During my decade as a barista, I held a job in the education department for a mid-sized roaster, meaning I spent a lot of time teaching new wholesale clients how to make coffee. Many would approach the espresso machine eager to pull their first shot, or geek out on all the different brewing devices to make coffee. But rarely did anyone get excited about what I believe is the most overlooked factor affecting the flavor of coffee: keeping your coffee makers clean.
The difference between an espresso made on a clean coffee machine versus a dirty one is like night … [+]
During coffee trainings, I’d reserve at least half an hour not just to show trainees how to clean coffee makers, but to explain why cleaning is so important. The difference between an espresso made on a clean coffee machine versus a dirty one is like night and day, but it’s easy to neglect if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Coffee equipment requires a mix of specific coffee cleaners and pro tools that you might not think to reach for. Here’s everything you need to know about how to keep your machinery spotless and your coffee tasting its best.
There are two things to think about when cleaning your coffee machine: the coffee itself and water.
This happens with almost any piece of equipment that touches water. If you look at your sink faucet, you’ll likely see little chalky white pieces: that’s scale too. Scale isn’t dangerous or anything, but its build-up can affect the functionality and longevity of your machine.
Regardless of the kind of coffee maker you use, it’s recommended to do a general clean every time … [+]
As I mentioned above, there are two things to watch out for when cleaning a coffee maker: coffee and water. Keeping your machine clean generally means taking care of coffee stains and buildup, and descaling is the process of removing scale build-up from continuous water cycles running through your machine.
You’re going to clean your machine a lot more often than you descale. Most of the equipment we recommend will give guidelines on when to do which. For me, I do a general clean every time I use the machine (wipe down surfaces, remove visible coffee oils), a deep clean every week (using coffee-specific cleaners, soaking tools), and a descaling cycle every month.
Before you clean, it’s important to have all your tools set up and ready—particularly those you’ll use frequently to keep your coffee station clean. Here’s what I keep on-hand.
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A Pallo brush is a multi-use tool perfect for cleaning espresso machines. The plastic coated bristles are water-resistant, there’s a small pick on the other end designed to clean the steam wand, and its curved design means that you can run water through the grouphead and it won’t splash on you as you clean.
I use a Pallo brush every few shots to clean the grouphead, but I also use it at the end of the day (whenever you’re shutting down your espresso machine) to both scrub the screens on the espresso machine and to dose the amount of cleaning product I need, which you can do with small scoop at the end of the brush.
I specifically like the Pallo brush design because of the pick on the other side of the brush, but any brush with plastic bristles, like this one from Urnex, will help keep your machine clean.
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In my book, nothing cleans better than microfiber towels. I use them both as a milk steaming rag and to clean the grates on my espresso machine. They soak up way more water than a regular rag and are great for polishing brushed steel, which most espresso machines are built out of. I usually grab three towels when I set up to make espresso: one to wipe out the portafilter, one to clean the steam wand, and one to clean the counter. If you’re just brewing filter coffee, microfiber cloths are still incredibly useful in wiping up spills and catching coffee grounds and dust.
You might see baristas using black microfiber towels since they hide espresso stains and coffee grounds, but you can use whatever color you’d like.
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If you’ve ever made coffee, you know grounds can get everywhere. Having a small brush on-hand to wipe away excess grinds will keep your coffee station neat and help you clean hard-to-reach places in your grinder.
Many shops have the two-headed brush from Barista Home Kitchen, but a small paintbrush will also work.
The essential tools you’ll need to clean your espresso machine at the end of the day.
You don’t need to get too involved when you clean your coffee equipment daily. Usually, this just involves getting all the coffee off your equipment, and looks different depending on whether you’re cleaning espresso equipment or a drip or manual brewer.
To clean your espresso machine, you’ll want to do a thing called backflushing. Insert a tool like this backflush insert to run water through the espresso machine. You can use just water if you’re giving the espresso machine a quick clean, but if you’re shutting down the machine at the end of the day, you should use a cleaner like Urnex Cafiza.
