Reliable ways to keep your coffee machine clean and your coffee delicious

A coffee machine makes life easier for coffee lovers, but it also needs a little time and attention. Whether you own a portafilter espresso machine, a fully automatic model or a filter coffee maker, regular cleaning pays off. It helps your machine keep brewing delicious coffee reliably for longer. Let us look at how to care for it.

Why is cleaning a coffee machine important?

Coffee residue, limescale and milk deposits are all left behind after your machine has made a delicious drink. They do not merely look unpleasant: they can spoil the flavour and may eventually interfere with the machine's operation, leading to a repair.

How can you avoid poor-tasting coffee and an unnecessary service visit? Clean the machine regularly. Fortunately, specialist coffee-machine cleaning products make the job easier.

Coffee-machine cleaning products

If you own a portafilter espresso machine, clean its components routinely: the portafilter and basket that hold the grounds, and the group head from which pressurised water reaches the coffee. The steam wand, drip tray and exterior also need attention. Daily care is the best habit.

Fully automatic machines have an integrated brewing unit, along with components such as a drip tray and water tank that also need hygienic maintenance. Whatever type of machine you own, regular cleaning matters. Coffee residue left in an espresso machine, automatic brewer or filter coffee maker can affect its performance.

Are there traditional household tricks for cleaning a coffee machine? There may be, but purpose-made products are the safer starting point when approved for your model. A coffee-machine cleaning powder helps remove coffee deposits; cleaning tablets are also useful for many automatic machines. Always use products according to the instructions from the machine and cleaner manufacturers.

What about limescale?

Coffee needs water. Baristas recommend fresh water with a suitable mineral balance, often filtered. Even good-quality water does not necessarily eliminate limescale, to which coffee machines can be sensitive.

Untreated deposits can build up and damage components. Descale regularly using an appropriate descaler and the schedule recommended for your machine and local water hardness.

Milk-frothing systems need cleaning too

Milk is delicious, and so is coffee made with dairy milk or a plant-based alternative. But every milk-coffee enthusiast needs to remember the milk system. White or yellowish deposits on and inside a steam wand are neither attractive nor appetising.

A neglected milk system can spoil the flavour, harbour unwanted bacteria and eventually block the frothing mechanism. Cleaning is therefore about hygiene as well as taste.

After steaming milk, wipe the wand with a clean damp cloth and purge it with steam, taking care around hot surfaces. If removable components are coated with dried milk, the manufacturer's instructions may allow a soak in hot water for around 30 minutes, followed by cleaning. Do not immerse electrical or non-removable parts.

Water alone is often insufficient. A dedicated milk-system cleaner helps remove stubborn deposits. The same principle applies to the milk tube in an automatic machine. Automatic models also have cleaning programmes: when the machine requests one, do not ignore it.

Choose the appropriate milk-system cleaning liquid or tablets for your model, and always follow the manufacturer's directions.

For lovers of milk coffee

Now you know how to remove milk residue. But how do you prepare beautifully textured milk in the first place? Here are a few commonly recommended starting points:

• Many baristas like 3.2% whole milk for its flavour and texture, although individual dietary preferences vary.
• Start with cold milk, around 2–3°C.
• Avoid overheating it; a useful target is approximately 60–65°C.

And afterwards? Clean the machine again.