title_body: How should I clean a stainless coffee carafe?
upvoted_answer: Tannin is a chemical contained in coffee and this is what normally stains your coffee making / drinking equipment. 
  
  When using an espresso machine it is advised to 'backflush' your machine with cleaning powder which cleans away a build up of 'tannin' from inside the machine. I expect a similar thing has happened to your carafe. With an espresso machine you're advised to do it weekly with heavy use - so I can imagine an "inadequate cleansed" carafe would probably be heavily tannin stained.
  
  You can purchase tannin cleaning powder from any coffee supplier, such as Happy Donkey. 
  
  Even though it is designed for Espresso Machines - it is perfectly safe to dissolve the powder in water and use it to clean other tannin stained equipment.