Almost every major espresso machine failure we handle starts with something small missed for months: coffee residue in the group head, scale in the boiler, a gasket left to harden. Yet the prevention ritual takes just 15 minutes at every close.
Every day, at close
- Backflush each group with clean water; once a week with a dedicated espresso detergent.
- Remove and brush the shower screen and gasket — residue here is the most common source of bitterness wrongly blamed on the beans.
- Purge and wipe the steam wand after every frothing; soak the tip in hot water at closing.
- Empty and rinse the drip tray — never leave it overnight.
Water is the most expensive spare part
A boiler ruined by scale is the most expensive failure and also the most preventable. Water in many Indonesian cities is hard — without proper filtration, scale builds up silently over years.
Use a filter designed for espresso machines (not just a drinking filter), and schedule a TDS check at every filter change. Investing in filtration is always cheaper than a single boiler service.
What's best left to a technician
A full group gasket replacement, pump pressure calibration, heating element checks, and boiler descaling are scheduled service jobs — ideally every 6 months for high-volume bars. Official technicians also use genuine parts, which can last twice as long as generic versions.