Helpful Tips

Instructions For Cleaning Thermoses Using Sparkle Thermos Cleaner

With Sight Gauge Tube

  • Remove lid and completely empty thermal server by turning it upside down.
  • Hold thermal server upright and press dispense lever to remove any remaining liquid.
  • Pour in approx. one to two tablespoons (15ml - 30ml) of Squeeky Kleen Cleaner.
  • Place lid back on thermal server (only if it is a brew thru lid) and position the server in your coffee brewer under an empty brew funnel.
  • Press brew button to fill thermal server with hot water. After brew cycle has finished, top up thermal server with additional hot water from the coffee brewer’s hot water faucet. The sight gauge tube needs to be completely filled with hot water.
  • After thermal server is filled, press dispense lever for one second to allow cleaner into the dispense cavity.
  • Let thermal server stand overnight and completely empty in the morning.
  • To rinse, place empty thermal server back into brewer and fill with hot water from machine by activating the brew cycle.
  • Dispense some of this water through the dispense lever to flush it out and then dump the rest out by turning the thermal server upside down into your sink. Repeat one more time.

It is important to follow these instructions completely in order to allow cleaning solution to get into the dispense cavity and up the sight gauge tube. The dispense cavity and the sight gauge can both be removed for a more complete cleaning. Call us and we will show you how.

Thermoses Without Sight Gauge Tube

  • Pour approx. one tablespoon of Squeeky Kleen cleaner into empty thermos and fill the thermos from your coffee brewer by brewing into it as explained above.
  • Let sit overnight, in the morning, empty and brew two pots through to completely rinse.

How To Improve The Flavour Of Your Coffee

Many times our customers ask us how they can improve their coffee and make it taste better. Really, to provide a rich and satisfying cup requires a few basic steps. One of the most important is to have the proper amount of coffee in the brew funnel. Weak and thin tasting coffee is usually the result of using too little coffee for each brew. Here's what the experts say, ten grams of coffee for every six ounces of water. A standard coffee scoop is 30 ml or two tablespoons by volume measure. This holds 8-10g of ground coffee depending on the roast colour, lighter roasts have a greater density and weigh more than the same amount of a dark roasted coffee. If you don't have a coffee measure one level tablespoon is approx. 5g of ground coffee.

This standard is thought to be too strong by some but really deserves your attention. When we started our business in 1973 we used 2 1½ oz packages of coffee for 60 oz of water and this was for our office business. We didn't do foodservice accounts at that time. People loved the coffee and the only downside was that after 20 minutes the coffee rapidly deteriorated. This problem is easily corrected today by using thermoses to brew into to preserve the flavour of the brewed coffee. We recommend you use the richest coffee to water ratio you can afford. Your staff and customers will be grateful and coffee will taste like it was meant to!

10 Rules For Great Coffee

The following ten steps are based on the premise that your coffee brewing equipment is in proper working order and suited to the type of coffee you are brewing.

  1. FILTER YOUR WATER
    • Put a filter on your plumbed in coffee brewer
    • this removes chlorine and dirt, inhibits scale and greatly improves the flavour of the coffee
  2. KEEP COFFEE FRESH AND DONT ADD SALT
    • Never stack ground coffee in filter papers
    • Never add salt (or anything else) to coffee before brewing
    • Whole bean coffee, once opened, should not be stored longer than 7-10 days
    • whole beans are best kept in the bags we deliver them in with a "chip clip" on top
  3. USE THE RIGHT COFFEE TO WATER RATIO
    • 57-71g of coffee for 64oz glass bowls (Tim Horton’s use 71g)
    • 71-85g of coffee for 64oz thermal carafes and 1.9 litre hand held thermal servers
    • 85-100g of coffee for 2.2 and 2.5 litre thermal servers and airpots
    • these are minimum weights for quality-brewed coffee
  4. KEEP BREWED COFFEE FRESH
    • 20-30 minutes in glass bowls
    • 1-2 hours in thermal carafes, thermal servers and airpots
  5. SERVE COFFEE IN THE RIGHT TAKEOUT CUP
    • If you are doing takeout, paper is the smart choice
    • use Java Jacket sleeves to avoid double cupping
  6. OFFER 18% COFFEE CREAM
    • 18% coffee cream is the gold standard
    • Whole milk should be available for tea drinkers
  7. CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN!
    • Keep your coffee brewing equipment clean including brew funnels and spray heads
    • Keep glass bowls, thermal carafes, thermal servers and airpots clean
    • Keep your counter area sparkling clean
  8. NO PERFUME
    • No one wants to taste perfume on their cup
    • so keep your hands washed or nix the perfume
  9. REMEMBER TO SMILE AND SAY THANK-YOU!
  10. INCREASE YOUR COFFEE KNOWLEDGE
    • Take ongoing training at one of our classes
    • Read coffee trade journals, magazines and web sites
    • Study your best competition to improve your skills!!