Most people wake up anticipating a hot cup of coffee or tea in the morning.  Some coffee makers have timers and drink upon awakening.  Was the fresh brewed aroma apparent this morning?  Something was lacking, but what was it?  Was it lemon juice?  Sour taste? Doesn’t taste like coffee?

The timer on the automatic coffee maker is set for daily morning routine.  You and your hubby take their first sip of morning coffee and bitter!  Something is very wrong!  Neither of you say anything and just stare at the other as they take next sip.

YUCK!  What is wrong with this coffee?  Did you open a new bag of coffee?  Where did we buy the coffee?  Oh, so many questions but we knew it wasn’t right.  The problem solvers were at work.

The coffeemaker is dead, long live the coffeemaker! #fb (Photo credit: mdesive)

It was not a new bag of coffee.  Just had the same coffee yesterday.  Tasted great before.  Who prepared and measured coffee last night?  Was it coffee? Who filled the coffee pot with water? Did someone mistakenly put something with the coffee? Who was in the kitchen last?  Who was to blame? What happened?

Finally, one realized the coffee maker was being cleaned and soaked overnight.  Neither thought of that, but realized that timer was set to fresh brew coffee first thing in the morning.  Awe, coffee brewed with cleaning solvent during the soaking phase!  Forgot about soaking and rinsing coffee maker before bedtime.  Hence not rinsed but ready for brewing morning java!  What a combination and a tart taste!

It’s a good idea to clean your coffee carafe and electric tea pots periodically with vinegar and let it soak for several hours.  When you use these appliances throughout the day the most likely time to do this may be overnight.

Don’t experiment with coffee and vinegar.  It simply doesn’t taste good!  Couldn’t believe it took hours before one figured out what happened with coffee.  Next time you soak with vinegar or any type of solvent leave a note on appliance!

This was a silly and harmless error!  It can be harmful if using another type of solvent not ingestible.  Be cautious with cleaning products.  They can lead to a disaster if ingested. Harmful to your health!  For safety, remove or clearly label cleaning products used in or on appliances within kitchen when soaking.

Vinegar is harmless when ingested in small amounts.  I guess this was truly the sour coffee! What took so long to realize the taste of vinegar and coffee doesn’t blend well? Who’s taste buds are missing?

English: A photo of a cup of coffee. Esperanto: Taso de kafo. Français : Photo d’une tasse de caffé Español: Taza de café (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Problem solved by simply rinsing coffee maker brewing fresh coffee! If this is the only detective work that happens, it’s all a good thing!

What have you added either mistakenly or as an ingredient that caused a bitter and lasting taste? What types of kitchen and bath disasters could you have prevented by using reminder notes?

Related articles

• Cleaning your Coffee Pot with Vinegar (coffeekingdom.wordpress.com)
• The power of vinegar and dish soap (minnesotatransplant.wordpress.com)
• Common Flaws We Make In Our Morning Coffee (minnesota.cbslocal.com)