Coffee Machine Cleaning

A clean espresso machine makes better coffee.

Coffee oils, fine grounds, milk residue and mineral build-up can all affect the way your machine performs and, more importantly, the way your coffee tastes.

The good news is that keeping your machine clean doesn’t need to be complicated.

A few small habits after each coffee-making session, combined with regular deeper cleaning, will keep your setup running well and make dialling in much easier.

WHY CLEANING YOUR ESPRESSO MACHINE MATTERS

Every time you make espresso, small amounts of coffee oil and fine coffee particles are left behind.

They can collect around the group head, shower screen, basket and portafilter.

Over time, those old coffee oils can affect the flavour of fresh espresso.

Milk creates another problem. Any milk left on or inside a steam wand can quickly dry and become difficult to remove.

Then there’s water.

Depending on your water quality, minerals can gradually build up inside the machine. This is known as scale.

Cleaning therefore isn’t just about making the machine look good. It helps keep the parts that actually make your coffee working properly.

WHAT TO CLEAN AFTER MAKING COFFEE

The easiest way to keep an espresso machine clean is to deal with mess before it has time to build up.

After making coffee:

Purge the group head.

Run a small amount of water through the group after removing the portafilter. This helps wash away loose grounds from around the shower screen.

Rinse the portafilter and basket.

Knock out the used coffee puck and rinse away any coffee remaining in the basket.

Clean the steam wand immediately.

After steaming milk, wipe the outside of the wand with a clean damp cloth and purge it.

Doing this straight away is much easier than trying to remove dried milk later.

Empty the drip tray when needed.

Coffee, water and milk residue can quickly collect in the tray. Emptying and rinsing it regularly stops it becoming another source of stale coffee smells.

These small habits take very little time and prevent most of the mess from becoming a bigger cleaning job later.

CLEANING THE GROUP HEAD

The group head is where hot water meets your coffee, so keeping it clean is important.

Coffee particles can collect around the shower screen and group seal.

Start by running water through the group without coffee in the portafilter.

Use a suitable group-head cleaning brush to gently clean around the shower screen and seal.

You may be surprised by how much coffee can collect around this area even when the machine looks clean from the outside.

If your machine has a removable shower screen, consult the machine manufacturer before taking it apart.

Different espresso machines are designed differently, so don't assume that something removable on one machine should be removed on another.

CLEANING THE PORTAFILTER AND BASKET

Your portafilter is constantly exposed to coffee oils.

Rinsing it after use helps, but it will still benefit from a deeper clean from time to time.

Remove the basket from the portafilter and inspect both parts.

If you can see a dark, oily coating, normal rinsing probably isn't removing everything.

Use an espresso-machine cleaning product that is suitable for your equipment and follow its directions carefully.

After cleaning, rinse everything thoroughly before making coffee again.

Pay attention to the holes in the filter basket too. They should remain clear so water can move through the coffee bed evenly.

WHAT IS BACKFLUSHING?

Backflushing cleans parts of the espresso machine that normal water flow doesn't reach as effectively.

Instead of water passing through a normal basket and into your cup, a blind basket or cleaning disc creates pressure inside the group.

The machine then releases that pressure through its internal pathway, helping remove coffee oils and residue.

But there is an important point:

Not every espresso machine should be backflushed in exactly the same way.

Some machines have automatic cleaning cycles. Some use a blind basket. Some use a cleaning disc. The recommended frequency can also vary.

Always check the instructions for your specific espresso machine before backflushing it.

WATER BACKFLUSHING VS CLEANING WITH DETERGENT

You might come across two different types of backflushing.

WATER BACKFLUSH

This uses water only.

On machines designed for it, a clear-water backflush can help remove loose coffee grounds and oils from the brew pathway.

DETERGENT BACKFLUSH

This uses an espresso-machine cleaning detergent designed to remove coffee oils.

This is a deeper clean and should be performed according to both your machine manufacturer's directions and the instructions supplied with the cleaning product.

Don't assume that more detergent or more frequent chemical cleaning is better.

Use the correct product and follow the recommended procedure.

CLEANING THE STEAM WAND

The steam wand should be cleaned every time you use it.

Milk can dry onto the outside of the wand surprisingly quickly.

Once you've finished steaming:

Wipe the wand with a clean damp cloth.

Then briefly purge steam through the wand to clear anything remaining near the tip.

If milk has already dried onto the wand, don't attack it with something abrasive that could damage the surface.

Follow the machine manufacturer's cleaning instructions.

Also inspect the steam holes.

If one or more becomes blocked, steam performance can become inconsistent.

CLEANING AND DESCALING ARE NOT THE SAME THING

This is one of the most important distinctions in espresso-machine maintenance.

Cleaning removes coffee oils, grounds and milk residue.

Descaling removes mineral build-up caused by water.

A machine can be clean from coffee residue and still contain scale.

Likewise, descaling a machine won't remove all the coffee oil sitting around your group head or portafilter.

They solve different problems.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU DESCALE AN ESPRESSO MACHINE?

There isn't one correct descaling schedule for every espresso machine.

How quickly scale develops depends on things such as:

• your water

• whether you're using a water filter

• how often the machine is used

• the design of the machine

• the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule

Many modern machines will tell you when a cleaning or descaling cycle is required.

Follow that guidance.

If your machine doesn't provide an alert, check its manual rather than choosing an arbitrary schedule.

Using appropriate water in the first place can also reduce scale problems significantly.

CAN YOU USE VINEGAR TO DESCALE AN ESPRESSO MACHINE?

We wouldn't make vinegar your default espresso-machine cleaning solution.

Different machines use different materials internally, and manufacturers may specify particular cleaning or descaling products.

The better approach is simple:

Use a descaling product approved or recommended for your machine and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Your espresso machine costs a lot more than a bottle of the correct cleaner.

SIGNS YOUR ESPRESSO MACHINE MAY NEED CLEANING

Sometimes the machine tells you before you remember.

Things to look for include:

• visible coffee residue around the shower screen

• oily residue on the basket or portafilter

• dried milk around the steam wand

• blocked steam-tip holes

• unusual water flow from the group

• stale or unpleasant flavours that aren't being fixed by changing the grind

• cleaning or descaling alerts from the machine

Not every coffee problem is caused by a dirty machine, but cleanliness is one of the first things worth checking.

If you're trying to dial in coffee on equipment covered in old coffee oils, you're making the job harder than it needs to be.

A SIMPLE ESPRESSO MACHINE CLEANING ROUTINE

You don't need to turn cleaning into a major project.

A simple approach is:

AFTER MAKING COFFEE

Purge the group head.

Rinse the portafilter and basket.

Wipe and purge the steam wand.

Keep the drip tray tidy.

REGULARLY

Clean around the shower screen and group seal.

Give the basket and portafilter a deeper clean.

Inspect the steam tip.

Clean the water tank and drip tray.

WHEN REQUIRED

Run the machine's recommended cleaning or backflush cycle.

Descale according to the manufacturer's instructions and your water conditions.

Replace water filters according to their recommended schedule.

The exact frequency will depend on how much coffee you make and the machine you're using.

Consistency matters more than waiting until the machine is obviously dirty.

CLEAN MACHINE. BETTER COFFEE.

Cleaning isn't the exciting part of making espresso.

But it makes everything else easier.

A clean machine gives fresh coffee a better chance to taste the way it should, keeps your equipment performing consistently and removes one more variable when you're trying to dial in a shot.

Once the machine is clean, the next step is getting the coffee right.

Read our Espresso Brew Guide to learn how grind size, dose, yield and extraction time work together when dialling in espresso.