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At the end of the day, take a pea-sized amount of Cafiza and run 3-5 backflushing cycles. I also soak the portafilter (the detectable handle that holds espresso grounds) and basket inside in a water solution with a dollop of Cafiza.
You also want to drop the mesh screens on the espresso machine. If you’re asking yourself, “what’s a screen?” go over to your espresso machine and poke your head under where the water comes out. For most machines, you’ll see a small, mesh screen held on by a tiny screw and you’ll need a small flathead screwdriver to remove them.
Be careful when you do this—some machine manufacturers make their own custom screws, so if you lose the screw, you can’t attach the screen back on. I always put the screw in a small cup next to the machine when I’m dropping the screens.
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If you steam milk, you should also clean and soak the steamwand every day. Milk solids get stuck easily in the wand and not only make the steamwand less effective, but also go rancid over time. A dedicated milk cleaner, like this one from Urnex, is straightforward and simple to use: all you have to do is pour a cap-sized dose into your milk pitcher, add water, and let it soak for a few minutes.
For most drip and manual brewers, all you need to do at the end of the day is simply clean with some soap and water.
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Most coffee pots are difficult to clean because it’s not easy to put your hand in and scrub the inside. A bottle brush helps get to those tough spots and remove excess dirt and oil. I use the long brush any time I clean a coffee pot and make sure to put on a drying rack so there’s no sitting water.
Espresso machines get a pretty rigorous cleaning every day, so they don’t need the same weekly maintenance. However, manual and drip brewers usually need to be cleaned every week or so. Usually, this involves either soaking your equipment or running a cleaning solution through the brewer.
For manual brewers like French presses and pour over brewers, you can set a bucket full of hot water and a spoonful of Cafiza and soak your brewing devices. For French presses, I recommend taking apart the mesh filter (there’s usually three or four parts when you unscrew it), and everything else can be taken apart as needed. I also recommend soaking carafes or any coffee pots in Cafiza. A 10 minute soak every 1-2 weeks is usually enough.
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For auto drip machines, use a coffee machine cleaner that’s designed to clean the entire machine (not just the urn or carafe). A coffee machine cleaner usually works by running a cycle on the machine without any coffee. This allows the cleaner to go through the entire machine and give everything a good scrub as you go.
For auto drip coffee makers, regularly use a coffee machine cleaner by running a cycle on the … [+]
Although this section is called “monthly cleaning tasks,” your cleaning schedule should really depend on how often you use your equipment. If you’re a frequent coffee drinker, you might want to up your routine to every few weeks, but if you’re only plugging in your Mr. Coffee every few days, you can get away with skipping a month.
When it comes to cleaning, consistency is the most important thing, so however frequently you decide to clean, it’s helpful to set a recurring reminder in your phone or on your calendar.
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The most important monthly task is to descale your machine. Over time, any coffee machines that run water through them will develop scale, so it’s important to run a descaling solution through the machines every few weeks. The frequency with which you run a descaler will depend on how hard your water is and how often you use your machine—most descaling solutions will have a guide to help you figure out how often you need to descale but if not, start with once a month and see if that works for you.
You might have read that vinegar works as a descaling agent—don’t use vinegar. Yes, it will break down scale buildup, but many machines have plastic tubes and pieces that will absorb vinegar, so you’ll never be able to get that taste out.
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A liquid descaler, like the one linked above, is easy to use, but a powder-based one, like this one from Urnex, is slightly more economical and simple enough to adjust to.
Lastly, you should clean your grinder as often as you clean your coffee equipment. Probably the one piece of coffee equipment that gets ignored the most is coffee grinders. If you look in your grinder, you’ll likely see lots of old grounds and small particles that accumulate over time.
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Grinder cleaning tablets—like this one from Cafetto—picks up all the old coffee grounds while cleaning the grinder burrs, or the sharp metal plates that grind coffee evenly. All you have to do is throw the tablets in the hopper (the vessel on top of the grinder that holds the coffee beans) and grind like you would for coffee. This will help keep the burrs sharp and clean.