this has been bugging me for a while as the bees wax cream we had a while back was very much the authentic article, but it was too aromatic for bringing into close proximity with the coffee – any scent is a real distraction i find
since then we have been using a mineral oil for butchers blocks, widely available, quick & easy to apply, but it soaks into the wood very quickly and disappears
on tuesday this week a new product i purchased last weekend arrived and i am pleased to report back that it is almost odour free, easy to apply, fairly quick drying, and critically with a couple of coats forms a nice protective wax layer on the surface of the wood that repels water
you can find the link to where i purchased it on Amazon here;
bear in mind these kind of products have been around for a while so if you live outside the UK it is highly unlikely that you need to start dragging it to the other side of the globe – while they dont disclose what the ingredients are i think you can safely assume it is a mix of beeswax and purified mineral oil, that meets the requirements of being labelled ‘foodsafe’ and thats about it. it does not contain any silicones or other synthetic products
im very impressed – water beads on the wood and will ensure the wood does not dry out with the heat transferred from the machine
it is also the kind of thing you can smear on with your finger – you dont need brushes and ventilation and the need to remove the wood from the machine in order to treat it each time – this makes it a very straightforward process so there is no impediment to doing it on a fairly regular basis