Two Tips to get the Most from your Espresso Machine

Espresso is made by pushing hot water through a compacted "puck" of coffee grounds under high pressure. With the exception of lever espresso machines and stovetop Moka pots, all of the espresso machines on TheCoffeeBrewers website use a powerful electric pump to create that pressure. If you have heard the term "pump driven espresso machines," that describes all of these espresso machines.

Our first tip has to do with the water you use in your espresso machine, and the periodic cleaning of your espresso machine. Tap water is rich in minerals. When tap water sits in, or flows through an espresso machine, it deposits minerals on the interior surfaces and within the tubes of the espresso machine in the form of scales. If you have owned a drip coffee maker, no doubt you have seen mineral buildup inside the water reservoir.

In a drip coffee maker, hot water is dripped into a basket of coffee grounds that are contained within a paper filter. As the water filters through the coffee grounds, it makes coffee. Pressure is not part of the process. When you buy a drip coffee maker, the instruction manual will advise that you clean the coffee maker periodically, usually with a solution of vinegar. If you ignore this advice, it will not break the machine.

Espresso machines are different. Since pressure is integral to the espresso brewing process, the internal tubes in your espresso machine must be kept free of mineral buildup. As mineral scales constrict the internal tubes of the espresso machine, they alter the pressure of the extraction. Not only does this result in inferior extractions, but it puts unnecesary wear on the pump.

For the big commercial espresso machines that we install in coffee shops and restaurants, fully 90% of the breakdowns that we see are simply because the coffee shop did not clean their espresso machine often enough. These breakdowns are purely due to mineral buildup, and are avoidable breakdowns. When we install comercial espresso machines, we require (as do most of the commercial espresso machine warrantees) that water softening units be installed in-line with the water source.

Your home & office espresso machine is no different. If you do not keep your espresso machine clean, it will break down much more quickly than if you do simple maintenance. There are two ways to keep your home & office espresso machine free of mineral buildup.

First, only use distilled water in your espresso machine. This is what we, at TheCoffeeBrewers, do in our own offices. We always keep a gallon jug of distilled water next to our office espresso machine, and we never use tap water. You can buy jugs of distilled water in any grocery store for about $1.25 for a gallon. This is very inexpensive. Usually, a 12-ounce bottle of "spring water" is more than this. And Pepsi is a LOT more than this.

The second thing that you can do is to clean your espresso machine periodically as per the manufacturer's instructions, using espresso machine cleaner. (Cafiza is a standard cleaner.) The reason that we mentioned drip coffee makers before is because you may have ignored the cleaning advice for one of those machines without any consequences. Espresso machines are different.

Our second tip in maintaining your espresso machine concerns coffee grounds and gaskets. To protect your espresso machine, always visually inspect your portafilter before locking it into your espresso machine. After you have filled your portafilter with ground coffee and tamped it down, look around the upper edge of the partafilter basket. If there are any loose coffee grounds on this upper edge, brush them off with a small brush (or with the edge of your finger) before locking the portafilter in.

This is because coffee grounds are hard - almost like grains of sand. If you leave coffee grounds on the upper edges of your portafilter, you will basically "sand down" the gasket inside the group head of your espresso machine when you lock it in. When you damage this gasket, it will not hold the pressure needed for good extractions, and you will get weak espresso. When this gasket becomes really worn, water will actually leak around the portafilter handle during espresso extractions.

We recommend to our commercial customers that operate seasonal businesses (such as restaurants in ski resorts and/or beach resorts) that they remove these gaskets, lightly oil them, and store them in an air-tight bag when they shut down at the end of their season. This prevents their gaskets from drying out during their off seasons. You should do the same if you store your espresso machine for long periods.