How to properly clean brewing equipment?

Coffee equipment cleaning should be daily for parts in direct contact with coffee (portafilter, group head, steam wand) and weekly for deeper components (hopper, grinding chamber, pipes). Coffee's oily residues go rancid within hours and gustatively contaminate subsequent preparations — dirty equipment is the first cause of bitter or rancid coffee outside poor extraction.

Coffee oils (mainly diterpenes like cafestol and kahweol, and free fatty acids) are soluble in hot water and remain on all surfaces that contact the brew. At room temperature, these oils go rancid through oxidation within a few hours — this process produces compounds with rancid or acrid odours that contaminate subsequent preparations. A portafilter or group head left uncleaned for 12 hours can literally add rancid notes to the next morning's espresso.

For an espresso machine: after each service, rinse the portafilter under hot water and flush the group. Each evening, backflush with water alone — and, ideally, once a week with a specific group cleaner (caffeine-dissolving products like Puly Caff tablets, Cafiza or equivalent). The steam wand must be wiped immediately after use with a damp cloth, then purged to prevent dried milk from blocking the nozzle holes.

For a grinder: coffee residues in the grinding chamber can go rancid and affect flavour. Use grinder cleaning pellets (neutral granules that absorb oils as they pass through the burrs) once a week or between origin changes. Clean the hopper (bean container) regularly — coffee oils can leave a sticky film there.

For filter methods: metal filters must be rinsed under hot water after each use and soaked in vinegar water or bicarbonate once a week to degrease. Carafes and servers must be washed with soap after each use — coffee residues leave tannins that brown the walls and affect flavour. A surprising fact: studies in professional cafés have shown that up to 30% of bitter or rancid taste complaints were directly linked to insufficient equipment hygiene — not to coffee quality or extraction.

Cleaning schedule by equipment