable coffee capsules to enjoy that speciality coffee experience at home then you obviously want to ensure you can use your Nespresso® machine like a pro. Well thanks to our Nespresso machine cleaning and brewing tips you can!
It only takes a few minutes each month or every so often to get the most from your Nespresso coffee machine so here’s how:
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TIP 1: Re-program your Nespresso® machine
Your machine comes pre-programmed to deliver a certain amount of water depending on whether you opt for a ristretto (25ml), espresso (40ml) or lungo (110ml). The coffee to water ratio, as with any brewing method, is key to how your brew tastes and everyone’s preferences are different.
So instead of just going with the factory default settings, opt instead to re-calibrate your machine to pour the right amount of water for your taste. So, how do you do that? Just follow these simple steps:
- Place you favourite glass/cup beneath the spout of your machine.
- Insert your favourite capsule.
- Press, and hold, the brew button (ristretto, espresso or lungo).
- Let go of the brew button when the right amount of liquid has been produced.
- Now every time you press the brew button it will pour your perfect amount of liquid.
You might have to experiment a few times with different volumes until you find your favourite volume of water for your favourite capsule. But using your eyes and watching for the colour change in the coffee as it is pouring is also a good technique. Espresso goes through three different shades of colour as water pours through – red/brown, caramel, and finally blonde – so watch as the colour changes and you’ll know when to hit the stop button:
- Firstly, observe the red/brown shade: this is the ristretto which gives your coffee sweetness and body.
- Next, see how it changes to caramel: this gives the coffee its balance and is the main ‘espresso’ section of the pour.
- Finally, as soon as the espresso turns blonde, kill the water flow: the light yellow colour coming through is only extracted bitter water.
The great thing is, once you’ve gone through all this, the machine will remember your settings for next time, so there’s no need to keep reprogramming it.
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TIP 2: How to clean your Nespresso® machine
This is one of the easiest yet most important tricks to getting the best from our capsules, or any coffee capsule in fact. Importantly to realise is that this is different from descaling your machine as you can see in the image. Instead you'll be using our Clean Bean Nespresso coffee pod machine cleaning capsules.
Over time and with regular use your Nespresso machine will experience a build up of old coffee oils and residue in its brewing chamber.
This is where old coffee residue sits, blocking the nozzle and making your coffee taste bitter and your coffee flow poor.
Each time you use a capsule you also leave behind a layer of oil in the machine, where flushing with water alone does not help.
The following images show just how much build up there can be in a Nespresso machine and why capsule might not fit in the chamber as they should.
This can also mean the pressurised water is forced through the capsule will end up leaking around the side and dripping out from the capsule area.
Not only that but if you neglect your Nespresso machine cleaning then you can also get a build-up of bacteria, mould and yeast on the espresso washer plate and the inside nozzle.
These are the areas where your coffee gets brewed and then dispensed into your cup, so a top tip is to clean your machine after each use by removing the spent capsules. Then run water through the flow system so that it’s ready for when you next want to use it.
Then on a regular basis, every couple of months, use a cleaning capsule such as the Clean Bean system from Cafetto to properly clean your brewing chamber and make sure all the build-up is being removed.
Not only will regular Nespresso machine cleaning help ensure the longevity of your machine, but it will also ensure the perfect mug of capsule coffee each and every brew!
Testament to regular cleaning is this review from one of our capsule customers who initially had issues with capsule performance:
I had earlier posted a comment that I had some teething issues with these pods in my coffee capsule machine. However…following contact with the Blue Goose team…it became apparent that the problem lay with my Nespresso machine cleaning. Following their excellent advice on how best to clean the machine of all residue oils etc. I was able to clean my machine thoroughly and the results were dramatic. Not only do the pods work in my machine, but the resultant drink is excellent. It is a bonus also that these pods are biodegradable. Excellent after sales service from the seller. Highly recommended.
Buy some Clean Bean Nespresso coffee pod machine cleaning capsules
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TIP 3: Use filtered water
You’ve gone and bought yourself some delicious specialty coffee so it makes sense to ensure the other ingredient in your brew is of the highest quality too. In fact, 98 percent of our cup of coffee is water, so it means that the quality of water plays a significant role in the taste of our coffee.
The most sustainbale way – as opposed to buying bottled water which could also end up costing you alot too – is to invest in a water filter jug and filter your water before adding it to the machine’s water tank.
A Brita jug filter for example, not only removes chlorine, odours and sediment but also helps to reduce the hardness of water. If you live in an area with particularly hard water, this will help prevent limescale build-up in your machine, which will give you a better tasting coffee for a longer time.
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TIP 4: Descale your Nespresso® machine
Nespresso machine cleaning and descaling are both crucial activities when looking after your coffee equipment, with descaling working on the pump and pipes of your coffee machine rather than the brewing chamber and nozzle.
But why is descaling your Nespresso machine so important?
Water hardness is the term for the calcium or magnesium carbonate dissolved in water and although there are no health hazards associated with water hardness, it causes scale, as well as scumming and can lead to a build up in deposits of calcium and lime in your machine.
Because very soft waters, exposed to air or heat, become acidic and corrosive and can harshen the taste of food and drink, several countries including the UK and Germany have issued recommended hardness ranges, usually around 80 to 100mg/l hardness. And that’s pretty good news for us as taste testing by various authorities over the past twenty years has established a rough agreement that neutral pH water with 90 mg/l hardness is optimal for coffee taste.
So if you’re using hard water, give your machine a bit of TLC and take 20 minutes every month or two to clean and descale it. Like any appliance, your Nespresso machine needs some maintenance to extend its life and maximize performance, thus ensuring your coffee tastes even better.
Most machines have a descaling mode so refer to the product manual for your particular machine to work out how to activate it. As a guide the steps will be something as follows:
- Purchase descaling liquid or sachets – we’d recommend the organic certified Cafetto@Home eco pod/capsule coffee machine cleaner.
- Turn on your machine.
- Empty your machine & drip tray.
- Place a large container under your outlet.
- Pour water, mixed with descaling solution into your machine.
- Start descaling mode on your machine (check your product manual for specific instructions for your machine).
- Empty and clean out your water tank.
- Refill with fresh water, and run through your machine.
- Clear out your drip tray.
- Disable descaling mode on your machine.
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TIP 5: Warm up and prime your Nespresso® coffee pod machine
Now your machine is in tip-top condition, this Nespresso machine tip is one to remember every time you make a Nespresso coffee. The best thing is that it’s simple yet unbelievably effective in allowing you to both pre-heat your coffee glass or cup and flush out any residues, coffee oils and left-over coffee grounds. This will result in the best possible tasting coffee.
So before popping a new capsule in your machine, simply brew some water through it (ensuring there’s no old capsule in the chamber) by running it through on the lungo setting, with the lid down. This will help flush out any old coffee residue as well as heat up the capsule contact points. Just take a look in your cup for proof of this tip working nicely…
Warming the machine components properly also enables easier pod piercing and helps regulate the amount of coffee that flows out, meaning a smoother pour, more coffee in your cup and your desired drink tastes even better.
Enjoy!