As a coffee lover, I'm always trying to find new ways to make my daily brew even better. Whether that's finessing my grind, bossing the extraction, or simply taking care of my espresso machine, I'm always trying to level up.
I have the Breville Bambino Plus — the best espresso machine, in my opinion — and I want it to last as long as possible. Espresso machines are expensive, and you don't want to have to drop $500 more than once every five years to get barista-quality coffee at home. In general, vibratory pump espresso machines should last at least five, if not eight, years.
So I spoke to John Holmquist, Customer Experience Manager at Seattle Coffee Gear, to ask him about the most common barista mistakes he sees — and how to avoid them. John said there are three main errors: not descaling or backflushing, using vinegar for cleaning, and extracting espresso incorrectly. Here's how you can stop making these mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not backflushing or descaling
The first mistake John mentioned was a lack of proper maintenance. You should be intimately familiar with your espresso machine's cleaning process. After how many shots should you backflush? After how many months should you descale? If you can't answer these questions, you might want to reread your machine's user manual!
My espresso machine requires backflushing after 2 months, and because I live in an extremely hard water area, I should descale once a month. I use Breville's descaler and Breville's cleaning tablets — but I might switch to Urnex, as advised by John.
If you don't know your area's water hardness level, you can use your espresso machine's test strip to figure it out, or look it up on the USGS's website. John advised me to "dial in the water quality and then make sure you’re following maintenance, and be aware that you don’t have to buy the manufacturer-branded cleaning equipment."
If you don't descale or backflush, your machine's internal pipes might clog with limescale or coffee oils, damaging it in the long term.
Mistake #2: Using vinegar for cleaning
You should never, ever use vinegar to descale or clean an espresso machine. John said that using vinegar on non-coffee-specific cleaning products will "definitely cause some harm".
This doesn't mean you have to buy brand-specific coffee cleaning gear, though. John actually recommended you not use Breville/De'Longhi cleaning tablets, because they're relatively overpriced.
Instead, John recommended Urnex Cafiza cleaning powder, which is $11 for a big, 20-ounce container. One container of Cafiza should last as long as your machine. One of my many ex-barista jobs was at Costa Coffee, which is a major coffee chain in the U.K.. We used to use Cafiza to clean the commercial machines.
Mistake #3: Extracting espresso incorrectly
Now, I'm an ex-barista and a home espresso fanatic, but even this mistake was news to me.
John said some home baristas extract espresso like drip coffee, which both damages the machine and doesn't taste good. If you're reading this with question marks stamped on your face, let me (and John) explain.
"Something that I have seen people do is they will use those machines just to make a cup of coffee. So instead of using [espresso machines] to pull shots of espresso, they’ll run the pump for two minutes every time they use the machine," John said. This means some home baristas are making an ultra-long lungo shot on their espresso machine, which wears out the pump and will damage the machine.
Thankfully, John said he hasn't heard about this happening as much recently, but it was a major issue a few years back. Hopefully, this means people have been made aware of how destructive this practice is.
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