Fresh ground coffee, clean water, and a clean running espresso machine are key for a good tasting espresso-based drink. A few simple steps will ensure you are getting the most out of your coffee, and your equipment.
Keep espresso beans in stock for no more than 3-4 weeks and try to keep them away from heat generating appliances. Heat destroys flavor. Grind just enough beans to last a shift. Once ground, coffee quickly loses flavor. A proper grind is important. Rub the grounds between your thumb and forefinger. It should be ground fine with a slight grit. If it is powder with no grit it is ground too fine. Your shots should pour slowly, thick and syrupy. If you are not sure, ask one of our delivery or service people.
Proper machine maintenance ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ will enhance both your coffee’s flavor and your pocket book.
Do
- After each drink empty and rinse the brew basket and clean the steam tip. During a lull clean the loose grounds under the group head with a head cleaning brush.
- At the end of the day back flush and rinse the group heads and soak the baskets in Cafiza, flush the drain tray, and clean the machine with a mild soap or a water-vinegar mix.
- Weekly: Take the steam tips off, clean holes with a pin or paper clip, and soak overnight in Cafiza. If you are not using tea water regularly drain and refill the water tank, you might want to ask a service tech about this. Soak the diffuser screens overnight in Cafiza.
- Monthly: Very important! Change the Softener.
- Yearly: Change the brewhead gaskets.
- Whenever you notice bad tasting coffee and cannot figure out why: Call a service tech.
Don’t
- Leave the steam arm sitting in milk. The milk could back up into the system and create rancidity.
- Leave the basket with used grounds in the group head. The spent grounds tend to contaminate the brew head, resulting in a stale taste. You should leave an empty rinsed basket in the head. This will help the taste of the next drink because the espresso is being brewed through a warm basket which results in better flavor extraction.