Coffee Machine Maintenance: A Detailed Guide to Grinder Cleaning

Due to the widespread popularization of coffee culture and the growing demand for coffee, many manufacturers have launched espresso machines suitable for home use, commonly known as home machines. Compared to commercial coffee machines, home machines are not only more compact in size but also more affordable in price. As a result, more and more friends have purchased coffee machines and started making espresso at home.

However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that most friends who purchase coffee machines are not coffee professionals. Therefore, when it comes to coffee machines, many people don't quite understand how to clean them properly. Without regular cleaning habits, long-term use can lead to various problems with coffee machines. For example: weak steam, uneven dripping of hot water from the brew head, unstable extraction pressure, water leakage even after the portafilter is tightly secured, and so on... Don't worry, FrontStreet Coffee is here today to share how daily maintenance and deep cleaning of coffee machines should be performed. This will allow your coffee machine to last longer and save your wallet from "unexpected disasters." So let's start with the daily cleaning of coffee machines.

Daily Cleaning of the Steam Wand

After we finish frothing milk, a small amount of milk residue remains on the steam wand's tip. If not removed promptly, this milk will be baked by the residual heat of the steam wand after steaming, becoming caramelized and forming milk scale. Milk scale not only clogs the steam holes but can also easily produce unpleasant odors over time due to spoilage.

Therefore, we can prepare a clean, damp cloth. After milk frothing is complete, quickly use this cloth to wipe the tip, then turn on the steam again for a brief burst to expel any remaining milk inside. This completes a simple cleaning of the steam wand.

Daily Cleaning of the Shower Screen

The shower screen is the part closest to the coffee puck in the brew head. When we finish extracting coffee and remove the portafilter, a lot of coffee grounds will adhere to the shower screen due to pressure release. If not cleaned promptly, these coffee grounds will be dried by the high temperature of the brew head, affecting the extraction and taste of the next cup of coffee.

Therefore, the shower screen is also an object that requires重点 cleaning! However, it has two cleaning methods. One is simple cleaning: after extraction is complete, we open the water valve and release hot water once, which can quickly carry away coffee grounds remaining on the shower screen. But this method cannot remove coffee grounds from areas outside the shower screen, so at the end of each day's use, we need to use a brush combined with water release to clean the surrounding areas.

Daily Cleaning of the Portafilter

If you're using a split portafilter, you'll also need to clean the inside of the portafilter at the end of the day. Because after a day of extraction, the pipes inside the portafilter will inevitably have a lot of coffee stains. If not cleaned promptly, long-term accumulation will similarly affect the taste of coffee. Not only that, but it will also impact health.

Therefore, after daily use, we should pry out the filter basket and rinse the portafilter. For friends using bottomless portafilters, cleaning the filter basket is sufficient,毕竟 their main cleaning target is not the portafilter but the coffee machine that gets crazily splattered by the bottomless portafilter!

So the above covers the daily cleaning of coffee machines! Next, FrontStreet Coffee will talk about deep cleaning of coffee machines! Because everyone's usage frequency is different, you can decide on deep cleaning timing based on your own usage. For example, friends who use it frequently, making 10 or more cups a day, should clean every few days (daily cleaning is best). For those who use it less frequently, such as one cup a day, well... you can decide for yourselves~

Deep Cleaning of the Steam Wand

Even after we complete daily cleaning, there will still be a lot of milk residue in the crevices we can't reach during cleaning. Therefore, during deep cleaning, we can remove the tip, put it in any container, then take out coffee machine cleaning powder, mix it with hot water, and soak it (the steam wand can also be soaked together).

When you're ready to use it the next day, take it out, clean it thoroughly, and put it back! Cleaning powder works excellently - basically, dirt hidden in crevices can be completely dissolved and carried away by it!

Deep Cleaning of Coffee Machine Pipes

At the end of extraction, a lot of hot water will remain in the filter basket because it can't be drained in time, and when the coffee machine releases pressure, it will suck this hot water back and then discharge it through the water outlet. Because the water has already come into contact with coffee grounds, what gets sucked back up is not just hot water but also many coffee substances. These substances won't be completely discharged from the water outlet but will remain in the pipes! If we don't clean promptly, this dirt will accumulate more and more, eventually affecting coffee extraction.

Therefore, after multiple uses, we can perform backflushing on the coffee machine to clean the pipes! The specific method is: replace the perforated filter basket on the portafilter with a non-perforated blind basket, then pour in some cleaning powder, and secure it to the brew head. Then start the extraction button to let hot water dissolve the cleaning powder and clean the shower screen. After about 10 seconds, stop the extraction, and the hot water with cleaning effect will flow through the pipes and discharge from the water outlet. During this process, they can clean the pipes. Repeat three times without removing it.

Replacing Coffee Machine Gaskets

If we experience dripping or severe leakage during extraction, it means the gasket has aged and its sealing effect has deteriorated. At this point, we need to purchase gaskets online and replace them! As for the specific replacement method, since coffee machines vary, FrontStreet Coffee suggests everyone contact the manufacturer for inquiries. Generally, gasket lifespan is about six months to a year.

Other Items Requiring Cleaning Attention

The remaining items are mainly the water tank in the coffee machine and maintenance of the water supply system's filter element. With long-term use, they will accumulate quite a lot of scale. If not cleaned regularly, this will create certain obstacles to extraction. Therefore, we need to replace and clean them regularly. Generally, filter elements can be replaced once a month. The water tank cleaning cycle can be longer, but since it involves disassembly, friends with less hands-on ability should contact a professional to clean it~

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473