The Beginner’s Guide to Coffee Machine Maintenance

Summary

This video script emphasizes the importance of cleaning and maintenance for coffee equipment to ensure great taste and longevity. It covers espresso machines, grinders, brewers, and other accessories, providing detailed cleaning tips and addressing common issues like buildup and descaling. The script also discusses the impact of water quality on machine health and offers guidance on when to replace parts like gaskets and burrs. Sponsored by Trainwell, a fitness app, the video aims to educate viewers on proper care to enhance their coffee experience.

Takeaways

• 🧼 Regular cleaning and maintenance of coffee equipment is crucial to prevent bad taste and ensure longevity of the equipment.
• 📚 Always read the manual for specific cleaning instructions from the manufacturer, as they often provide detailed guidance.
• 🔍 For espresso machines, cleanliness of the portafilter and group head is essential to avoid bitter and harsh tasting coffee.
• 🚿 Backflushing espresso machines is necessary to clean the internal parts and prevent buildup of coffee residue that can affect taste.
• 💧 Descaler concentration depends on the hardness of the water and the scale buildup in the machine; frequent descaling is safer with lower concentrations.
• 🍋 Citric acid is an effective and food-safe descaler, but always follow manufacturer recommendations to avoid potential damage.
• 🛠 Grinders require regular cleaning, especially the exit chute, to prevent regrinding and the production of excess fines.
• 🌾 Avoid using uncooked rice to clean grinders, as it can void the warranty and potentially damage the grinder.
• ⚙️ Burrs in grinders have a long lifespan and should be changed based on usage and performance decline, not just time.
• 🍵 Filter coffee brewers should be cleaned regularly to remove residue and descaled to maintain optimal performance.
• ☕️ Kettles and other coffee equipment like travel cups and moka pots should also be cleaned and descaled to ensure the best taste and functionality.

Q & A

Why is cleaning and maintenance of coffee equipment important?

Cleaning and maintenance are crucial to prevent your coffee from tasting bad due to dirty equipment and to ensure the longevity of your coffee setup, whether you plan to keep it for a long time or sell it later.

What should be the first step when maintaining coffee equipment according to the script?

The first step should be to read the manual, as most manufacturers provide detailed instructions for maintenance, which are often available online as free PDFs.

What is the significance of the portafilter in espresso machine maintenance?

The portafilter is significant because it should be cleaned daily to ensure the taste of the coffee is not affected by old coffee residue. It includes cleaning both the inside and outside of the portafilter and the basket.

What is the 'finger test' mentioned in the script for cleaning the portafilter?

The 'finger test' refers to rubbing your finger on the inside of the portafilter and checking if the accumulated residue is clean or disgusting, indicating the need for more frequent cleaning.

Why is it recommended to clean the group head of an espresso machine?

Cleaning the group head is important because it affects the taste of the coffee. Accumulated coffee residue can cause the espresso to taste bitter and harsh, so regular cleaning helps maintain the quality of the coffee.

What is the purpose of back flushing an espresso machine?

Back flushing helps to clean the internal tubes of the espresso machine, particularly the ones that carry used coffee water back to the waste after each shot, preventing the buildup of coffee solubles that can affect the taste of future coffee.

How often should you descale a coffee machine?

The frequency of descaling depends on the hardness of the water and the manufacturer's recommendations, but generally, it ranges from every six to twelve months in low scale-forming areas, and more frequently in high scale-forming areas.

What are the risks of using an incorrect concentration of descaler when descaling a coffee machine?

Using an incorrect concentration of descaler, especially a too low concentration, can lead to incomplete removal of limescale, which may cause blockages in narrow parts of the machine and potentially damage it.

Why is it advised to purge the steam wand after each use?

Purging the steam wand after each use helps to remove any remaining milk residue, preventing the buildup of dried milk solids that can affect the performance of the wand and the taste of the milk froth.

What is the recommended way to clean the burr chamber of a coffee grinder?

The recommended way to clean the burr chamber is to use a cleaning tool provided by some manufacturers, which are ground coffee beans with a cleaning agent. Alternatively, for some grinders, you can open the burr chamber and use a vacuum cleaner or brush to clean it out.

Why should you avoid using uncooked rice to clean your coffee grinder?

Uncooked rice is harder than coffee and can damage the burrs. Additionally, using rice can void the grinder's warranty, as it is not an approved cleaning method by the manufacturers.

How often should you change the burrs of a coffee grinder?

The lifespan of burrs can vary widely, from 250 to 500 kilos of coffee, depending on the manufacturer's recommendations and the type of coffee being ground. It is not necessary to change them frequently, but signs like an increase in fines or hotter ground coffee can indicate the need for a burr change.

What is the benefit of using espresso machine detergent for cleaning coffee equipment?

Espresso machine detergent is effective at removing coffee oils and residues that accumulate over time in coffee equipment. It helps to maintain the taste and performance of the equipment and is safe for regular use.

How can you tell if your coffee grinder's burrs are dull?

Signs of dull burrs include a sudden increase in fines and ground coffee coming out much hotter than usual. These indicate that the burrs may need to be changed.

What is the recommended maintenance for moka pots?

Moka pots should be cleaned regularly to remove any buildup of residue. Additionally, the gaskets should be replaced if they become brittle or if there are any signs of pressure leaks.

