Coffee is about 98% water. That makes water the largest single ingredient in the cup – and the one most people never think about.

Hard water does two things

It changes the taste, flattening the aromatics. And it leaves limescale inside the machine, which is the most common reason a coffee machine ends up on a workshop bench.

Filter or descale

A CLARIS filter reduces the minerals that cause scale before the water ever reaches the heating system. Use one, and the machine asks for a filter change instead of a descale. Don't use one, and you need to descale regularly – which is the harsher process.

The machine can't do both at once. A machine with a filter fitted cannot be descaled, by design.

Set the water hardness once

When you set up the machine, enter the hardness of your water. The machine then calculates filter capacity from that figure. Get it wrong and the machine either asks for changes too often, or lets scale build up quietly.

The filter type depends on the machine – CLARIS Smart+ for most home machines, CLARIS Pro Smart+ and Pro Smart Maxi for the professional X and GIGA ranges – and the filter extension has to match too. If you're unsure which fits yours, ask us. It's a five-second answer once we know the model.

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