Group head purge

With the Barista Express®, you can create café-quality third wave specialty coffee in your own home in under a minute—but if you’re going to brew like a pro, you need to clean like one, too. Professional baristas dedicate lots of time to maintaining and cleaning their espresso machines. 
In order to make the most of yours, you should do the same! While some maintenance is only occasionally necessary, there are some tasks you should do every time you use your machine—and purging your group head is one of them. 
In this video, our host demonstrates how you can purge your group head before use to ensure higher-quality results. The group head purge is vital to maintaining a great-tasting cup of coffee, every time. Before your next extraction, do as our host demonstrates. 
First, insert your intended filter basket into the portafilter. Then, use the 1-cup button to flow water through the group head. Wait for 5 seconds, and then end the water flow by pressing the 1-cup button again. This is called a group head purge, and it both removes unwanted coffee ground residue and keeps the water temperature stable before your espresso extraction.