Cleaning your Clever Coffee Dripper is important and easy if you follow a few suggestions…
We have been selling the Clever Coffee Dripper for about a decade now and during that time, we have gotten pretty familiar with it. It’s always a great and simple way to brew an excellent cup of coffee. It’s made of BPA-free plastic and it has a little flex to it so it can withstand some drops and rough handling.
Clever Coffee Dripper Cleaning
Give it a good rinse after you are done brewing coffee. As long as you don’t let coffee dry and turn into residue inside the nooks and crannies, a good hot water rinse will keep your Clever clean.
- You don’t have to wash it every time you use it. The Clever might discolor a bit. A discolored Clever is not dirty and will not impact the function, or quality of your coffee.
- Pour over brewers like the Clever don’t need to be scrubbed down all the time since it takes a lot of brewing for coffee oils to build up. Occasionally wiping between the ridges with a soft sponge and some warm mildly soapy water should keep any coffee build-up from happening.
Don’t put it in the dishwasher. The Clever’s crystal clear appearance will turn hazy from all the heat.
Don’t use strong cleaners like the ones intended for espresso machines and such! Best thing is to use no coffee cleaners at all!
- Ideally, we’d recommend against using any coffee cleaners. Mild soap and hot water works great.
- We have found some coffee cleaning powders damage the surface of the Clever, seeming to make it more porous. Something like Urnex Cafiza is the wrong cleaner: it’s for espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... machine metal parts!
- If you feel you must, mild cleaners meant for coffee brewers with food-safe plastic components, like Urnex Cleancaf seems appropriate for the Clever. But I wouldn’t use them all the time, especially when hot water and soap with a brush work fine.
- Natural coffee cleaners are fine: Some people use vinegarA defective flavor taint in coffee, resulting perhaps from poor processing, fermentation, sanitation.: Vinegar-like qualities are a defective flavor taint in coffee, resulting perhaps from poor processing, fermentation,.... Some people use lemonLemon notes, as well as other related citrusy flavors or acidities, are prized in coffee. These usually express themselves as a bright accent in the cup, or aromatic... juice.
- In the video below, Tom explains some Clever cleaning basics. FYI, the opaque, black Clever Dripper was a test model from the manufacturer.
- (In the video I mention using Oxyclean, but I actually don’t recommend that any more. Just mild soap and hot water with a gentle dish brush works great for me.)
Clean the gasket if your Clever is dripping when it’s not supposed to.
The upper gasket, when removed, looks like a tire for a toy car. If you look closely at the upper, inside edge, you will notice a thin, little flange. This flange is the secret to the Clever Dripper’s liquid stopping power.
If your Clever is leaking, remove the gasket and take a good look. There might be a rogue coffee ground or some piece of who-knows-what stuck in there. Rinse it out under warm water. Don’t use anything that would damage the thin silicone. If you end up with a damaged gasket (whether it’s your fault or not) email us at [email protected] and we’ll send you a new set.
The Right Side UP for Center Gasket
If you clean you Clever by popping out the bottom, you might end up separating the center piece of the gasket from the base. It looks like a little earbud headphone cover.
If you separate it, check the image below to see the correct way to put it back on. The more tapered end goes UP, not down. If you re-install it the other way, the dripper can leak.
13 Responses
THANK YOU. My Clever has gotten drippy and this is just what I needed.
Hey, nice post! I ve been looking about this topic because no matter the grind size, brew ratio, contact time, etc. whenever I brew a coffee in my clever I get a particular aroma and taste(which I can smell in the brewer itself btw). It’s kind of hard to describe it since it’s an off flavor to me but if you I had to, I guess, I would say something like plastic or tire. I suspect that it could be from use and coffee residue. Any ideas?
We suggest cleaning it with some soap and water or even oxyclean, that should remove any residue or off smells or tastes.
mine developed an unremovable brown patina almost immediately and, now after several years, is almost opaque. scrubbing, soaking, oxy cleaners, bleach, vinegar have been ineffective even at high concentrations. it came out of the dishwasher unchanged as well. it’s not a problem and does not affect the taste. they seem to be making a black plastic version now specifically because of the cleaning issues which might be a good choice for people who might be bothered by some coffee staining
Agreed – they do discolor in time and I found it hard to get an “as new” look as well. I think thats why they went away from clear(-ish) material.
My formerly clear CD is discolored. I look at the change in finish as a well earned patina.
Functionally, the coffee remains great and the gasket drip was a manageable annoyance.
Sweet Maria’s sent me a new gasket kit. Functionality is now like new.
CD remains a great investment and a perfect gift for folks who are heading out on their college or work adventure.
Thank you to Erik and the Sweet Maria’s team!
Hey Larry, glad Erik could help get you sorted and that the Clever is working good as new 🙂
Happy brewing!
Dan
Humbly but earnestly requesting Mr. Thompson make another video going over what you recommend to clean the glass version of the Clever that’s recently been available.
(definitely on a Saturday)
Hey Brad, thanks for your comment. If you saw my now deleted reply, I mentioned Cafiza being safe on glass, but forgot that the glass Clever has some plastic parts too, which it will etch.
Urnex Cleancaf is a great product for cleaning glass and plastic (we’re currently out of stock, and unfortunately our shipment is on backorder…hoping soon!). Vinegar is also safe on both materials. It does a great job cleaning stains (try 50/50 hot water/vinegar), but it won’t get rid of rancid oils like Cleancaf will.
Hope this helps! I’m passing along the video request to Tom as well 🙂
-Dan
Cleancaf is packaged for c coffee makers. How much should I use in my glass Clever Dripper to keep the rubber parts from smelling?
Thats a good question. I used 1/3 of a packet of cleancaf for mine, and even that seemed like a bit much. I think 1/4 and allowing it to soak is plenty.
Regarding cleaning the Clever, I have a glass Clever and I really like it. However, the scent of coffee remains after I clean it with mild dish soap and hot water. The rack in the bottom of my sink is perfect for placing the Clever on it and letting the hot water from faucet run through and rinse the brewer. But I still will have a scent of “old coffee” lingering. Vinegar in the rinse has not helped. Is this a problem? Is it affecting the flavor? I don’t think it is affecting the flavor, but how do I really know? I know you talk about removing the drip center gasket for cleaning if necessary. I am usually not inclined to remove these types of parts because in the past, I’ve experienced with other types of products, that once you start messing around with the gaskets and seals, the shape can gradually start to change and not provide the original tight seal that the product had in the beginning. Your thoughts?
I think you’re right on cleaning approach. I use the regular version at home (daily for quite a while) and understand the gasket gets discolored and can have a smell. I really don’t think it impacts the cup at all (that is, if I brewed a batch with a new gasket vs my off-color one, could I tell? I would say not). If you want to use a cleaner, I find that Cleancaf works well and is gentle enough for the regular and glass Clever Drippers. https://www.sweetmarias.com/urnex-cleancaf-brewer-cleaner.html . You can use 1/4 packet for a clever, so there’s a lot of uses from one box of Cleancaf.
What we really want people to avoid is using potent cleaners, or ones like Cafiza, intended for espresso machines etc. I think they do more damage than good. They will get rid of discoloration and coffee smell, but I think they possibly “etch” the surface on non-metal materials. I will try to make a short video focused on Glass Clever maintenance.