Outlines

00:00

🧽 Importance of Coffee Equipment Maintenance

The video emphasizes the critical nature of cleaning and maintenance for coffee equipment, debunking the myth that it's a mundane task. It outlines the risks of neglecting maintenance, such as degraded coffee taste and potential equipment damage. The speaker encourages viewers to consult their equipment manuals for manufacturer care instructions and mentions reaching out to manufacturers for additional insights. The session is structured to cover espresso machines, grinders, brewers, and other coffee equipment, highlighting the significance of regular care for optimal performance and resale value.

05:01

🛠️ Cleaning and Maintenance of Espresso Machines

This paragraph delves into the specifics of maintaining espresso machines, focusing on the portafilter and group head cleanliness. It advises daily cleaning of the portafilter basket and regular disassembly for thorough cleaning, including soaking in hot water with detergent if necessary. The importance of cleaning the shower screen and dispersion block is stressed, with tips on removing accumulated coffee grounds to prevent bitterness in espresso shots. Backflushing is introduced as a technique to clean internal machine parts, and the video promises a deeper dive into this process.

10:02

💧 The Technicalities of Espresso Machine Backflushing

The script explains the technical aspects of espresso machine operation, particularly the function of the solenoid valve and its impact on machine cleanliness. It describes the process of backflushing to clean the internal tubing where coffee solubles can accumulate. The paragraph provides guidance on the frequency of backflushing and the use of espresso machine cleaner, advocating for regular maintenance to prevent buildup and maintain taste quality.

15:02

🍋 Descaling and Water Quality for Coffee Machines

This section discusses the complexities of water chemistry as it relates to coffee machine maintenance, addressing both scale formation and water corrosiveness. It explains the process of descaling, which involves using acidic solutions to break down limescale within the machine. The importance of using the correct concentration of descaler is highlighted, with recommendations varying based on the hardness of the water and the frequency of descaling. The use of citric acid as a descaler is promoted for its organic and food-safe properties, but caution is advised for machines with certain materials that may be susceptible to corrosion.

20:06

🌡️ Additional Coffee Equipment Care and Grinder Maintenance

The script moves beyond espresso machines to address the maintenance of coffee grinders, emphasizing the need to keep the exit chute clear of coffee buildup to ensure proper grind discharge and prevent regrinding. It also touches on the cleaning of hoppers and the burr chamber, noting the importance of regular cleaning to maintain performance and the lifespan of burrs. The use of cleaning agents designed for grinders is mentioned, and a warning is issued against using uncooked rice for cleaning due to warranty concerns.

25:07

🧼 Cleaning Filter Coffee Brewers and Other Coffee Equipment

This paragraph provides cleaning tips for filter coffee brewers, recommending the use of espresso machine detergent for effective cleaning. It advises regular soaking of mesh filters and the cleaning of stainless steel carafes to prevent taste deterioration. The video also briefly covers the maintenance of other coffee equipment such as kettles, travel cups, and moka pots, stressing the importance of regular cleaning and descaling to maintain equipment performance and the quality of brewed coffee.

🔧 Concluding Thoughts on Coffee Equipment Maintenance

In the concluding paragraph, the video script reiterates the importance of regular maintenance for all coffee equipment to ensure optimal performance and taste. It encourages viewers to share their experiences and any changes in their maintenance routines after watching the video. The script also invites viewers to ask questions or share concerns about equipment maintenance not covered in the video, promising responses in the comments section. The video ends with a thank you note and a reminder of the sponsorship by Trainwell, a fitness app offering personal fitness coaching.

Keywords

💡cleaning

Cleaning refers to the process of removing dirt, impurities, or unwanted substances from an object or surface. In the context of the video, cleaning is essential for maintaining the taste and longevity of coffee equipment. The script emphasizes the importance of regular cleaning of various parts such as portafilters and group heads to prevent the buildup of coffee residue, which can affect the flavor of the coffee and lead to poor performance of the equipment.

💡maintenance

Maintenance is the act of preserving or restoring an object to a good working order by checking, servicing, and repairing it. The video discusses maintenance as a critical aspect of coffee equipment care, highlighting that proper maintenance not only ensures the equipment functions optimally but also extends its lifespan. Examples from the script include the regular descaling of machines to prevent limescale buildup and the replacement of parts like gaskets and burrs in grinders.

💡espresso machines

An espresso machine is a device that brews coffee by forcing pressurized hot water through finely ground coffee beans. The script focuses on the maintenance of espresso machines, detailing the need for cleaning components like portafilters and group heads, and the importance of backflushing to remove coffee solubles that can affect the taste of espresso.

💡portafilter

A portafilter is a handle with a metal basket used in espresso machines to hold the coffee grounds during the brewing process. The script explains that the portafilter should be cleaned daily to ensure the quality of the coffee, mentioning the use of a teaspoon to remove the basket and the importance of a thorough cleaning both inside and out.

💡group head

The group head is the part of an espresso machine where the portafilter is locked into place for brewing. The script discusses the importance of cleaning the group head, including the shower screen and dispersion block, to prevent the buildup of coffee residue that can alter the taste of the espresso.

