Dear Coffee Occasion,
I am having the strangest experience with my new coffee maker. You see…I just bought small little 4 cup coffee maker to replace my old one because it broke. It was a Krups. When I read the instructions, the directions mentioned that I should run some clear water through the system first to clean the coffee maker and achieve the best tasting coffee. So, of course, I did this; now, it is one month later and my coffee still has this awful plastic taste. I am not sure what I should do. I’ve been using the same process as before: same filters, same water, and same coffee as I did in my old machine; I have to think that it is caused by the new coffee maker. How can I get this nasty plastic taste out of my coffee?
–Plastic Coffee Blues
Dear Plastic Coffee Blues,
This happens sometimes with new coffee makers, but there is a little trick that you want to use with new coffee makers.
You did the right thing by running water through the coffee maker. However, you also want to mix the water with some vinegar. Vinegar is stronger and has a better chance of removing the plasticy taste of the coffee. After doing this, give the coffee pot a good cleaning. After a couple of run throughs and you should probably be fine. Also, you may want to make a couple of very strong pot of coffee the first couple of times as coffee itself assists in removing this taste.
If all that fails, contact the manufacturer of the coffee pot. They may have added suggestions for their particular brand. There is also the off-chance that there has been a recall on this item and they will replace your coffee maker for free.
Good luck with this. We certainly empathize with this situation as NOBODY wants their great coffee to taste like plastic.
Sincerely,
Coffee Occasion
May 13th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
try 2 pts vineger and two pts water and clean the pot
May 13th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
My dad had the same problem when he bought this expensive 50 dollars or more coffee maker.I forgot the brand but his was red. I don’t know if the plastic taste ever wore off or not. I would return it.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
GET A NEW COFFEE MAKER
eating bits of plastic and the gases from it on a daily basis is not a good idea, to say the least
it’s made from bad material
chuck it
(oh please don’t run bleach through it like someone said)
May 13th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Stainless steel co fee makers are available .
May 13th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
“Everyday Cooking” magazine had an article about this. They basically said this: “A monthly cleaning will help ensure a great tasting cup of coffee. Once a month fill the water reservoir with a mixture that’s half distilled white vinegar, half water. Turn on the coffeemaker. Let several cups run through, then turn it off, & let sit for an hour. Start the machine again to complete the cycle, discarding the vinegar mixture afterward. Run plain water through the coffeemaker a few times until the vinegar odor disappears. To clean the carafe & filter basket, place in the top rack of the dishwasher.”