Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/90134
by the time noon rolls around we've only been able to clean the machine in quick spells. Now it's time for a more thorough cleanse that involves: Scrubbing the portafilters down. Pop out the baskets and clips and scrub them. At this point, no chemicals are necessary. In fact, chemicals this time of day would be bad—we don't want customers to have detergent in their drinks. Under hot water I scrub the portafilter inside and out with a scouring pad. I'll also use a pipe cleaner to scrub out the portafilter spout. There can be some buildup in there, so it's good to tackle that before it becomes an issue. Scrub out the machine. I'll unscrew the screen from the grouphead and scrub thoroughly with a scouring pad, making sure to get all the excess coffee out. Then I'll take a small horse- hair brush and scrub the grouphead to get a methodical clean all the way around. Once everything is clean, we can put the portafilter back together and screw the screen back into place. I always make sure to only do one side at a time, just in case I get some coffee orders mid-clean. But I do this during a traditionally slow period. END-OF-DAY CLEANSE Once we've said farewell to our final customers and locked the door, it's time to make that espresso machine shine. Coffee shops have different methods of cleaning, but the intent should always be the same. And regardless of how it's done, the end product is all that matters: an immaculately clean cof- fee station. We have a very specific process that was taught to us by our coffee roaster, Stumptown, and we hold true to it every day. Cleaning the portafilters is always the very first step. I remove them from the machine and pop out the baskets and clips. I have prepared two steam pitchers ahead of time—one with hot water plus a dime-sized amount of detergent, and one with cold water and a tablespoon of detergent. After scouring the portafilters and the baskets thoroughly with espresso machine cleaner, I soak them in the hot water pitcher. I want to use very hot water because that will allow the cleaning detergent to dissolve the oils that can build up on my equipment—much like a dishwasher runs hot water for dish detergent. Cleaning the steam wands comes next. I take the pitcher with cold water and bring it under a steam wand, submerging the wand entirely. I use cold water for the steam wands because once I turn them on, the water will heat up and swirl that incorporated detergent around, breaking up the oils and sugars. So I turn on the steam wand for a full 10 seconds and leave it to soak. Cleaning the grouphead is the final step. Just like during the midday cleanse, we'll scour the screen and scrub the grouphead— but this time we're making sure to use espresso machine cleaner, rather than just water, for a deeper cleanse. Check the work. I look over everything I have done and make sure it looks perfect. If it doesn't, it's time to go that extra mile to make it so. Finally, I do a thorough clean of my entire station until I can see my reflection in all the metal. As I lock the door behind me, I'm confident that when we open up tomorrow and start the whole process over again, we'll be serving excellent coffee. These steps should be shared with all baristas on staff. Exposing them to the mechanics of the process can help them better understand how much care you need to have for your espresso machine. Your baristas will also gain a better under- standing of your business and will feel a sense of accountability and responsibility in keeping the machine running properly. When it comes right down to it, the point of being meticulous when it comes to scrubbing and soaking is to honor the coffee roasters and farmers who spent their time and effort creating an incredible product. Just as important is the notion of customers wrapping their hands around that warm mug, knowing that the coffee they're about to drink is perfect. And it will be perfect— as long as we hold ourselves to a higher standard by cleaning our equipment. freshcup.com November 2012 53