I think that one of the biggest changes to the High Street in recent years isn’t how its been hit by the recession or the culture of pop-up shops, it’s the way that drinking coffee has become a social activity with the explosion of coffee houses.

Going out for daytime drinks used to be a leisure activity of luxury - the odd afternoon tea with friends - but now we all take for granted the ease with which we pop along to the local outlet where we can make use of their fabulous coffee machines.

Coffee shops can be found on almost every High Street - several in fact - and if you look through the windows you will see a bustling hive of activity contained within.  While going out for a coffee is a real treat, you can get that same great tasting coffee in your own home with a professional coffee machine.  Same great taste, less cost per cup and most definitely less queueing!

Having a social drink of coffee is a great way to catch up with friends, so rather than going and spending your hard-earned money in a coffee house, invite everyone back to yours for as many cups as they can drink!

We always stress the importance of regularly cleaning and maintaining your coffee machine – whether is be a domestic or commercial coffee machine.  We regularly get asked the question of whether you need to descale your machine even if you use filtered water for your coffee.  The answer is a resounding Yes!  To recap on basic cleaning and maintenance for all machines, both domestic ones and commercial coffee machine, here are a few pointers:

If you live in, or have business premises in, a hard water area then your coffee machine will need to be de-scaled every two to three months as a bare minimum.

Wipe your machine down at the end of every day, removing debris and generally giving it a good clean.  Rinse through the machine with clear water to remove any small blockages which may stop your machine from working.

Empty all coffee dregs, filters, etc, so that your machine is fit and ready for the following day - the last thing that you want to be doing frst thing is getting the machine ready for use when you could have done it the night before.

Try to use the manufacturer’s recommended descaling products where possible - it isn;t a gimmick to get you buying a more expensive brand, these products genuinely are designed to work in harmony with your machine.

De-scaling your domestic or commercial coffee machine means that you will always taste great coffee at its very best.  And always remember that warranties do not generally cover any failure which is due to limescale.

If you own an espresso machine, it is so important that you regularly maintain it if you want the machine to continue to work for many years to come.  Regular maintenance will ensure that it stays in full working order and produces a consistent performance year-round.  One of the things that should be included in your maintenance regime is regular de-scaling of the appliance.

When de-scaling your espresso machine, try to use the manufacturer’s recommended de-scaler if possible.  The recommended product will be the one which is the most compatible with your machine and the one which will yield the best results.

You may think that using filters eliminates the risk of limescale build-up on your espresso machine but, in truth, filters only reduce the scale of the build-up and cannot get rid of it altogether.