Hi, me once again,

I went to my local shop yesterday and ask for a detergent to clean my Andreja Premium. The girl sold me cleaning tabs and I didn't argue. Once I got home though, I started wondering if those tabs are what I need. The cleaner is made by saeco and the photo on the box is a super automatic machine.

So, should I use those tabs or bring them back to the store.

Thanks

lsf wrote:Hi, me once again,

I went to my local shop yesterday and ask for a detergent to clean my Andreja Premium. The girl sold me cleaning tabs and I didn't argue. Once I got home though, I started wondering if those tabs are what I need. The cleaner is made by saeco and the photo on the box is a super automatic machine.

So, should I use those tabs or bring them back to the store.

Thanks

I would take them back.

Espresso machine detergent comes in both powdered and tablet form; in the tablets, there are different sizes. I use PulyCaf, which in the USA is imported by Michael and Angelo at espressoresource.com. It comes in at least two sizes of tablets, plus powder. I don't know about the offerings of other brands, but I'm sure they offer tablets as well. I've found that the Puly seems to work better for me than the other brands I used before.

The tablets you have bought are presumably sized for Saeco superautomatics, not what you own, and perhaps the wrong size. In addition, being designed for superautomatics, they may not be the optimal "formula" for your type of machine. It would just make more sense to buy something designed for a high end home e-61 machine like what you have, rather than something meant for a superauto.

For the record, I have friends who have an Andreja Premium and they use the small PulyCaf tablets. There used to be (maybe still is) some controversy about the frequency with which your type of machine should be chemically backflushed. The more often you backflush it, the cleaner it will be, but at the risk of making the operation audibly "squeaky" for at least a few shot pulls after each cleaning. I do daily water backflushes and weekly chemical backflushes on my Cimbali Juniors, small commercial machines used in a very low volume setting (my home). You may want to do the chemical backflushes less frequently, but I would look to other forum members more familiar with your sort of machine for more specific advice.

ken

Hi,

I went back to the store and it was a different person this time. I was surprised to hear that I was advised a cleaning product for a super auto machine... he apologized and refund my money.

Thanks

You want a powder for backflushing or for soaking baskets and PFs in a concentrated solution.

PulyCaf, Cafiza, or JoeGlo are all about the same thing... I use JoeGlo. They are all primarily TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) based. When you backflush, a little dab will do you. The Pallo coffeetool has a scoop on the end for the recommend amount which would look to be about 1/2 tsp. I don't think you even need that much.

JoeGlo recommends a brief soak of dirty items in their "wicked solution", which is 1 tbs per quart of very hot water. Don't soak stuff too long and I don't think it is good for plastic or rubber bits. Try to keep the PF handle out of the solution. You'll be amazed at the color of the water after you clean what you may have thought were clean baskets and portafilters. If you use a green scrubby on the inside of the PF, don't be surprised if some of the chromes comes off. You also have to perform copious flushes of items with hot water.

There are some super-auto specific tabs for machines that support a cleaning cycle. You introduce the tabs via the preground coffee bypass.