Cleaning your espresso machine just got easier!
If you love coffee as much as we do you'll know the pain of finding those coffee grounds absolutely everywhere after a day working in a coffee shop! Maybe you're a home brewer and are lucky enough to have Coffee Storage in something like our Airscape units. Need the best coffee grinder cleaning brush? We have you covered!
Keeping your workspace clean and tidy is an essential part of the espresso making process. We often find once we weigh in our dose with our scales and dosing cup that it generally gets abit messy on the Grinding side! Depending on your use of a dosing cup, or style of grinder you might be lucky enough to not have this issue!
I think we can speak for the majority of high volume coffee shops after a busy rush, the work station can do with a good dust down. A coffee machine brush cleaner is essential to help tidy up your workspace, often a wet cloth just amplifies the mess! We stock a range of soft bristle brushes for dusting around your machines to keep your workspace clear!
When it comes to cleaning your machine, we couldn't recommend any more the importance of cleaning the group head on your espresso machine. We know by now that everytime we fire another shot away we are pulling those rich coffee flavours through the group head and Portafilter.
All those oils and particles will remain throughout the seals and no doubt on the shower screen. Although this might not be a problem in the short term, too much build up or excess material on the screen can disturb even water dispersion into the portafilter. When these waste materials disrupt extraction we know we're in for a shock when we take our first sip.
The importance of giving the group head a good scrub and soaking is imperative if you're planning on brewing up a cup to remember! We've got a range of the best brushes including the Cafelat group head cleaning brush and the Pallo coffee tool which are some of our favourite coffee machine cleaning brushes!
It seems like when it comes to machines, grinders and everything in between, the industry is fairly innovative. When it comes to cleaning the equipment we’ve got, there's a lack in revolutionising our cleaning tools to make life a little easier. If you’re a barista working in a high volume specialty coffee shop or someone who loves a brew at home, we have a little secret weapon to make group head cleaning that little less tedious for you.
The Espazzola is a group head brush that locks into the group head in the same way a portafilter would lock in. Once locked in the silicon brushes force their way into all the crevasses around the group head. When you dispense water into the group head as per usual, the Espazzola will direct the flow of water evenly throughout the group. Wiggling the handle in a backwards and forwards motion works to direct water to the gasket whilst simultaneously giving the shower screen a thorough scrub.
Currently the Espazzola is only available in two sizes. 53-54mm and 58mm. Which means it will not fit all portafilters. Please make sure your machine's group head is within this size range and it has two ‘lugs’ for the brush to lock into like your portafilter would.
A reminder that this brush is JUST used for group head cleaning, although the features state you can be used with detergent pellets, this will not work for back-flushing.
In case you're wondering, we stock an additional range of pallo coffee tool replacement brush bristles, espazzola replacement membranes and all your replenishment needs!
How do I clean your group head on my espresso machine?
- Remove shower screen with a screwdriver, place a towel underneath so it drops onto the towel once removed.
- Use espresso machine chemicals in a bucket to soak the screen, screw and portafilter spouts. If you are not using a spout you can just soak the basket. Soak for 30 minutes.
- Take your brush, scrub gasket and everything up under the group head with water running.
- Once items have finished soaking, give the portafilter and spout a scrub with the brush. Rinse basket, shower screen and screw (scrub items if they have residue on them). Put back together and into the machine.
- Start back flushing process, insert blind filter basket into portafilter and add espresso chemicals as per required for machine
- Insert portafilter into the group head and run back flushing either for 10 seconds or on a machine specific program. Repeat 4-5 times, with the portafilter being untouched.
- Run the machine and move the portafilter backwards and forwards (tighten and loosen motion) to allow the water to flow throughout the gasket.
- Run 5x more times with just water to ensure all chemicals have been flushed, also repeat the backwards and forwards motion to flush gasket from previous chemicals.
What's the best coffee brush to clean with?
The Espazzola is a group head brush that locks into the group head in the same way a portafilter would lock in.When you dispense water into the group head as per usual, the Espazzola will direct the flow of water evenly throughout the group. Wiggling the handle in a backwards and forwards motion works to direct water to the gasket whilst simultaneously giving the shower screen a thorough scrub.
The best part about it all is the minimal mess from cleaning, the water leaves the group head via a single spout which is aimed directly into the drip tray. Without the need for chemicals and several flushes to ensure chemical residue isn’t hanging around, the Espazzola works its magic in no time. Quite realistically you could give the group head a clean in under 30 seconds!
As we know by now, there’s a little more to brewing coffee than just putting a coffee capsule into a machine and hitting a button, well for a quality cup of coffee anyway. All of our accessories are meant to complement and significantly enhance your brewing experience and ability! Usually, you’d begin your espresso process by using a Dosing tool to weigh the appropriate amount of beans with your Coffee Scales before grinding your fresh coffee!
Your coffee grounds will be put back into your dosing cup and transferred into your Portafilter Basket which may be a single, double or triple! The Distribution tool will help you to evenly distribute the grounds within the Filter Basket prior to using a coffee tamper to compress the grounds. By placing your portafilter onto a Tamping Mat you’ll prevent damage to the portafilter handle or bench, simply place 10-30kg of even pressure down on the tamper and twist to polish. Lock the portafilter into your machine, use the scales under the spout with whichever cup, glassware or reusable cup you prefer and commence brewing.
Now when texturing milk it's important to use the correctly sized milk jug for the amount of milk you require. Once you texture the milk, use a milk Thermometer to get the ideal steaming time for whatever milk you’re working with and if in a cafe you might have the option of a Milk Jug Rinser which is incredibly convenient for the post brew clean! A chocolate shaker is a must for those mocha or cappuccino lovers. When the shot is pouring, make sure to use a barista timer or your scales to measure for the perfect extraction, we recommend 23g in and 46g out at an extraction time of 25-30 seconds. Knock the puck out in either a Knock Box at home or a Standing knock tube or in bench shoot if you’re in a cafe!
Now every machine deserves a good clean, check out our range of Blind Filters, cleaning brushes, cleaning products and chemicals! Everyone loves having a few beans up your sleeve so be sure to check out our favourite Coffee Storage units for home or cafe! If you've got a passion for coffee, well there's nothing tastier than some cupping, use some of our coffee Cupping Tools, such as bowls and spoons to bring this professional experience into your own home!