Let me play the other card for a moment. Chemical cleaning needs to be put in perspective. Some do it too often, others not enough. I see cafes doing it once a week and they are pumping out 60 plus kilos per week. Can I taste any taint on their cup at day 6 .? Absolutely no way. I see cafes doing it once every 6 months (albeit lower kilos, say 10+ kilos per week) and I can barely taste a taint (if at all). To be honest i always considered the lazy cleaners a high risk prospect. My GS3 makes 6 - 8 cups a day. Let's say it runs thru just over 500g per week. Rarely do I get time to back flush. It's lucky to be back flushed once every 3 months. For some people this would be criminal. Let me tell you there is zero taint. There is a balance in everything. All too often I see people mistakenly undertake extreme chemical cleaning routines when in actual fact it's a skill or technique issue that is causing their cup quality challenges. Imagine chemically stripping down your BBQ every couple of uses. What would it taste like I wonder ? I often face a similar paradox when deciding to get the chisel out and start hacking at the faceplate of one of my roasters. Do I clean it and lose that element of "season" or risk rancid, killer charcoal flakes randomly appearing in the finished product.