💡shower screen

A shower screen is a component in the group head of an espresso machine that disperses water over the coffee grounds. The video script mentions the necessity of regularly removing and cleaning the shower screen to avoid the accumulation of coffee grounds that can lead to bitter and harsh espresso.

💡backflushing

Backflushing is a cleaning process for espresso machines where water is forced backward through the machine to clean the internal parts. The script explains backflushing as a method to clean the pathway from the solenoid valve to the coffee outlet, which can accumulate coffee solubles and affect the machine's performance.

💡descaling

Descaling is the process of removing mineral deposits, such as limescale, that build up inside appliances, particularly those that use water, like coffee machines. The video script addresses descaling as an important maintenance step to prevent damage to the machine and to ensure optimal performance, suggesting the use of acidic solutions to break down the scale.

💡grinders

A grinder is a device used to crush or grind materials into smaller pieces, and in the context of coffee, it is used to process coffee beans into grounds. The script discusses the importance of grinder maintenance, including cleaning the exit chute and hopper, and the potential need to replace burrs over time to maintain grinding quality.

💡burrs

Burrs are the components of a grinder that crush the coffee beans. They come in various sizes and shapes and can become dull over time. The video script notes that while burrs have a long lifespan, they may eventually need to be replaced, and it provides signs to look for, such as an increase in fines and hotter ground coffee, to determine when this might be necessary.

💡espresso machine cleaner

Espresso machine cleaner is a specialized cleaning agent designed to remove coffee oils and residues from coffee equipment. The script mentions the use of espresso machine cleaner for soaking and cleaning tasks, such as cleaning the portafilter and backflushing the machine, to maintain the taste and functionality of the equipment.

💡descaler concentration

Descaler concentration refers to the strength of the descaling solution used to remove limescale and mineral deposits. The script differentiates between frequent descaler concentration for regular use and higher concentrations for more severe scale buildup, explaining the importance of choosing the right concentration based on the hardness of the water and the condition of the machine.

💡filter coffee brewers

Filter coffee brewers are devices that brew coffee by passing hot water through ground coffee, typically using a filter to separate the grounds from the liquid. The script briefly touches on the maintenance of filter coffee brewers, including cleaning the mesh and descaling the machine to ensure good taste and performance.

💡moka pot

A moka pot, also known as a stovetop espresso maker, is a coffee brewing device that uses steam pressure to force hot water through ground coffee. The script advises regular cleaning of moka pots to avoid buildup of dirt and the replacement of gaskets to maintain proper sealing and pressure during brewing.

Highlights

Cleaning and maintenance of coffee equipment is crucial to avoid negative impacts on coffee taste and quality.

Neglecting maintenance can lead to coffee tasting bad, with a waste of good coffee beans.

Proper maintenance ensures the longevity of coffee equipment, even for those planning to upgrade later.

Manufacturers' manuals provide essential maintenance information and are available online for free.

Additional tips and tricks from manufacturers can enhance the maintenance routine beyond what's in the manual.

Espresso machines require the most maintenance due to their complexity and cost.

Portafilters should be cleaned daily, both inside and out, to prevent buildup of old coffee.

Naked portafilters, with chopped-off bottoms, require less cleaning effort.

Group heads, including shower screens and dispersion blocks, should be cleaned weekly to avoid taste issues.

Backflushing is a technique to clean the internal tubes of espresso machines and is recommended weekly.

Flushing the group head immediately after a shot helps prevent buildup of coffee residue.

Descale coffee machines regularly to prevent limescale buildup, which can damage the machine.

The choice between homemade or branded descaling solutions depends on the machine's material and manufacturer's recommendations.

Grinders need regular cleaning, especially the exit chute, to maintain performance and prevent regrinding.

Hoppers in grinders should be cleaned when empty to prevent oils from going rancid and affecting taste.

Burr chambers may require internal cleaning or burr replacement over time, depending on usage and manufacturer's advice.

Espresso machine detergent is useful for cleaning various coffee equipment and removing residue.

Filter coffee brewers, kettles, and moka pots also require regular cleaning and descaling for optimal performance.

Transcripts

- Today we're talking about cleaning and maintenance.

Now, you might think, "Oh, that's a bit boring.

I might skip this one."

But please don't.

It's super important.

Not taking care of this stuff properly is a massive gamble,

and there are some significant downsides.

At best, you're gonna make your coffee taste bad,

and what a waste if you've bought some nice coffee beans

to put them into dirty equipment to make the shots

or the brews taste harsh and bitter.

That's not okay.

But maintenance, perhaps: even more important.

Now, it might be that you finally have achieved

your dream setup.

You wanna keep that running perfectly for decades,

or it might be on your way to your dream setup,

and you might be thinking at some point,

"Well, I'll sell this and upgrade later."

If you wanna sell it for decent money,

it needs to be well maintained,

and that's what we're gonna cover today.

And I will say read the manual.

Most manufacturers will cover quite a lot in decent detail,

so please do read the manual.

They're all for free online as PDFs.

You can just search your piece of equipment

and 'manual' and 'PDF'.

It'll be there somewhere, but there is more,

and we felt a little bit like

there wasn't quite enough.

And so we actually approached a bunch of manufacturers

with extra questions,

and we'll try and give you the summary of all of it,

the tips, the tricks, the essential stuff

to keep your kit tasting good and working beautifully.

