What's the Ultimate Stain Remover for Coffee? Why Do Baristas Need So Many Cloths? What Does "Milk Cloth" Mean?

Yes, you read that correctly — five cloths, not some five-tailed figure that has been cut in two.

As everyone knows, making espresso means reaching for a whole fleet of tools: distribution needles, levelers, latte art pins, and more. But alongside all those preparation aids, we should not overlook the unsung heroes of cleaning, the cloths among them. Many people ask: cleaning is understandable, so why do we need so many — specifically, "five"? Are baristas secretly the ancient Greek gods of rags?

Just kidding. The reason for five cloths is that each one has a different job, and some jobs demand an extremely high standard of hygiene, so there is no room for an all-purpose champion. Beyond hygiene, the jobs also call for different levels of moisture, so the cloths have to be kept separate, each serving its own function. Today FrontStreet Coffee will walk through what each of the five cloths used by baristas is responsible for.

1. The Portafilter Cloth

Since we are talking about cloths for espresso, "portafilter" naturally means the extraction portafilter on the espresso machine. After we pull a shot and knock out the puck, coffee grounds or water stains from cleaning are left behind in the portafilter — and both can hurt the quality of the next extraction.

If we need to put the portafilter straight back into service, we need a dry cloth to remove these troublemakers fast. That is why the first cloth exists specifically to wipe stains from the portafilter.

2. The Cup Wiping Cloth

Surely some readers have been won over by scenes of baristas polishing cups in films and TV shows. In any case, FrontStreet Coffee has always thought that a barista wiping cups with real care looks as handsome as FrontStreet Coffee itself.

If we wash cups and do not dry them promptly, the water droplets left behind evaporate and leave a film-like mark, commonly known as a water spot.

Water spots badly affect the look of a cup and can leave guests with the impression that things are not clean. To prevent them, we always wipe cups with a clean, hygienic cloth right after washing. So the second cloth is for drying cups. It is worth noting that, to keep this cloth from growing mould while permanently damp, it is always kept above the espresso machine, exposed to constant heat.

3. The Milk Cloth

The milk cloth is the one discussed yesterday: the cleaning cloth used to wipe milk residue off the steam wand, shortened to "milk cloth."

One point left out yesterday, though: because milk evaporates quickly at high temperature, the residue stuck to the steam wand needs to be wiped with a damp milk cloth. A dry milk cloth will not only fail to remove the residue; its fibres can also be scorched by the heat, which does no good at all.

4. The Espresso Machine Cleaning Cloth

For anyone using a bottomless portafilter, the biggest frustration is probably channeling during extraction, which sends coffee splashing everywhere — all over the espresso machine. That is why we need an extra cloth just for cleaning the machine. It, too, should be damp before use; otherwise it will not clean effectively and cannot remove dried coffee liquid from the machine.

5. The General Purpose Cloth

The general purpose cloth is exactly what it sounds like: mainly for cleaning any stains on the bar counter outside the espresso machine. The bar counter faces customers, after all, so overall hygiene has to be kept to a certain standard.

Because there are quite a few cloths, most coffee shops use different styles and colours to identify each one, which prevents mix-ups from similar looks or colours. When buying cloths, keep this in mind too, so you can still tell them apart later on.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Cloths matter for a clean bar, but crema matters just as much when you are pouring milk. FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend is the bean many people buy first for latte art at home. It is a mid-dark espresso recipe built from three origins, inspired by the old "Mamba" style of Mandheling and Brazil, with a small amount of Robusta added for aroma and crema. Extraction releases clear butter, toasted bread, and caramel biscuit aromas; the flavour is intense, the body is solid, and the crema is fine and extremely stable.

If you are training for milk work and want even more fine, deep-brown crema, FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend is worth considering. It takes the same mid-dark approach and adds a little more Robusta for a heavier, richer tone, so Americanos, lattes, and mochas all carry nut, cocoa, and caramel flavours — and latte art becomes noticeably easier.