How Limescale Can Affect Coffee Machines in Cafés

For a busy café, the coffee machine is one of the most important pieces of equipment behind the counter. From the first cup in the morning until closing time, water continuously passes through boilers, heating elements and internal waterways. When the incoming water contains higher levels of dissolved calcium and magnesium, commonly known as hard water, repeated heating can encourage mineral scale to form.

This mineral deposit is commonly called limescale. While you may easily notice white deposits inside a kettle, scale inside a commercial coffee machine can be more difficult to see because much of it develops internally. Deposits can gradually accumulate on heating elements and other surfaces that regularly come into contact with hot water.

For an F&B business, this is more than a cleaning issue. The UK Drinking Water Inspectorate notes that scaling on heating elements can make appliances less efficient and shorten their service life. In a café environment where equipment may operate for many hours every day, controlling scale can therefore be an important part of equipment maintenance.

Water chemistry can also influence the coffee itself. Research from the University of Bath found that dissolved calcium and magnesium ions interact differently with compounds found in coffee and can affect extraction. This means cafés need to consider both equipment protection and beverage preparation when managing their water.

Instead of waiting until heavy scale becomes visible or equipment requires servicing, F&B operators can understand their incoming water hardness and follow the water specifications recommended by their equipment manufacturer. This content was AI-generated, please review yourself.

References

1. Drinking Water Inspectorate (UK). Water Hardness / Hard Water.
https://www.dwi.gov.uk/consumers/learn-more-about-your-water/water-hardness-hard-water/

2. Hendon, C.H., Colonna-Dashwood, L. & Colonna-Dashwood, M. (2014). The Role of Dissolved Cations in Coffee Extraction. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 62(21), 4947–4950. University of Bath.
https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/the-role-of-dissolved-cations-in-coffee-extraction/