In addition, the following rules apply when using an
espresso machine:
- Clean the steam nozzle before and after you steam milk. Icky milky stuff smells bad, tastes sour, and is bad for your health. Clean the nozzle with (preferrably hot) water, then run steam through it for a few seconds.
- Wash the milk pitcher well, and put it in the freezer after you're done. Milk tastes better when frothed in a cold vessel, and freezing temperatures also prevent the milk residue from evolving into alive green ooze.
- Put the milk back in the fridge immediately after use. Because of people who sometimes forget about this rule, it may be helpful to smell the milk before pouring.
- Clean up after yourself! Empty coffee cups, empty milk cartons, sugar, milk, spilled coffee, coffee grounds- all of them have to go.
Thanks for listening to my rant, too. At work, someone even taped a "
clean me" sticker to the milk steamer- and it is silently ignored.