Espresso Machine Cleaning Tablets and Backflush Powder: Follow Your Manual

Cleaning products are where generic advice does the most harm, because machines differ more than the labels suggest. So this page starts from what each maker's manual says, and only then gets to what to buy. For the wider routine, see how to clean an espresso machine.

We compare by manuals and maker pages, and we run no cleaning trials of our own.

For Breville machines with a tablet stepAd

Breville

Breville BEC250 tablets

Breville's own cleaning tablets, for machines whose manual puts a tablet on the cleaning disc.

Why here: The Barista Express, Impress and Bambino Plus manuals all call for a cleaning tablet on the supplied disc. This BEC250 pack holds 8, per the listing.

Best for: Breville machines whose manual has a tablet step

• +The Barista Express, Impress and Bambino Plus manuals call for a cleaning tablet in the cleaning cycle
• +8 tablets, per retailer

• –The Bambino manual we read has no tablet step
• –Other makers name their own products, so check your manual

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Type

Cleaning tablets

Fits

Breville machines with a tablet step in the manual

Price class

Budget

Which cleaner for which machine

Your order

• If your Breville manual has a tablet step → Breville BEC250 tablets

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• If your manual describes a blind-filter backflush with powder → Urnex Cafiza powder

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• If you own a 58 mm machine whose manual calls for a blind filter → Espresso Supply 58 mm insert · Seller data only

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• If you own a Bambino

  Its combined clean and descale

What each manual asks for

Two things stand out. Even within one brand the routine differs: the Bambino manual we read never mentions a tablet, so don't assume a Breville tablet belongs in every Breville. And the Gaggia manual doesn't describe a backflush, so we wouldn't start one on a Gaggia just because a powder's label makes it sound routine.

Clean by the machine's own signal, with the product its manual names.

The options side by side

Three products from our plan, for three different setups. They aren't interchangeable, so read this as sorting, not as a ranking.

Comparison: Breville BEC250 tablets, Urnex Cafiza powder, Espresso Supply 58 mm insert

Comparison	Breville BEC250 tablets	Urnex Cafiza powder	Seller data onlyEspresso Supply 58 mm insert
Type	Cleaning tablets	Backflush powder	Backflush insert
Fits	Breville machines with a tablet step in the manual	Not stated by model	58 mm, per listing
Price class	Budget	Budget	–
Best for	Breville machines whose manual has a tablet step	Machines whose manual includes a blind-filter backflush	58 mm machines whose manual calls for a blind filter
	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon

The products one by one

Breville BEC250 tablets

The Breville BEC250 pack^* holds 8 tablets, per the listing title. On the Barista Express, the steps are short: 1 CUP basket in the portafilter, then the cleaning disc, then one tablet. Lock it in, fill the tank with cold water, empty the drip tray and start the cycle from the buttons. Afterward, check that the tablet has dissolved, and repeat the cycle if it hasn't.

Button combinations differ by model, even within Breville's range. The Express manual has you hold three buttons for about 10 seconds, and the Impress copy says 3 seconds. Use the book for your machine.

Urnex Cafiza powder

Urnex's page gives the clearest directions we found for a powder. Cafiza^* goes in a blind filter, at up to 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) per backflush. Run the brew cycle 10 seconds on and 10 seconds off, five times. Then rinse and repeat without powder, and pull one shot through a normal basket to clear what's left. Don't drink that shot.

Urnex also describes a soak for parts: 6 g per liter of hot water, 30 minutes, with a portafilter's handle kept out of the solution. That's the part most home users could use regardless of their machine's backflush setup, provided the manual allows the part to be soaked. Urnex lists the product as NSF certified, and it names no machine models.

A 58 mm backflush insert

The Espresso Supply insert^* is a metal insert listed at 58 mm, and we only have the listing. It's the piece Urnex's directions assume you own, if your machine has none. Check two things first: that your basket is 58 mm (for a Gaggia Classic that size comes from retailers, not from Gaggia), and that your manual describes a backflush.

What to check before you buy

• Your manual's cleaning section. It decides everything below. If you've lost it, makers usually keep a copy online.
• Tablet or powder. A tablet needs a disc or basket setup made for it. Powder needs a dosing step and a blind filter.
• What's in the box. Breville lists tablets and a disc with the Barista Express and Impress, so you may not need to reorder soon.
• Soak or backflush. They're different jobs. A soak cleans loose parts, and a backflush reaches the group.

Common mistakes

• Treating the clean light as a descale light. On the Express and Impress, flashing means clean and solid means descale. Our Breville descaling guide covers the second one, and the descaler page covers products.
• Backflushing because a video did. Follow your own manual, because some of them don't describe it.
• Skipping the rinse. Both the Breville and Urnex directions end with a rinse, and Urnex tells you to throw out the first shot.
• Buying a generic pack on a title alone. A listing that names two brands isn't the same as either maker's manual naming that product.

Our recommendation

If you own a Barista Express, Impress or Bambino Plus, reorder Breville's tablets^* when the supplied ones run out, since that's what those manuals describe. If your manual calls for a blind-filter backflush with powder, Cafiza^* has the documentation to match. Everyone else should read the manual first and buy second. The accessories page sets out the rest of the kit, the start page begins with what you drink, and how we compare explains what “Seller data only” means on the cards above.