Odd taste from stainless steel mugs?

[blakeV]

Is it just me or does coffee taste peculiar in a freshly washed stainless steel mug? I rinse my mug now but hardly ever put it through a full wash to avoid this.

I have some friends that stay completely away from stainless because of the odd taste it causes.

Anyone else have this issue?

 

[PinkRose]

Some of the people I work with have stainless steel mugs/thermos, and the stainless steel mugs collect the black coffee oils just as much as the coffee urns do. If you wash the mug with just dish detergent, the coffee oil seems to stay, and it holds onto the detergent, even if you rinse the mug or thermos thououghly. That's probably what's causing the "off" taste that you're experiencing.

The best solution is to get some coffee urn cleaner (such as the ones made by Urnex or Mr. Coffee, or something like that) and fill your mug with very hot water and the urn cleaner, and then let it soak for around 20 minutes. Then wipe the black residue out of your mug and give it a good rinse.

Another item that has been fantastic at taking the black coffee residue out of any kind of mugs is a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge. It works wonders! But be sure to wash and rinse your mug thoroughly before using it again.

I hope this helps.

Rose

 

[alphawave7]

This is what I use, and it works a treat: Amazon.com: Urnex 12-ESP12-20 Cafiza Espresso & Coffee Machine Cleaner Powder 20 Oz. Bottle 2 Pack: Kitchen & Dining

Just a pinch, literally, into you SS mug, some warm water, shake, scrub with a dishwasher brush, triple rinse, done.

 

[Randy G.]

There are lots of different types of stainless steel. Some even will rust. It could be that the mug has some alloy to which your taste buds are sensitive. If you can taste it, you very well may be ingesting it. Maybe time for a new mug?

 

[blakeV]

Wow great info. I didn't think that the coffee oil would cling onto the detergent like that, but it fits the situation perfectly. Thanks.

 

[alsterling]

Randy....... you took the words out of my mouth! (great minds run in the same gutter!?) There's a number of reasons one wouldn't want to drink coffee, or any beverage, out of a metal container. But right out of the box, Randy and I were thinking the same thing; there are many cheap stainless steel alloys. I can't imagine any drink container, if it had to be metal, being sold in the US if it isn't made of alloy #316, which is also called surgical stainless. Most Americans should know by now that there are cheap stainless alloys out there. One good example would be the Chinese stainless alloys used in BBQ equipment. If you leave them out in the rain, or they get wet, you'll usually see rust, ferrous-oxide, forming in the corners where the metal is joined, and on the hardware. It's probably a 302 alloy. In addition to that, all metals react with acids, which you'll find in extracted coffee, and the exchange of molecules will contaminate your drink. Bottom line....... stick to either glass or FDA approved porcelin drinkware. You don't want your coffee to share molecules with anything other than your taste buds and innards!

 

[USRobinson]

Stainless steel coffee mugs? Can someone post a picture up off that? Isn't that like camping equipment, or ancient viking cups or something, why would be drinking coffee out of stainless steel mugs?

 

[rlauzon]

Stainless steel coffe mugs? Can someone post a picture up off that? Isn't that like camping equipment, or ancient viking cups or something, why would be drinking coffee out of stainless steel mugs?

Standard stainless steel travel mug.

 

[blakeV]

The reason for a stainless coffee mug/container is that these can be vacuumed sealed, which will keep the coffee hot for hours upon hours. I make my coffee at home and then travel to work and sip at it for several hours which makes my SS container perfect, (when it doesn't taste funny).

I guess this brings up an interesting question. How do people drink their coffee? I agree with alsterling that glass or porcelain drink ware is going to be safest in terms of preserving taste, but that's not always an option, especially if you can't get to your coffee right away, and i found that keeping your coffee at temperature until right before you drink it greatly increases the taste even when you're dealing with a lower quality coffee or pre-ground stuff. Once the coffee cools, poor quality coffee picks up a bitter like taste to me (luckily this isn't as big of an issue for me anymore). I also drink my coffee black so this might be more of a factor than if someone used a creamer. Not sure though.

I used to do travel mugs, but they didn't hold the temperature long enough. The tricky thing with well insulated mugs is that it's hard to cool the coffee down and you tend to burn your tongue if you aren't careful, so I've resorted to a SS thermos, where I can pour small quantities into the cap/cup which cools to drinking temperature quickly enough and gives me a few quick sips.

Anyone have a particularly interesting method to drink your coffee?

My coffee was especially bland today hope everyone else's was better.

 

[rlauzon]

Anyone have a particularly interesting method to drink your coffee?

Not today. When I get my Coffee Joulies, it will become interesting for a while.

My coffee was especially bland today hope everyone else's was better.

I have been blessed with good coffee all day today.

 

[latonyarock]

i have been sipping my coffee for years in a stainless steel mug and trust me it tastes great. All you need to do is wash it properly and keep it at a place where the weather is warm and not cold. This it next time and you will feel the difference.

 

[USRobinson]

Thanks for that, yeah I get that, but I mean the inner layers inside is usually not stainless steel, even with a thermus like that, usually the material where the coffee actually sits is different, I have yet to encounter one where it is stainless steel inside? Also he said "coffee cup" this here is a thermis...

 

[sadib888]

We have a stainless steel teapot that has made grerat tea for years, but recently we noticed the tea had a metallic taste to it.

 

[blakeV]

Thanks for that, yeah I get that, but I mean the inner layers inside is usually not stainless steel, even with a thermus like that, usually the material where the coffee actually sits is different, I have yet to encounter one where it is stainless steel inside? Also he said "coffee cup" this here is a thermis...

Sorry for the confusion. I guess i was using coffee mug pretty loosely. I was more talking about travel mugs or thermoses. Now that i think about it, a pure SS cup would be pretty silly since the whole thing would heat up really quickly, causing your hand discomfort and cooling the coffee quickly. that's probably why they have the liner.

That should be one good way to tell if your container is vacuum sealed or not. A vacuum sealed container should not have a liner on the inside.

 

[tinadimascio]

Yes, I noticed this the other day. At first I thought my husband was crazy when he mentioned it, but yesterday I noticed it myself. I threw out our stainless steel cups because I don't want to take any chances. It for sure ruined my taste.