Have you bought an espresso machine to cut down on buying takeaway coffee?
They can save you money but require a little cleaning and maintenance to keep them running smoothly. Here's what is recommended.
How often should an espresso machine be cleaned?
Marco Farina says he can taste when a machine hasn't been cleaned recently enough. He sells, repairs and services domestic and commercial coffee machines in Naarm/Melbourne.
Mr Farina says a household machine often makes three to four coffees a day. This might not seem like a lot, so people do not tend to clean them often, he says.
But he recommends giving machines a simple clean every day.
"The cleaner it is, the better it is for the next coffee."
What should you include in an everyday clean?
Consumer group Choice recommendsemptying and rinsing the portafilter (the part of the espresso machine with the handle) and wiping out the filter basket with a clean cloth after every use.
If you enjoy coffee with milk, Choice advices purging the steam wand by turning it on and off before and after you steam milk, and wiping it clean after use.
Mr Farina says this should be done with a wet cloth every time the machine is used to avoid an off-milk smell developing.
Wiping the bench and surrounding areas, plus emptying the drip tray are other tasks you'll want to do after you've finished making coffee for the day.
What about a more intensive clean?
Lara Timbrell is the head barista and assistant manager of Tribute cafe in Perth, on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people.
She says a domestic espresso machine is likely to benefit from a more intensive clean once every week or two, or monthly, depending on how often it is being used.
Ms Timbrell says both home and commercial machines tend to have plenty of nooks and crannies.
Her trick is folding a cleaning cloth into quarters or eighths "so you have a nice firm corner" that you can use to remove grind build-up, particularly around the group head.
Choice says a weekly clean can include refilling the water tank, and emptying coffee grounds from your knock box.
For a monthly clean, it recommends removing the filter basket from the portafilter and soaking them both in a cleaning solution and using a toothbrush to clean grounds from around the shower screen.
Ms Timbrell recommends dismantling the group head and cleaning behind the shower screen (the fixture that diffuses water from the group head onto the filter basket) for a more intensive clean, which Choice lists as an annual task. It's best to consult the instructions for your specific machine first.
What about back-flushing and descaling?
Mr Farina recommends back-flushing the machine with a blind filter regularly.
He says espresso machines should come with a blind filter. It's a solid basket, while the filter baskets used with coffee grind have a series of small holes.
Back-flushing involves placing the blind filter into the portafilter, placing it in the group head and turning on the espresso button, allowing pressure to build before turning it off and repeating a few times.
It's not something every machine can do so check your model and its instructions.
Mr Farina says it helps clean away leftover oil residue from the grind. Coffee supply stores sell cleaning products designed to help with this, he says.
For semi-automatic and manual machines, Choice says to use the blind filter to flush hot water through about once a week.
For a monthly clean it advises a "back-flush (for three-way-valve systems) using a commercial coffee machine cleaner" or running a cleaning cycle (if the model permits).
"A good rule of thumb is to do this once for every 4kg of coffee you put through the machine."
Choice also recommends descaling the coffee machine as part of an annual clean following the manufacturer's instructions, but some manuals will advise you do this more often.
Ms Timbrell says depending on where you live, you can get a lot of build-up through the machine because of the water which will require you to descale.
She says water also impacts the taste.
"I would say one thing that you would really taste the difference with your coffee is, if you use filtered water instead of tap water."
What about the coffee grinder?
Ms Timbrell says regardless of whether your coffee grinder is a separate appliance or built into the espresso machine, looking up the manual before cleaning is a good way to get started.
"When you keep grinding more and more coffee, the [remaining] coffee is getting ground over and over again."
She says this may result in a bitter taste, because some of the grind will be older and finer (more likely to burn).
She recommends emptying out the grinder and clearing out residual grinds with a dry brush or vacuum.
Choice does not recommend using water to clean out rancid coffee bean oil from your grinder, and warns the blades can be sharp.
It suggests using a small, clean paintbrush, soft-bristled toothbrush or a vacuum for the "really committed".
