Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for February 05, 2013

This is exactly why I want a white one. I keep mine clean. Wash or wipe down all parts right after brewing (including the “sprinkler head”) and dry the excess condensation.

That’s called washing away all the flavor.

That’s why I bought a black one.

That’s not dirt. Those are just mineral deposits.

Don’t look at the top of the refrigerator then.

I’m constantly harangued by my wife because my coffee cup is disgusting! It has this beautiful chocolate brown patina along the inside getting darker towards the bottom of the cup. It takes at least three days to develop and nurture. Then my wife will scrub it out and the process begins again. The coating renders a somewhat robust flavor to the coffee.

That is guy logic for you….

Chester never washed the coffee pot in the Marshall’s office and when someone did, he went nuts claiming the coffee wouldn’t be as good until it got used a few hundred times again.

Chlorox and hot water. Rinse. Problem solved.

You “patina” types would love my daughter’s place. For example, the toaster ovens are rarely if ever cleaned. The last one caught on fire and burned up.

Bingo Arlo. Get a black one – what you don’t know won’t hurt you!

My post was a little misleading. By “wash” I mean spray with cold water from the vegetable sprayer, being sure to flush the valve. No soap. If I don’t get to it right away, I might use baking soda or vinegar, and my special brush (used for this job only). Once in a blue moon I will remove the valve and run the basket through the dishwasher. But then I wash away that residue with baking soda or vinegar. (Baking soda is better, but the brush splatters it everywhere, and it isn’t visible until it dries.)

It isn’t the removal of patina that ruins flavor, it is soap residue. A little baking soda residue doesn’t hurt, and can even make coffee less bitter.

Even better: cardamom. One or two seed pods per cup, broken open and added to the ground coffee before brewing. Try it. Can’t be beat.

Arlo went loco again.

It just all a part of the flavor system…

Just don’t use Formula 409, Simple Green or S100 to clean out the basket.. Makes things taste kinda funky until the EMS gets there.

Arlo’s solution is like the lady at work who said her car engine is making noises, so she just turns up the radio!

Oh, and if you let too many quarters (from unemptied pockets) fall into the chasm below the lint trap, the dryer might seize up. On another another note, re: coffee, one man’s glorious patina-taste is another man’s yecchh! – what is THAT?

Cliff Arquette, as Charlie Weaver on Dinah Shore’s Shore, had a great sight gag. He was poring her a cup of coffee, but they used chocolate syrup, cold. He tilted the pot and waited. After the audience was getting concerned, the first flow slowly came from the spout. With the cup filling, and the audience tittering, Arquette suddenly produced large scissors and cut the flow.

I substituted “person’s” for “man’s” above so I wouldn’t seem sexist, but the Power that Be’s wouldn’t take it.

I don’t buy the “filthy tastes good” thing. Rancid oils taste rancid. Washing food utensils is good (including cast iron utensils—just don’t wreck the baked-on “seasoning”—it can’t be rancid).

Based on where he is looking, I’d say he needs to worry about his water supply.