The super easy and super effective way to clean your coffee pot
Get your coffee pot looking like it did when you first bought it.
The coffee pot - also called the “carafe” - is the last thing your coffee touches before making it into your cup if you’re using an auto-drip. And a nasty coffee pot that hasn’t been properly cleaned will make your coffee taste not so good.
This simple guide will show you how to get your coffee pot back to looking like it did when you took it out of the box. This process also works for Chemex style pour-over brewers.
What you’ll need
Urnex Tabz Coffee Brewer Cleaning Tablets ($12 on Amazon)
Long hand dish/washing brush
Note: Urnex Tabs cleaning tablets are not recommend for use on aluminum. Always refer to the product label before using.
The Process
Overall, this is a super simple process. The Urnex Tabs cleaning tablets do most all of the work for you. Basically, you’ll run an empty basket brew cycle using the Urnex cleaning tablet(s) in the brew basket in place of coffee, a little bit of light scrubbing, and then two more empty brew cycles with nothing in the brew basket.
Sit Rep: Assess the Damage
The pre-step, step is purely used to make you feel awesome and accomplished after you’ve successfully cleaned your carafe.
Step 1: Make sure your carafe and basket are empty and clean-ish
Remove and empty any contents from the brew basket and the carafe. Give each a light rinse in warm water and empty any remaining water. Place the carafe back in the brewer.
Step 2: Place the cleaning tablet or tablets in the brew basket
Making sure there’s no filter or debris in the brew basket, place the correct amount of cleaning tablets in the brew basket. Mine calls for just one tablet. Otherwise, reference the label on the bottle for the correct amount of tablets to use. Place the brew basket back in the brewer.
Step 3: Brew a Full Pot
With the brew basket and empty carafe in place, fill up your brewer’s water reservoir for a full pot, and start a full brew cycle/brew a full pot.
Step 4: Empty, Rinse, Lightly Scrub, and Prepare to be amazed!
This is basically the only step that requires any real work. Once brewing is complete, remove the brew basket, rinse it in warm water, and gently scrub out any remaining coffee residue. Grab the carafe, pour out some of the water, give it a swirl, and pour out some some more. Then lightly scrub out the inside making sure to get any remaining brown staining or residue. Take a moment to collect yourself as you see your carafe return to its original glory. Pour out the remaining water and rinse.
Step 5: Run two more brew cycles
Place your brew basket and carafe back in the brewer, fill up your brewer with clean cool water, and start another full brew cycle using only water (no cleaning tablets, filters, or coffee…just water). Once complete, empty the water out of the carafe, and run one more water only cycle.
Behold. A thing of Beauty.
Have you ever found a product that does exactly what it says it’s going to do?
So go forth without fear and enjoy your awesome, small batch, fresh roasted, specialty coffee in your like-new brewer. And remember…