We're gonna cover four categories of coffee equipment today.

The first up will be espresso machines,

the most expensive, perhaps the most complex,

perhaps the most deserving of maintenance

of all the kit that you'll buy.

Then we'll cover coffee grinders of all types.

Then we'll talk about coffee brewers,

little batch brewers, those kind of things.

They need a little bit of love and care too.

And we'll finish with a few

little other bits and pieces of coffee equipment

that may benefit from a little cleaning and maintenance.

Let's start with espresso machines.

I should disclose,

my brain might be slightly broken

by my time spent in the coffee industry,

thinking about cleanliness in espresso machines in cafés.

That is a different world.

If you're doing 500 drinks a day,

the machines are gonna need a different kind of schedule.

Cleanliness is so important,

and so I'm kind of a bit more obsessed with it,

I think, as a result of that.

Let's ignore for now the outside of these things

and their magnetic attraction to fingerprints,

and let's focus on things that affect the taste of coffee,

the group head in here.

Starting with a portafilter, it's pretty easy.

A portafilter like this,

obviously, your basket should be clean at all times.

If you're struggling to get your basket out, don't forget,

you can always just use a little teaspoon,

wedge in here, and it will just pop out.

Keep this basket nice and clean every single day.

There's no reason not to give this a clean.

Obviously, every time you pull a shot,

the inside should be clean, but the outside too.

A lot of people prefer what are called naked portafilters,

where the bottom of this is chopped off like this

because there's less to clean.

The inside of this should sort of pass

what I would call the finger test

where you should rub your finger on the inside of that,

look at it, and not be disgusted by what you find.

If what has come off here

is an accumulation of old coffee and is disgusting,

you're not cleaning frequently enough,

I would say a little soap,

a little dish soap is totally okay at the sink,

a sponge or a sort of soft scour.

Make sure anything that's in here is off at least weekly.

But generally, anytime I'm done with a session of making,

I just wanna get rid of anything in there.

If I leave it, and I leave this in a machine,

and the machine is hot,

any retained liquid will kind of cook down,

evaporate out, and deposit soluble material,

and that will get more and more disgusting over time.

I just want to get rid of it.

If you've gotten to the point

where things have gone quite wrong,

and it's accumulated a significant amount here,

then, yes, under those circumstances,

I'd say it's okay to give this a soak.

Get some very hot water,

dissolve a teaspoon of espresso machine cleaner,

and suspend it, only sort of dip it in up to here.

Don't get your handle in there, obviously,

and let it soak for an hour or overnight,

and then it will come off more easily,

any sort of retained dirt,

but keep this beautiful and clean.

Think of it as a frying pan.

You wanna cook, every time you cook a meal,

in a fresh, clean frying pan,

not one that still has yesterday's dinner

remnants inside it.

Now let's talk about group heads.

In almost all machines,

there's gonna be a shower screen up here

that disperses water over the coffee.

Taking that down frequently is very useful.

My minimum frequency for a regularly used machine

would be every week.

I see no reason not to take it down

more frequently than that if you wanna do that.

Again, it should pass the sort of ick test

where you take it down

and you shouldn't be disgusted by what you find.

This one has a little flathead screw in the middle.

Other machines have a little Phillips head.

Some have bolts.

You can get tools to help drop 'em down.

Now, in some machines, it'll just be a screen.

In some, there'll be a block too.

So we'll take that screw out there.

This the shower screen,

and coffee tends to accumulate here behind it.

You can see in this one there's some coffee accumulated.

We let it build up.

This, to me, would definitely be tasteable in my espresso,

this amount of ground coffee here.

It would be adding bitterness and harshness to the finish

and I would want to get rid of it,

and my cleaning schedule

is not frequent enough for my taste

if I'm seeing this much coffee accumulated here.

Things like puck screens slow the accumulation of coffee

around shower screens,

but ultimately it's so little work

and it's so easy to take this just to a sink,

give it a scrub, clean it up.

Again, a little bit of dish soap is fine.

Rinse it out completely.

Some machines may have dispersion blocks.

Again, you can see a little bit of coffee

is accumulating on here slowly.

It sort of passes my disgusted test,

but I wouldn't want any more coffee

accumulated on this before it was cleaned.

When these are down, you can also get in there,

and just wipe clean the dispersion sort of block up here

where the water's coming from.

Again, coffee will slowly accumulate here.

It's pretty easy to clean off.

And again, it's about as easy as it will be

to clean the gasket that's up there too.

Now it's time to talk about back flushing.

And before we get into it,

we need to get technical just briefly, just briefly,

and talk about the way that some machines work.

A lot of espresso machines have what's called

a solenoid valve on them

or a three-way valve more accurately.

One way is the water coming from the boiler,

so your hot fresh water ready to brew espresso.

Another sort of route for the valve is to the coffee,

and the third route is to the waste.

When the machine is in a normal state, the valve is closed,

and so water cannot leave the boiler,

but the tube from the coffee to the waste

is kind of open as a pathway.

When you brew, it closes the tube to the waste,

and opens the one from the boiler,

so water flows from the boiler to the coffee.

Espresso brewing happens under pressure.

And at the end of a shot, when you press stop,

that pressure is released due to this three-way valve.

It can go back up the way it came.

