Despite the fact that automatic coffee machines have become very popular in recent years, mocha is still the queen in many Spanish homes. For the admirers of this invention, which will be 90 years old in 2023, some of its advantages are the aroma it gives off when the coffee is ready, how respectful it is with the pocket of its owners, both when purchasing it and when buying the ground coffee, and its iconic design.
It also plays in its favor how easy it is to use, although its cleaning can raise many doubts. Do we wash it with soap, vinegar or just hot water? And how regularly should we do it? In this report we have already answered these questions with the help of Italians who run cafeterias in Barcelona: they all agreed that it is best to avoid soap and other products that may affect the taste of our coffee.
"I recommend washing it after each use only with hot water and, once a month, use a powder cleaner," recommended Iker Zago, from the Roast Club Café. But what if we forget to clean it and some black spots appear in the tank? What are they? How can they affect our health?
The first question is not easy to answer, since those dark specks can appear for various reasons, says food technologist Miguel Ángel Lurueña. "It could be rust or mold, but also limescale from the water."
That it rusts is perhaps unsurprising to many, but what about mold? Can it grow on aluminum or steel? "The issue is that some coffee makers may have small grooves where water and dirt accumulate. If there is a humid environment, mold can grow almost anywhere," says the expert.
Consuming coffee from a mocha that has mold can be very bad for your health, especially for people who are sensitive to this fungus. So better not get to this point. To avoid this, points out the food technologist, we should not leave the coffee maker full of water or wet for a long time. Likewise, we have to wash it often - "we can rub it with a steel wool" - and dry it well afterwards.
Another piece of advice that Lurueña gives us is "try to choose steel coffee makers over aluminum, because they wash better and last longer," he concludes.
