From time to time, we’re contacted by customers thinking that their brand new stove-top coffee maker is faulty. They’ve put it on the hob for the first time and either: water, coffee or steam (or all three) has leaked from the join.

This problem is caused by the rubber washer, which acts as a seal between the two parts of the coffee maker. When brand new, this washer is really quite loose and doesn’t make a great seal. However, after a few brews the washer soon begins to tighten and the seal improves. In fact after a couple of months, they’re a job to get out.
 

So rather than being a fault, it’s just simply a case of breaking the coffee maker in. Like many things new (shoes, cars, audio equipment etc) they need a gentle warm up before they can perform at their optimum – a few gentle stretches before the sprint.

It’s just a shame that manufacturers, such as Bialetti, often neglect to mention this in their instructions. So if your coffee maker leaks, you naturally think it’s a fault.

To help you break in your new coffee maker, we came up with this handy guide: “Seasoning your Stove-top”.

Tags: coffee maker, stove-top

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Brewing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.