It gets stopped by the stopper

so it can't go into the boiler,

but it can go then down to the waste.

This means at the end of every shot of a espresso,

some let's call it coffee water

gets shot up inside the machine

through a tube that's very hot on the way to the waste

and it will deposit some coffee solubles

on that little tube that goes from the valve to the coffee.

It's the kind of two-way street of the coffee machine.

Some machines have very long two-way streets

or relatively long, some much shorter.

But either way, when you are back flushing,

this is the part of the machine

that you're primarily worrying about.

Everything else, the screen, the dispersion block,

you should have already cleaned.

How dirty this gets depends on a number of factors,

and so therefore how frequently you should clean it

depends on those factors too.

Again, for me, as a bare minimum, it would be once a week.

Espresso machine cleaner is relatively cheap.

You don't need very much to do a good job,

and it's simpler and easy to use,

and it's an investment of a couple of minutes of your time.

The rewards are there.

A machine cannot be too clean.

It very easily can be too dirty.

You can mitigate the need for cleaning

by always flushing the group head

as soon as you've finished pulling a shot.

the shot stops and that pressure

sends that coffee water back up into the tube.

Immediately take your portafilter out and flush it.

That will bring clean water through

and drag out a lot of that before it starts to deposit.

Now, this is particularly important

under one specific circumstance,

which is you've pulled a shot that's flowing way too slow,

we call it choking, almost,

and you stopped it to kind of try again,

change your grind setting, change your dose, and fix it.

In those circumstances,

the liquid that you've shot inside the machine

is significantly stronger.

It's got way more soluble material in it

than the end of a normal espresso

where that water is relatively weak.

Just flush it out as soon as you can

and a good five second flush is fine

to prevent that accumulation.

Now let's talk about maintenance,

about investing a little bit of time and effort

to get some great results.

Well, it makes me think of something,

and I'll tell you about it during the short ad

for this video sponsor, which is Trainwell.

Now, Trainwell is a fitness app

that pairs you one-on-one

with your own personal fitness coach.

You might have known them as CoPilot.

I'll explain the name change in a minute.

I've been using it for about a year now,

and the results for me have been incredible.

It's not that I'm stronger than before,

that my body composition has improved

or even that my VO2 max has increased.

And yes, I did check that.

It's that my goal was to make exercise

a regular and sustainable part of my daily life,

and that's happened.

I really look forward to exercising.

It's not a chore.

It's a highlight of my day.

And I think Trainwell has helped in three main ways.

Firstly, accountability.

There's a real person.

As part of the name change,

they don't wanna associate with kind of

AI, chatbot, copilot services.

This is a real person, a real expert that I can talk to,

and actually, at the start, you have a short call

where you introduce yourself to each other,

talk about how you wanna train,

what you wanna do, what your goals are,

and everything's set up from there.

So being accountable to a person, super important to me.

Two, flexibility.

My schedule is frankly a mess,

and this works around my schedule,

not around my trainer's schedule.

And three, customization.

What I was interested in focusing on a year ago has changed.

I'm not stuck with a program I downloaded from the internet.

This evolves because there is an expert at the other end.

I wanted to add in some running

with a twist of using minimalist shoes.

Well, Celina has been through that journey herself

and gave me great advice to get started.

If you wanna check it out,

then use the link in the description down below.

You can get a 14-day free trial

of your own personal fitness coach.

Thank you again to Trainwell for sponsoring this video.

To clean properly, again, think about

what you're actually doing.

I'm kinda brand agnostic around espresso machine cleaner.

I use Urnex quite often, but Pulycaff is good.

There's a bunch of other brands out there.

I don't like the tablets

because I find the dose to be too high

and a kind of waste of detergent.

If you're cleaning frequently,

tiny amount is really enough.

This should last you a very long time.

If you think about the cleaning process,

when you lock this in and you push go,

hot water's flowing from the boiler into here.

There's a blank basket in this,

so it can't go anywhere.

It begins to dissolve the detergent.

And when you press stop,

that's when cleaning begins

because that's when that pressure

will drag the detergent up into the machine.

Leaving it to do its job is very important.

So in a funny sort of way, once you start cleaning,

it's the time that the machine is off

that is much more effective

than the time that the pump is on

and trying to push water in.

Generally, you'll see people be like

10 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeat five times,

but you could do 10 seconds on the first time,

10 seconds off, and then a shorter ons and longer offs,

and be just as effective.

When you're done, rinse it out, rinse it clean.

Make sure there's no detergent left in here,

and then make sure that the water coming out

looks and smells clean, and you're done.

When it comes to cleaning,

the only other bit of an espresso machine

to really worry about is the steam wand.

Now, I would say regular and good habits

of purging the wand at the end of steaming milk

and wiping it thoroughly immediately with a wet cloth

mean that you shouldn't have to do

any frequent maintenance beyond that to your steam wand.

But sometimes some people maybe aren't

that good at that stuff,

and you need to do some additional cleaning.

I would say, and I would recommend very strongly,

if you have an accumulation of milk, dried milk solids

around the holes of the steam wand,

take the tip of the steam wand off.

You might need a little spanner.

They will all unscrew pretty much,

and then you can soak that in some hot water and detergent

and clean it out.

I don't like the idea

of you soaking the entire wand like that.

