Remember to clean your coffee machine
Any business that serves food and beverages to the public should understand its legal obligations to adhere to hygiene regulations. The maintenance and cleaning of coffee machines is no exception and as a business can you afford to turn away customers put off by a coffee machine caked in old milk and coffee residue? Aside from the visual appeal of a clean coffee machine, it also improves the taste of the coffee produced, making a happy customer a repeat customer.
Steam wands on espresso machines should be cleaned after every use before the milk dries and hardens. The build up after a few hours will be harbouring bacteria which will infect the fresh milk used to make subsequent coffees every time. Be sure to use the proper materials to clean the steam wand, as if an abrasive cloth or pad is used it will wear away the steel coating and expose the copper underneath (in some, but not all machines).
Ingestion of copper in itself poses another health risk. The easiest way to clean a steam wand is to use a dedicated cloth after every use and to ensure the holes are open and clean. Do not use this cloth for any other purpose, soak the cloth at the end of every day in a suitable cleaning solution and change it regularly.
The baskets should be cleaned after every use with a dedicated cloth to remove the old grinds, this would otherwise result in a rancid espresso. At night give them a thorough scrub using espresso cleaner and back flush the group head at the same time. This routine should be followed with at least five rinsing cycles. Machine cleaning is just as important as the beans you use, with the improvement in taste being noticeable after cleaning a coffee machine.
We will be providing some cleaning videos for those who need a recap in the near future.