How to Look After Your Espresso Machine: Tips from Our Engineers

Your espresso machine is one of the hardest-working pieces of equipment in your business. Whether you run a busy café, restaurant, office or coffee shop, looking after your machine properly will not only keep your coffee tasting great, but also help prevent costly breakdowns and extend the life of your equipment.

At Bristol Twenty, our factory-trained engineers service commercial coffee machines every day. Here are their top tips for keeping your espresso machine performing at its best.

Clean Your Machine Every Day

Daily cleaning is one of the simplest ways to prevent problems before they happen.

At the end of each day, make sure you:

– Backflush the group heads with cleaning detergent.

– Wipe and purge the steam wands after every use.

– Empty and clean the drip tray.

– Rinse the portafilters and baskets.

– Wipe down the exterior of the machine.

Coffee oils and milk residue build up quickly, affecting both flavour and performance if left untreated.

Don’t Forget Your Grinder

Your grinder is just as important as your espresso machine.

Old coffee grounds and worn burrs can lead to inconsistent extraction and poor-tasting coffee. Regular cleaning and servicing will help maintain a consistent grind size and improve every cup you serve.

At Bristol Twenty, we also offer professional grinder servicing to keep your entire coffee setup performing at its best.

Protect Your Machine from Limescale

Limescale is one of the biggest causes of commercial coffee machine failure in the UK.

As water passes through your machine, calcium deposits gradually build up inside boilers and pipework, reducing efficiency and eventually causing expensive repairs.

Installing a calcium treatment unit or water filtration system helps prevent scale build-up and protects your investment. These filters should be replaced every six or twelve months depending on your water usage.

Schedule Preventative Servicing

Just like servicing a car, regular preventative maintenance keeps your espresso machine running reliably.

An annual service allows engineers to:

– Replace worn components before they fail.

– Check pressure and temperature settings.

– Inspect seals and valves.

– Remove internal scale build-up.

– Keep your machine operating efficiently.

Preventative servicing helps minimise unexpected downtime and can significantly extend the lifespan of your equipment. Bristol Twenty offers both on-site servicing and full workshop servicing depending on your machine’s needs.

Train Your Team Properly

Many machine faults are caused by incorrect operation rather than mechanical issues.

Ensuring your team understands the correct cleaning routines, milk steaming techniques and daily maintenance helps protect your equipment while producing consistently excellent coffee.

Every espresso machine supplied by Bristol Twenty includes professional installation, set-up and barista training, helping your team get the very best from your equipment from day one.

Don’t Ignore Small Problems

A slight leak, unusual noise or drop in pressure may seem minor, but small issues often become much bigger (and more expensive) if left unresolved.

If your machine isn’t performing as it should, arranging a service early can prevent lengthy downtime and costly repairs later.

Our engineers carry a comprehensive range of spare parts to achieve a high rate of first-time fixes, and if repairs need to be completed in our workshop, we also have loan machines available to help keep your business running.