It's highly unlikely anything bad would happen.

But in cafe scenarios, I have seen over the years,

people do that switch off the machine,

and a poor seal of the steam wand

has turned that into a drinking straw

and it's pulled milky disgusting water

back inside its own steam boiler,

and that's very bad.

So I would say always, always, always

remove the tip of the steam wand for cleaning.

The rest of it, cleaning is really aesthetics.

Make sure it looks nice and clean.

Don't let mold grow in your drip tray.

You know who you are.

Don't do that.

But apart from that,

nothing's really gonna impact the taste of your coffee

from a cleanliness perspective.

What we're gonna talk about now

is probably the most stressful, frustrating,

difficult part of this whole video,

and it's descaling.

Water for coffee is a complex world.

The best water for coffee's taste

may not always completely align

with the best water for the longevity of your machine.

And there's two ways that water can affect your machine.

The most common way is that water can be scale forming.

It's got a lot of calcium bicarbonate in there,

and that will form calcium carbonate, which is limescale,

and that will accumulate inside your machine

and eventually break it.

Descaling it is usually done by adding

water with acid dissolved into it

to break down the limescale.

You can actually have water that is corrosive.

Under certain circumstances,

water's chemistry can mean it will damage a machine.

I would say if you're concerned about this

and wanna know more, It's a complex world,

but you can use things like

Langalier index calculators online

where you can input a bunch of details

about your water's chemistry,

and it will tell you if it's likely scale forming

or likely corrosive,

or hopefully happily in the middle

and not doing anything bad whatsoever.

When it comes to descaling a machine,

this kind of two approaches,

and shout out to John from Decent.

When we contacted everyone, he gave a great answer to this.

You can use what I would call the

frequent descaler concentration.

There you're gonna be regularly descaling your machine

and there's gonna be pretty limited scale buildup inside it

if there is any.

And so you can use a relatively low acid concentration.

There, it might be anywhere from 2 to 5% acid

sort of by weight.

If you are in a scale forming area, your water's quite hard,

you haven't descaled for a couple of years,

you run a really serious risk

where if you add gentle descaler to that,

well, it could just loosen some flakes of scale

that could travel through the machine

and clog sort of a very narrow part of it.

A lot of machines have

what are called flow restrictors in them

to sort of slow the flow and add some pre-infusion.

They may be 0.6, 0.8 millimeters wide.

That's the narrowest point in the machine.

It's very easy for a lump of scale to clog that,

and that would be bad 'cause it's quite hard

to kinda get fresh descaler in to break that down.

In those circumstances, I understand it may be better

to use a much higher concentration of descaler,

and leave it a lot longer to do its work

to hopefully break down as much scale as possible.

That might be something like 20% acid by weight.

You can either make your own descaler

or you can buy off the shelf products.

There's reasons for both.

I like to make my own.

I use this: citric acid.

It's delicious, it's organic, it's food safe,

it's cheap, and it's easy to find.

With this, you can make up

your own concentrations very easily.

Like I said, it's a percentage by weight.

So if you're making a liter at 3%,

you just need 30 grams of citric acid.

Nice and easy.

The other thing is if you taste water

coming outta a machine that still has descaler in it,

it's just a little tangy,

and it's totally safe to drink.

So I love everything about this.

However, there are machines,

I think of Gaggia machines in particular,

where you'll often see caution to avoid using citric acid,

and to use own branded product instead

because there's concern about this causing corrosion

in something like a Gaggia's aluminum boiler.

By and large, if a manufacturer recommends

their own brand product, that's reasonably sensible.

The downsides are it's expensive.

You may be tempted to use

a lower concentration or dilute it down

or use less than recommended,

and that may get you into trouble

from using two weak a solution as we mentioned before.

For someyhing like this, I'd happily use this.

For something like this thing here,

I'd probably be happy to use citric acid too.

It's easy. It's simple.

It's good.

In a low scale forming area,

probably be doing it every six or twelve months

in a higher scale forming area,

a bit more frequently than that.

If your machine is new or in good condition

or recently descaled,

you can do a very simple test.

Take out your portafilter,

put carafe underneath,

and catch 30 seconds of water

running freely from the group head.

Let it flow, 30 seconds, weigh that.

Once a machine begins to accumulate scale inside,

that number will start to drop.

And so every couple months you can be like,

how's my machine doing?

And for a lot of machines,

you'll get a very early warning there

that flow is starting to slow.

That's a concern.

Get on with some descaling.

If you've never descaled a machine before, it's very simple.

Empty your water tank out

and add your descale mixture to it.

Turn the machine on and begin to pump water through.

You're gonna try and fill the system

with the acidic water, with that descaler.

Once you've gotten to there,

it might be that you wanna let the machine

heat up a little bit.

Some machines may not recommend this.

Do read your manual.

Then you're gonna switch off and leave it for a while.

That gives a chance for the acid

to break down any lime scale inside.

And after a while, you're gonna turn it back on

and flush it through.

And once you've flushed through

everything in your water tank,

get rid of any residue in there, give it a rinse out,

and then fresh water in, and keep pumping it through

until the taste of sourness has gone.

It's gonna be probably at least a full tank

to get it through.

And that should be, if you're descaling frequently,

all you need to do.

