Bacteria, yeast and mould in Nespresso® coffee machines

There is a lot that our eyes can´t see, most of which we probably wouldn’t want to know about. But we ask ourselves sometimes: How hygienic is the inside of my Nespresso® compatible coffee machine? Our experts took some microbiological swabs, and had them independently tested by SWIFT Silliker labs Merieux Siences. The results were absolutely shocking.

What is going on inside your coffee machine? We did the test!

Swabs were taken of two areas in the brewing chamber of the coffee machine. Number One: the washer plate. Number Two: the inside of the nozzle. These are the areas where your coffee gets brewed and then dispensed into your cup. We swabbed the areas before and then after they had been cleaned with one Caffenu® Cleaning Capsule.

Multiple tests were carried out on the samples provided. The SWIFT lab measured the Total Microbial Activity (TMA), also known as TVC (Total Viable Count) which shows the overall microorganisms present, a general indicator of cleanliness and also provided results for yeast and mould on the inside of the coffee machine.

The truth about the hygiene of your Nespresso® coffee machine revealed

The results, especially for the microbial activity testing, horrified and amazed us at the same time.

The washer plate of the Nespresso® compatible coffee machine had a reading of 4000 colony forming units (CFU)! Anything more than 75 CFU as stated in the official Health Act (Act 63, 1977) on Total Microbial Activity is unsatisfactory and any reading above 1000 CFU is unacceptable as it raises major health concerns. SWIFT states that it requires immediate attention. The washer plate was therefore nearly 54 times over the limit of the official Health Act recommendation. The Mould reading came to 10 CFU on the washer plate, which is not concerning, but it is still not nice to know that mould could end up in your coffee cup.

The nozzle TMA reading showed 270 CFU, which is over 3.5 times more than the recommendation by the Health Act and measured as unacceptable by SWIFT, it requires attention.

The good news: Look what happens when you clean your Nespresso® machine

After cleaning the Nespresso® compatible coffee machine with only one Caffenu® Cleaning Capsule, the results went from shocking to excellent. The foaming agent in the Caffenu® capsule was able to decrease the TMA results to a great reading that was well within the health acts guidelines for acceptable results and got rid of all mould traces on the washer plate in just one go.

These results prove that cleaning your machine with the Caffenu® Cleaning Capsule is not only the best way to maintain your machine and get rid of all residue, build up and particles that can block your machine. It is also the easiest and most effective way to ensure your machine is protected from harmful bacteria at a microscopic level. And perhaps most importantly, ensures you get the best cup of coffee every time.

*The test results mentioned above were independently provided by SWIFT Silliker (Pty) Ldt, 7 Warrington Road, Cape Town, South Africa. Please see recommendations and guidelines below.

SWIFT RECOMMENDATIONS

CFU (colony forming units)

HEALTH ACT GUIDELINES

CFU (colony forming units)