Café du Jour Descaler 4x50 g Descaling Powder

What it is

A box of four 50 g sachets of descaling powder from Café du Jour, one sachet per descaling cycle. Any machine that heats water builds up limescale on the element and in the pipework, and that scale slows the machine long before it stops it. The powder dissolves it.

How to use it

Match the amount of water to the size of your tank, about a litre for most machines, and work through the steps below. Check your own manual as well, because many machines have a descaling programme of their own.

• Dissolve one 50 g sachet in about a litre of water and pour it into the tank
• Leave it to work for ten minutes
• Run half of the liquid through the machine
• Switch the machine off for another ten minutes, then let the rest run through
• Rinse afterwards with clean water, at least three times
• Four sachets per box, so four descaling cycles

The rinsing matters as much as the descaling: rinse too little and the next cup can taste sour, rinse properly and nothing of the powder is left behind.

Which machines

Any coffee or espresso machine with a water tank, from a filter machine to a fully automatic one, and pod machines such as Senseo as well. With a pod machine, put a used pod in the holder before you start, so it catches the scale that comes loose. The sachets work in a kettle too: one sachet in a litre of water, bring it to the boil, leave it to stand for ten minutes and rinse well.

The same job in liquid form: the Café du Jour liquid descaler.