But like I said, read the manual.

Speaking of water tanks,

don't let water sit in your tanks for too long.

If you've gone away, change the water out.

It will accumulate often a biofilm inside

that can affect the taste of the water.

So turning over the water in your water tanks

is a good idea.

In terms of other maintenance,

thankfully it's pretty limited.

In a domestic scenario,

you might change the gaskets

that are inside the group head maybe every year.

They will age and become brittle,

and form an imperfect seal over time,

and you'll see these kind of tears of either clear water

or kind of coffee water

running down the outside of your portafilter.

The shower screen itself may age over time.

It really depends on the quality of the build,

and the manufacturer, and all that kind of stuff.

If it's really flexing a lot

or if the mesh that sits over the metal

is sort of detaching from it as well,

it's not an expensive part to change

and it is worth doing.

For most people, it should last a good long time though,

a year or two comfortably.

But if you're pulling a lot of shots,

if you're dosing higher doses too,

you may see a bit more wear and tear on that shower screen.

Grinders need a little bit of love too,

but probably less than you think.

It is important to clean them out.

It does really impact performance if you don't,

and so here are the essentials.

First thing you're gonna worry about in a coffee grinder

in terms of regular maintenance

is going to be the exit chute,

where coffee is leaving

the sort of grinder into a dosing cup, into a bin,

whatever it's gonna be.

That exit point needs to be kept clear

because coffee will slowly accumulate there.

If you don't keep it clear,

then coffee can't properly leave the grind chamber

and you'll get some regrinding happening.

That will make more fines.

That will make the shots taste worse.

That is to be avoided.

So making sure the exit chute is clean

is the number one task.

And I would do that frequently.

That's at least every week.

Keep an eye on it.

In some grinders, it's more visible than others.

It's obviously just underneath here.

Most grinder manufacturers will give you a brush.

This is what the brush is for, this little part here.

We should talk briefly about hoppers.

Not every grinder has a meaningful hopper

that you can clean.

This one doesn't really.

this one really does.

If you like to leave beans in a hopper over time,

you should know that your cleaning

needs to adapt around that,

especially if there's any oils

on the outside of your coffee beans.

Regardless, you will see some accumulation over time

from a full hopper.

You'll see oils deposit on there,

and they will start to taste bad.

Oils, when they go rancid, smell like fish,

and you don't want a fishy hopper for your coffee grinder.

Regularly remove your hopper once it's empty.

Take this away to the sink.

Dish soap is fine.

Make sure any oil is removed.

Water alone will not do a good enough job.

You need a little bit of detergent, not very much.

Make sure it is completely dry

before returning it and back on it goes.

I've seen some horror shows here.

And if you've got a little bit of an accumulation

inside your hopper, and you don't really believe me,

you're welcome to try the finger test

where you grab a little bit of it.

And if you're up to it, taste it.

See how that goes.

Where you've got sort of normal

sort of built in hoppers that don't remove,

getting in there where you can with a damp cloth

is probably gonna be the best you can do.

Just make sure nothing is building up unnecessarily.

If it is really bad,

you might need to remove the hopper,

but can get complex.

Ideally, just keep on top of it

and don't let the oil build up.

Now there is the more complex topic of

opening up the burr chamber and getting inside there.

And here, there's real variance on how easy that is

and how risky that is.

For me, a big divider is,

is there some sort of threading near the burr chamber?

In an environment like this

where you are unscrewing something, generally a top piece,

well, I do not want at any point

to get ground coffee in these threads.

That would be very annoying.

Some grinders make it very easy

to open up the burr thread, get in there,

and just stick the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner in there,

and hoover out whatever's in there,

give it a little brush off first.

That's great. That's lots.

Some manufacturers are saying don't even bother doing it

more than every six to 12 months.

There's not a lot of return on investment.

As for the burrs, they will need changing over time,

but actually the lifespan of a burr is pretty substantial.

Recommendations vary quite widely.

I've seen everything for domestic burrs

from say 250 kilos up to 500 kilos.

That's gonna be somewhere in the region of

a decade for some people to longer,

and so it's not something

you're gonna need to do very often.

There'll be loads, these days, of videos on YouTube

about how to change a burr set,

especially because people are experimenting

with different burr sets,

rather than just changing them

because the old ones have gotten a little dull.

If you don't wanna get in there and open up a burr set,

but you do wanna do some cleaning,

there is one other option.

These things, and they are now made by

a couple of manufacturers I think,

but I think Urnex were the first ones to do it.

These are designed to be ground to do the cleaning.

They're little sort of pretend coffee beans

that are a kind of cleaning agent,

and you grind them through like a dose of them.

There's a dose recommendation depending on the grinder,

grind them as normal,

and then you would need to grind through

some fresh coffee afterwards

to make sure you push through

all of the sort of remaining material from these things.

They are, as I understand, food safe.

I remember they used to eat them at trade shows

when they first launched them to prove how safe they were.

Didn't look tasty.

So don't worry about that.

But yes, you'll need to purge out a bit of coffee.

I will say every manufacturer of grinders said:

please don't use uncooked rice to clean your grinder.

Please.

I see it all the time.

They really don't like it.

You do void your warranty.

Rice is actually much harder than coffee, uncooked rice.

