Consistent cleaning and maintenance are crucial to keeping your Breville machine happy. Luckily, there aren't too many things you'll need before you can effectively clean your Breville espresso machine.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Active Time5 minutesmins
Cleaning Cycles20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Keyword: cleaning, how to clean breville espresso machine
Equipment
A soft-bristle brush
Pin cleaning tool
A cleaning disk
Allen wrench
A stiff-bristle nylon brush
A soft cloth or towel
A bowl or pot
Materials
Cleaning tablets
Instructions
Everyday Maintenance
After each use, check the drip tray and empty it into the garbage. This only takes a few seconds and prevents build-up over time.
The steam wand is often a problem area on espresso machines, but it doesn't have to be. Every time you use the steam wand, make sure to empty the line of any residual milk by running it on the steam setting until no more liquid comes out. After the wand cools off, wipe the outside thoroughly with a soft cloth to remove any backsplash. You should also use the steam wand cleaning tool that came with your machine to clean the tip and ensure there are no blockages.
The last piece of everyday maintenance you need to do is clearing the filter basket. Gently tap the basket over your garbage can to dislodge leftover grounds and then wash with soap and water.
Deeper Cleaning
Clean the group head. A good first step is to run a brewing cycle with the portafilter attached using only water. Check the water as it exits the machine. The clearer the water, the better, as coffee-colored water indicates residual coffee in the group head.
After running a water brew cycle, it's a good idea to use the pin tool that came with your machine to clean out the holes in the filter. This can take a while, but try to be patient. Cleaning the filter holes and removing old coffee will make a drastic difference to how your espresso tastes.
Replace the water filter. Breville espresso machines have a water filter, and, just like the water filter in your refrigerator, it needs to be changed every 1.5-2 months. If you've never changed the water filter, you need to. Old filters are less effective than new ones and can grow mold and bacteria, making your espresso taste strange and be unsafe to drink in extreme cases.
If your machine has an attached grinder, make sure you clean that during your deep cleaning sessions. Grinders are generally low-maintenance, but you should brush off the burrs and remove as much coffee dust and old grounds as possible. Never use soap or water to clean your burrs, as that will cause them to rust and render them useless.
Use the cleaning disk & tablets. The final step is to run your machine's built-in cleaning cycle using the cleaning disk and cleaning tablets it came with. The process is straightforward and only takes a few minutes.
Put the cleaning disk in the one-cup filter and place a cleaning tablet in the center of the disk. Attach the portafilter to the machine as you would to make a shot of espresso. Press and hold the power button, one-cup button, and two-cup buttons simultaneously until the cleaning light flashes to initiate the cleaning cycle.
When the machine finishes the cleaning cycle, run another brew cycle using only water to remove any cleaning solution left in the machine. If you don't, your next few shots might have a funny taste to them.
Notes
Most Breville espresso machines come with some cleaning tablets, a cleaning disk, and a brush, so you'll only need to gather the nylon brush, bowl, and towel from your own supplies.Even with regular cleaning after each use, your machine will still need more in-depth cleaning every 1-2 months. We like to clean our Breville once per month on the first Saturday, but you can stretch it to every month and a half if you don't use your machine every day.