Water filter for your coffee machine

Why filter the water?

Everything a coffee machine does, it does with water. Water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium, and every time the machine heats it, part of that mineral stays behind as limescale on the heating element and in the pipes. A scaled-up machine takes longer to reach temperature, needs more energy to get there, pushes water through more slowly and eventually blocks altogether. A water filter catches most of that before it reaches the boiler, and it takes the chlorine taste out at the same time, so what ends up in the cup tastes of coffee rather than of the tap.

How fast scale builds depends on how hard your water is and how often you brew. White deposits around the spout or in the drip tray, a machine that has started to sound louder than it used to, or a shot that runs slower than it did a month ago: all three point the same way.

The types of filter you will find here

• Tank cartridges – a cartridge that stands in the water tank of a domestic machine and is swapped out when it is spent. Brita AquaAroma, AquaAroma Crema and AquaGusto work this way.
• Screw-on filters for bean-to-cup machines – a filter that screws into the tank fitting. Scanpart makes versions for several of the common bean-to-cup brands.
• Machine-specific filters – some manufacturers use a fitting of their own, such as the AquaClean cartridge in Philips and Saeco machines, the filter for De'Longhi ECAM models, or the one for Sage and Solis machines. Here you match the machine, not the brand of filter.
• Professional cartridges and filter heads – the Brita Purity C line, used with a separate filter head, is built for espresso machines and catering equipment that run all day.
• Filter jugs – a Marella or Aluna jug with a Maxtra Pro cartridge filters on the worktop, which suits a hand brew, a moka pot or a kettle as much as a machine.

Finding the one that fits

A water filter is a fitting before it is a filter: the wrong shape will not seat, and a filter that does not seal lets unfiltered water straight past. Start with the make and the model number of your machine. The model number is usually on a sticker underneath the machine or behind the drip tray, and if there is a filter in the machine now, the code printed on it is the quickest answer of all. Compare that code with the product description before you order, and if your model is not mentioned, ask us rather than guess.

When to change it

A filter is a consumable. Once it is saturated it stops holding anything back, and a cartridge left sitting in a warm tank for months is doing nothing for you. Follow the interval printed on the pack or the counter built into your machine, and shorten it if your water is hard or the machine is in use all day. Rinse a new cartridge before the first use, the way the instructions describe, and write the date somewhere you will see it again.

A filter is not a descaler

Filtering slows scale down; it does not undo what is already there. Machines still need descaling on the schedule the manufacturer sets, and the brewing group still needs cleaning, because coffee oils build up whatever the water does. Our descalers, cleaning tablets and the wider maintenance and cleaning range cover that half of the job.

Water filters at Café du Jour

You will find filters here from Brita, Scanpart and DVA, from a single tank cartridge to a filter head for a machine that never gets switched off. The rest of the equipment range covers grinders, jugs and the other small parts that keep a machine running. Not sure which cartridge yours takes? Send us the make and the model number and our customer service will look it up with you.