I just wouldn't do it.

When burrs get dull, it's actually quite hard to tell.

One manufacturer did say if they feel dull, they're dull.

But I don't know how accurately I could assess

the sharpness of a burr with my fingertips.

So for me, the big telltales are a sudden increase in fines.

The ground coffee coming out is much hotter than usual.

Those are two common clues that I would see,

especially in cafes where the burrs are a little bit dull.

And in those situations,

firstly, I would make sure everything was nice and clean.

And then if I was still having issues

and the timeline kind of lined up with

I've used a couple hundred kilos, maybe 300 kilos,

then yes, I'd look at changing it.

Kilo-based guidelines aren't that useful

because not all coffee is created equal.

Very dense, very light roasted coffee

is much harder to grind

than very dark roasted coffee.

And so the lifespan of the burrs is, to some extent,

dependent on the kind of coffee it's grinding,

not just the volume of coffee that it's grinding.

So, it's that from that with a grinder.

Just keep it looking nice

and you shouldn't have to have any other

sort of parts to worry about or maintain

for the lifespan of these things.

Let's talk just briefly about filter coffee brewers.

First thing is I would probably recommend

buying some espresso machine detergent.

It's super useful.

Anything that's touching coffee repeatedly over time

will acquire some unpleasantness,

and this is the best way to get rid of it.

Things to worry about.

In cheaper brewers like this, you'll get two things.

You'll get often little mesh thing here.

Even if you're using a paper inside this,

or still using this,

this just needs to soak now and again,

so it doesn't have any unpleasant residue on it.

This you can probably clean by hand with a bit of dish soap.

Pretty easiest thing.

But again, if you wanna be lazy,

a little soak in espresso machine detergent

works super well.

I'm not a huge fan of glass carafes and heated plates

because they make the coffee taste bad.

I like stainless steel carafes that are insulated,

but they easily accumulate a little bit of dirt over time.

So again, hot water, just boil a kettle full of water

or heat a pan on the stove.

a good teaspoon of espresso machine detergent.

Pour on the hot water, mix,

leave it for half an hour, rinse out thoroughly,

and it'll take away all the unpleasantness

that's accumulating there.

Easily done.

Even if you're a good person, it can happen.

It can happen to you too.

But done regularly, it's really no effort,

and it's totally worthwhile.

Descaling these is still worthwhile

for best possible performance.

They won't suffer the same way in terms of failure

that an espresso machine will

because most of the tubes and pipes in these are much wider,

but still, I would recommend

that sort of 2 to 5% strength descaler solution in here

and just brew it halfway through to turn it off

and turn it back on after half an hour.

Let it finish, add some clean water through afterwards.

It's quick. It's easy.

You don't have to do it very frequently,

but it is worth doing.

Last few bits and pieces before we wrap up.

Firstly, kettles.

Now, ideally, like I said,

you could have lovely water going in,

so your kettle will look brand new on the inside

at all times.

That's the ideal.

However, in many situations,

you might have a kettle that's shared usage.

You use it for coffee.

Someone else uses it for tea.

Someone else doesn't care what they put inside,

and you may end up with a slow accumulation of scale.

This one's not too bad.

Typical London kettle: far more horrifying.

But descaling these is super easy.

100% just use powder citric acid,

mix it into a little bit of the water.

The best bit of it is that

you don't have to be that accurate,

and you can just watch it happen.

It's very satisfying, bubbling away, reacting.

Chemistry, it's exciting.

And then you have a lovely crisp, clean kettle afterwards,

and that's nice too.

Interestingly, one manufacturer did recommend

washing the inside of your kettle with detergent.

I'm not sure I'm there.

So for me, just rinse it out frequently.

In terms of other coffee stuff,

again, treat your travel cups like carafes,

so they will accumulate stuff over time.

A little bit of espresso machine detergent

is the way to go, just a little bit.

Leave it to soak.

Take it right out.

It'll be beautiful afterwards.

Moka pots, the other one that are worth talking about,

please clean them.

A patina of dirt is not a good thing.

It's not seasoning.

It's just dirt.

Please clean your moka pots.

Aside from cleaning them regularly, the gaskets in them,

the little rubber rings inside here,

they do need changing.

Again, if they get brittle,

if you can feel that they're brittle,

if locking in is an issue,

if you're having any sort of pressure leaks,

it's probably time for a gasket replacement.

It's cheap and it's easy to do.

That's the thing I think to worry about most.

If you wanna know why,

we have a sliced in half moka pot here in the studio.

Well, there's a good reason,

and we'll leave a link in the description down below

to our moka pot series, which will explain all.

And that's it.

Those are the things you have to worry about

when it comes to maintenance.

And I'm gonna say thank you again to Trainwell

for sponsoring this video.

Don't forget, you can get 14 days free

with your own personal fitness expert

by clicking the link down the description below.

But now I wanna hear from you.

Has this changed the way you're gonna approach maintenance?

Maybe you wanna comment a few days after the video

and you're cleaning a bit more.

Are you tasting the difference?

Is there something we missed?

Is there a question that you have unanswered

when it comes to maintenance

that's not found in this video or in your manual?

Leave us a comment down below.

We'll respond if we have a good answer for you.

But for now, I'll say thank you so much for watching

and hope you have a great day.