Melitta troubleshooting

The Melitta brand, known for more than 100 years, especially in Germany, for discovering and developing the coffee filter, was also a pioneer in vacuum packaging roasted coffee and launching electric filter coffee machines on the market.

This brand has always been characterised by being attentive to the changing times. It now offers a complete product portfolio of paper filters, cones, coffee, filter coffee machines and automatic machines.

The quality of Melitta products is not in doubt, but if you have purchased one of their coffee machines, you should know how to use and maintain it properly. If you do not know how to use and maintain your coffee machine properly, you may cause long-term damage to it. We recommend that you download the manual for your Melitta coffee machine before proceeding, it will help guide you, and you will be able to keep your coffee machine for many years to come.

Other problems can appear with time and your coffee maker’s many uses. Sometimes the solution can be very simple, so here is the solution to the most common problems you may encounter with a Melitta coffee maker.

My Melitta machine brews little coffee, and the taste is not good

If you carry out regular maintenance and cleaning of your coffee machine but notice that the coffee flow is less and the taste is no longer good, you may need to adjust the grind thickness. If the grind is too fine, it will slow down the flow of your brews and alter the taste of your coffee.

Problem: This problem affects all coffee machines, but we have often seen it in Melitta super-automatic coffee machines and drip coffee machines with an integrated grinder such as the AromaFresh Grind and Brew.

Cause: When the grind is too fine, it is difficult for the water to pass through the ground coffee, reducing the brewing speed and increasing the bitter taste of the resulting beverage.

Solution: Because Melitta also manufactures coffee grinders, Melitta coffee machines with integrated grinders have a very simple and effective configuration. Change the grind setting to a slightly coarser grind than the one you are using, and the problem should be solved.

Coffee does not come out of my Melitta machine

If you have already checked that the water tank is filled to the correct level and correctly inserted into place, check the coffee brewing unit, as it may be blocked by a build-up of debris in the pipes, interrupting the coffee flow.

The solution to this problem will be to clean not only the brewing unit but the entire coffee system very well, and in some cases, it will be necessary to descale the coffee maker; here are the guidelines to do this correctly:

How to clean the entire coffee system

It is advisable to do this every two months or as indicated on the machine.

1. Fill the water tank to its maximum capacity.
2. Start the coffee machine’s cleaning programme.
3. Place the coffee grounds container under the coffee spout.
4. The machine will run the cleaning programme twice.
5. Open the side housing and remove the brewing unit.
6. Insert a cleaning tablet into the brewing unit.
7. Put the brewing unit back in place.
8. The machine performs several cleaning cycles and is ready.

Cleaning the brewing unit

The brewing unit should be cleaned once a week.

1. Switch off and unplug the machine.
2. Open the side cover of the machine.
3. Remove the brewing unit by removing the safety catch.
4. Clean the inside of the brewing unit with a soft cloth.
5. Wash the entire brewing unit thoroughly under running water under the tap.
6. Allow the brewing unit to dry completely and put it back in place.

How to descale (if necessary)

The descaling programme will remove limescale residues from the inside of the Melitta coffee machine, which can also cause blockages if left there. The machine itself will indicate when this process needs to be carried out.

1. If you have used the water filter, you should remove it and immerse it in running water while descaling.
2. Fill the water tank with a solution of descaler and water, following the instructions on the package.
3. Make sure that the water tank is securely in place.
4. Place the coffee grounds container under the coffee spout.
5. Run the descaling programme indicated on the machine.
6. The machine will perform several cleaning cycles, and once they are finished, you must fill the water tank again, but now only with tap water.
7. Put the tank back in place.
8. The machine will perform a final rinse.

The brewing unit of my Melitta machine no longer clicks into place

Once you have removed the brewing unit, either for cleaning or any other reason, the first thing to do is to make sure that when you put it back in place, it locks into place correctly; the locking mechanism should fit precisely.

But suppose the problem is that it is not in the right position when you insert the brewing unit into the coffee machine. You can simultaneously press the ON/OFF button and the “My Coffee” button, and the machine will carry out the initialisation process, making the unit move into the correct position.

The grinder of my Melitta machine does not grind the coffee beans

It may happen that the coffee beans are not falling into the grinder, lightly tapping the bean container will help them to fall in. You can also check that the tilt lever is not in the vertical position; it should be to the right or the left.

But it can also happen that foreign objects obstruct the grinder and generate loud noises in the grinding wheels; this happens when the coffee beans we use are not the right ones and come with impurities that obstruct the grinding and cause blockages. If this is the case, we recommend you take the machine to a professional technical service.

NOTE: Never use roasted coffee in super-automatic coffee machines. The sugar used to roast roasted coffee beans can destroy the best grinders in a very short time.

My Melitta machine does not dispense milk

It is necessary to remember that milk is a much denser liquid than water; therefore, if the ducts it passes are not kept clean enough, residues will accumulate and clog the milk system.

Here are the instructions for proper maintenance of your coffee machine’s milk system:

Express cleaning of the milk system is recommended after each time milk is dispensed

1. Cleaning is recommended when the “cleaning and steam” symbol appears.
2. Place a container under the coffee spout.
3. Fill another container with water and place the milk pipe into this container.
4. Press the ‘milk froth’ button for more than two seconds.
5. The ‘cleaning and steam’ display goes out, and the machine is now ready.

Cleaning the milk unit after 100 dispensing cycles

1. Clean the milk unit regularly.
2. Remove the milk unit from the machine.
3. Disassemble the unit and rinse all parts under hot running water.
4. Reassemble the milk unit and put it back in place.

Complete cleaning of the milk system

1. Prepare 0.5 litres of cleaning solution according to the recommendations for use.
2. Connect the milk hose to the milk spout and immerse it in the cleaning solution.
3. Place the coffee grounds container under the spout.
4. Turn the ‘coffee quantity’ knob to the maximum, and the machine will be cleaned.
5. Press and hold down the ‘milk froth’ button until the container is empty.
6. Empty the coffee grounds container with the residues.
7. After applying the cleaning solution, rinse with 500 ml of running water.
8. Press the ‘milk froth’ button again until the container is empty.
9. Empty the coffee grounds container again.
10. Return the coffee grounds container to its place.

My Melitta machine has an internal water leak

To locate the water leak in your Melitta coffee machine, it is necessary to check all the water pipes until it is clear where the leak is. You must disassemble all the casings and perform a visual inspection from the water tank to the coffee spout.

Internal leaks are usually caused by broken plastic parts that deteriorate easily due to sudden temperature changes. Other times, the O-rings and rubber pipes wear out and cause water leaks.

There is no other way to find the leak than to disassemble the coffee machine, identify the part and order a replacement. The picture below shows a broken ceramic valve outlet on the Melitta Caffeo Barista. Just buy a new part (only 16 pounds) and replace the broken one: