Machine and Grinder Cleaning
Buy Cleaning Products for Espresso Machines and Coffee Grinders in Switzerland
You have a precise espresso machine, a good grinder, fresh beans – and after a few weeks you notice your espresso tastes worse. Bitter notes, a finish that lingers too long, less clarity. Here's what happens: coffee oils build up in the group head, the residue turns rancid, and every shot picks up those flavors. Clean group head = clean taste. Coffee Coaching Club carries the essential cleaning products for espresso machines and grinders – importer of Urnex for Switzerland.
The Payoff: Why Cleaning Pays Off – At Home and In Commercial Settings
Cleaning isn't a chore you do to avoid trouble. It's the simplest lever you have to get noticeably more aroma out of the same bean – no new machine, no new grinder, no new bean. Two perspectives we hear in the showroom every day:
For Home
Five to ten minutes of Grindz cleaning or a backflush with Cafiza isn't an annoying maintenance task – it's the fastest way to make your first sip of the day taste clear again. Compare before and after just once, and you'll hear the difference in the grind sound alone. A small ritual worth keeping – not a must, but a noticeable gain.
For Cafés and Restaurants
In commercial settings, consistency matters more than any single shot: the cappuccino at 8am should taste the same as the one at 3pm, day after day. Clean group heads and burrs are the foundation for that – and a Grindz cycle or a Cafiza backflush takes a few minutes, compared to a technician call-out for a clogged grinder or a resin-caked group head. Regular cleaning also helps keep daily operations predictable – and for many manufacturers, it's part of the warranty terms.
Cleaning Workflow at a Glance
| What | How Often | With What |
|---|---|---|
| Group head (backflush without cleaner) | daily | Water, blind basket |
| Group head (backflush with cleaner) | every ~50 shots | Urnex Cafiza or BioCaf |
| Grind chamber (brushing/vacuuming) | every few weeks | Brush + HOTO mini vacuum |
| Grinder burrs (tablets) | weekly (espresso grinder, commercial) / every 3–4 weeks (espresso grinder, home) / monthly (retail/filter grinder) | Urnex Grindz |
| Milk system | after every day | Urnex BioCaf Alkaline Milk |
| Descaling | every 3–12 months | Urnex Dezcal (pump machines, no boiler) |
| Full machine maintenance | annually | Service with gasket replacement |
The Essential Cleaning Products
Urnex Cafiza – Coffee Oil Remover for the Group Head
Urnex Cafiza (developed in the early 1980s) is the café standard for group head backflushing. Dissolves coffee oils thoroughly and leaves no residue. Use: 1–2 g in the blind basket, several backflush cycles, then rinse with plain water.
Urnex BioCaf – The Organic-Certified Alternative
Urnex BioCaf is the organic-certified alternative to Cafiza – the same cleaning power, with organic-certified ingredients. For cafés with organic standards or environmentally conscious home setups.
Urnex Grindz – Grinder Cleaning Tablets
Urnex Grindz (developed from 2003 by Urnex with Mahlkönig Hamburg, in series production since 2005) are tablets made of grain, cereals, and pharmaceutical-grade binders that get ground through the grinder – they pick up coffee oil residue from the burrs and clean the grind chamber without disassembly. For espresso grinders, the manufacturer recommends weekly use; for large retail/filter grinders, monthly. More on this in our article Cleaning Your Coffee Grinder: Why Burr Care Determines Aroma.
Urnex BioCaf Alkaline Milk Cleaner – For Milk Systems
Urnex BioCaf Alkaline for steam wands, milk frothers, and milk pitchers – alkaline, dissolves milk proteins. Recommended daily at the end of your shift, especially critical for hygiene with high cappuccino sales volume.
Water Filtration and Descaling
The best cleaning routine won't help if your water is too hard and keeps adding fresh limescale to the boiler every day. For home setups: Brita home filter jug (MAXTRA PRO 3-pack) or plumbed-in filter head set (Purity C iQ). For cafés: Brita Purity C iQ with consumption detection. For maximum brew water precision: Apax Labs mineral concentrates (importer for Switzerland).
What Regular Care Actually Protects
Stick to the routine and you benefit twice over: consistently round, clear flavor instead of creeping rancid notes, stable heating performance in the boiler instead of limescale, consistent grind speed instead of burrs slowed by coffee oils, and seals that stay tight longer. Many manufacturers also require regular cleaning as a warranty condition – one more reason to build the ritual in from the start rather than catching up later.
What Pairs With It
For water filtration: Brita. For grind chamber cleaning: HOTO mini handheld vacuum. For daily wiping: Joe Frex cloths or Flate Magnetic Towel. For a group head brush: Ilsa. For clean bean storage: Airscape. Fresh beans from our own roastery: CCC house roasts. Everything on burr care in detail: Cleaning Your Coffee Grinder.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I clean my espresso machine?
Daily backflush with water. Every 50 shots (or weekly for home use) backflush with Urnex Cafiza/BioCaf. Annual service with gasket replacement by a professional.
How often should I clean my grinder?
For espresso grinders, Grindz's manufacturer generally recommends weekly cleaning, and monthly for large retail/filter grinders. Alternative rule of thumb: every 15 kilos of ground coffee – for most home setups, that works out to roughly every three to four weeks.
What is backflushing?
A reverse flush of the group head – insert the blind basket into the portafilter, briefly activate the brew function, water builds up, then releases when you let go. With a cleaning agent: coffee oils are dissolved and flushed out. Only possible on E61 group heads and saturated group heads with a check-valve mechanism.
Do I need to descale my machine?
With water filtration via Brita or an equivalent system: rarely necessary (a visual check every 6–12 months). With unfiltered Swiss tap water (especially on the Swiss Plateau, where water is hard): every 3–6 months, depending on water hardness. Note: many machine manufacturers prohibit descaler on machines with a copper boiler – it's better to filter your water from the start.
Which cleaning product is safe for my machine?
Urnex products are approved by practically all major espresso machine manufacturers – La Marzocco, Bezzera, Rocket, ECM, Profitec, Quick Mill. Check your machine manual before first use. Never use household cleaners – they can damage gaskets or leave residue.
Organic-certified or classic?
Cleaning performance is equivalent. The organic variant (BioCaf) suits cafés with organic standards and environmentally conscious home setups. Classic Cafiza works fine if organic certification doesn't matter to you. Both get the job done.
Personal advice: +41 76 789 15 79 · office@coffeecoachingclub.ch
Showrooms: Bern, Gerberngasse 44 | Zürich Oerlikon, Hagenholzstrasse 50b
Delivery: 2–4 business days · Click and Collect · Free shipping from CHF 60
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