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How to fix up my espresso machine? Coffee lovers help!

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FearoftheNight

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Hey guy! I bought an espresso machine off woot a few years ago and used it for a while. Since moving to a different state I haven't used it in 2 years! Anyways I just got a hold of it again and I'd like some tips on how to clean this thing up for use and some tips on making some good espresso drink.

It's this one: http://www.amazon.com/Breville-ESP8X.../dp/B0002VAFWA

What do I need to do to clean/decalcify or whatever to bring it to its full potential? Thanks!
 
Use a strong vinegar solution or, cream of tartar solution to clean it out. Run it through the brew cycle and follow with plain water. You'll be good to go.
 
You could do a cleaning procedure on the machine first (whatever the manual suggests -likely application of cleaning chemical with a blind filter, followed by rinsing off-) and then run a shot through the machine (to 'wet' its insides, so to speak). For the steam wand/milk spout, you can wash the tip in soap water and also purge it by running it for about 10-15 seconds.

Your machine should be ready to make coffee now. If it is underperforming (e.g. low pressure, low temperature, etc.), a technician call may be required then.
 
don't use vinegar to descale, its not strong enough and willl be harder to flush out the taste.

Dezcal is what you would want. Or go to the store and find some citric acid in the canning section but you have to figure out how much to use (probably 1 oz as this is the same amount as the single use Dezcal packets). Dissolve a couple spoons of citric acid into warm/hot water, make sure it is dissolved so it doesn't clog up any small orifices in the machine. Pull water through the group head and fill a cup up to fill the boiler with the descale solution. Turn the machine off. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Repeat until the descale solution has been ran through the machine in stages. Then flush with one or two tanks of clean water. If the water tastes like citric acid then you haven't flushed enough yet.

Also when you are descaling run some solution through the steam wand during the process and also pull out the screen in the grouphead so that any chunks of scale don't get lodged up there and cause a problem.

Also when you are priming the system run a cup of water through the steam wand, this will make sure that the boiler is full. Be careful about trying to run it without making sure the boiler is full, you can overheat the pump and/or burn up the heating element if it isn't submerged. This advice also applies to general operation, after you steam milk, water is removed from the boiler by way of steam. Prime the boiler by running water through the steam arm after use.

Edit- I was thinking about it, thats a low end type machine, if the boiler is aluminum then you might try the cream of tartar that magnus was recommending. No experience with that. I think dezcal is fine in general but I have no experience with the tartar and descaling. A cheap metal used in the boiler could possibly cause some pitting in the metal when descaling. Only way to really know the condition of the boiler internally is to remove it and open it up. This is why I descale using something I know works for sure, like dezcal. This thread sort of summarized that debate...
 
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As for tips on making the best espresso, fresh roasted, finely ground coffee is what you need. Preground will make crap espresso, more like strong coffee. I assume that is a non pressurized portafilter, which means you would need a tamper and a grinder that is capable of espresso grind. From there you find the correct grind setting and coffee dose amount in order to get 2-2.5 ozs. in 20-30 seconds roughly. This is whats known as the golden rule of espresso, which is really just a guideline on proper espresso extraction.

As far as a grinder, proper espresso grinders cost way more than that machine, so I'm sure you'll have to make do with a cheaper grinder. Hopefully that machine has a pressurized portafilter as it will take a lot of guesswork out of brewing the coffee.
 
FearoftheNight said:
If I used my machine for almost a year and I haven't used it in two. Do I need to do this stuff to it? (sorry if stupid question).
Click to expand...

Maybe you do, maybe you don't. There's no real standard, as everyone's water is different. If you have/had a lot of solids in the water, you'll have to clean more frequently.
 
It can't hurt to descale it before you use it, and then follow that with maybe running a tank of water through the machine. Obviously, get the dust off any external parts and wash the portafilter with soap and water.

I use durgol to descale. As mentioned in this thread, dezcal works well too. Don't use vinegar - it doesn't do a good enough job, IMHO. And the taste may linger.

You should be good to go from there. If it's not making good coffee, you may have additional issues that I doubt you want to be fixing (no offense, if you're asking how to clean a machine, you're probably not servicing the boiler yourself). Odds are it'll be fine, though.
 
It depends on how it was prepared for storage. Mold is a possibility, so check out the grouphead where you insert the portafilter (handle where you add ground coffee). Since this one doesn't have an E61 grouphead (higher end espresso machines), you don't have to worry about strong detergent that might strip the chrome plating off of the grouphead assembly.
 
FearoftheNight said:
If I used my machine for almost a year and I haven't used it in two. Do I need to do this stuff to it? (sorry if stupid question).
Click to expand...

It really depends on your water and your usage of the machine to know how often you need to descale.

I use my machine nearly everyday and I descale it once a month, w/ weekly back flushes to clean out the grouphead and valves. You can only do the back flushing if you've got an over-pressure valve though, otherwise you risk damaging the machine.

Before I started doing this I would have problems with keeping the shots consistent over time, but now the machine always runs like new.

The more often and consistent you clean your machine, the easier it gets to clean it over time too.
 
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