Breville Barista Express Cleaning Maintenance: Secret to more consistent shots

2023 is coming to a close and the descaling indicator lit up on my Breville Barista Express. I usually do a regular cleaning of the drip tray each weekend so it's quite timely to prep it up for a great start to 2024.

My trusty Breville Barista Express BES870.

The Breville is a serious workhorse; it's served our family well for 5 years since 2018, making 3-4 espresso drinks every day. Adding to it's versatiality, it's also capable of whipping up babycinos in under 2 minutes (more on that in the next blog). The BES870's downside is the terrible grind retention due to it's less than ideal hopper design.

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Here's my Barista Express Cleaning routine whenever I have a couple of spare minutes.

Tip #1 - Clean the grinder

If you have a vacuum handy, this is the most fun.

1. Remove the lid to the bean hopper:

Remove the lid to the hopper

2. Turn anticlockwise to unlock and lift the hopper

3. Vacuum the insides:

A whopping 2.7g. Approximately 15% for a 18g doubleshot.

4. Wash the hopper and let it dry overnight

5. Reassemble

(If you don't have a vacuum handy, you can try removing the burrs and brush out all the debris).

Tip #2 - Barista Express Cleaning: Espresso Machine Descaling

Breville does have their branded descaler powder, but I couldn't find them anywhere on Lazada/Shopee at time of writing. I've been using this Goo Gone Coffee Cleaner which I found at SelfFix for a neat discount a while back. It is also available on Lazada.

Goo Gone Coffee Maker Cleaner product image. Only $12.90 on Lazada.

Urnex Dezcal is also popular but is powder form & more expensive at S$3.00 a packet (Lazada). If you fancy Amazon then here's a link to it: Urnex Dezcal at Amazon

I prefer liquid form for ease of measuring out vs. powder/sachet forms which force you to use a predetermined volume of water.

1. Empty the drip tray (unless you enjoy a watery mess)

2. Fill the water tank halfway, add 60mls of Goo Gone Coffee Maker Cleaner.

3. Enter the descaling mode:

Descaling Mode: Ready

Here's when it can get messy. I recommend placing a cup under each part you are descaling so you can dump the water out right away.

1. Descale the group head (press the 1 cup button)

2. Descale the steam wand (switch knob on the right to steam mode)

3. Descale the hot water (switch knob on the right to hot water mode)

1 litre in the tank should allow you to descale all components twice, so repeat as necessary until the water runs out. Don't forget to switch the knob back to it's original position.

Lastly, dump out the remainder of the descaling liquid and fill up with clean water. While in descaling mode, run through the descaling process to flush out all the acidy stuff.

Prefer to watch a video instead? Here's Breville's take:

Tip #3 - Changing the Water Filter

Hopefully you did #2 first, because you probably want a fresh new filter in your water tank.

Original Breville Water Filters BWF100.

"Use only original Breville filters." – a Breville spokesperson probably

But seriously, I used 3rd party filters with charcoal previously.. which disintegrated and turned black. No pictures available but these aren't too expensive per piece anyway. You can find them on Lazada at around S$45.00. Affiliate link here, I get a small dollar amount with each purchase you make. Thank you for your support.

Follow the instructions listed on the packaging.

1. Soak filter for 5 minutes

2. Rinse for 30 seconds

3. Stick it back in the filter holder

4. Mark the month when it is due for replacement. Calendar invites work best for me.

Mark the month which the replacement is due. Since we are replacing it for the new year, pointing to "3" means it's due in March.

Tip #4 - Backflushing

My machine hasn't asked for it, but since we're at it, why not run a backflush as well.

I have been using Urnex Cafiza since the beginning which is also available on Lazada & Amazon.

Here's how to run a backflush:

1. Empty the drip tray (IMPORTANT: backflush water will enter the drip tray)

2. Use the 1 cup filter basket with the silicone cleaning disk insert into the portafilter

3. Place a cleaning tablet in the slot, and lock the portafilter into the machine

4. Enter backflush mode by first turning the machine off, then press the 1 cup, 2 cup and power button for 3 seconds

5. The cleaning cycle will start and last for 5 minutes. The machine will beep twice once complete. Remove the portafilter and check that the cleaning tab has completely dissolved, otherwise repeat the backflush mode again

Breville does a pretty good video below:

Closing thoughts:

Clean & maintain your machine regularly - especially when the indicator light turns up; and it will continue to make great tasting coffee for many more years to come!

Do you have anything to add? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, Happy New Year!

Kenny Reviews