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Cleaning and descaling your coffee brewer

Oct 04, 2026

Coffee oils in the basket and carafe give a bitter taste, and limescale in the heater makes brewing slower and cooler. Below, we base our advice on the Fellow Aiden and xBloom Studio, but the same principles apply to most brewers.

Cleaning

  • After every brew: empty the filter, rinse the basket and let it dry.
  • Fellow Aiden: wash the filter baskets, water tank and carafe in hot water with washing-up liquid. Wipe the shower head with a soft, damp cloth.
  • xBloom Studio: wipe the machine with a damp cotton cloth. Brush the grinder spout, the docking arm and the drip tray every week with the supplied brush. Check that the tank and water inlet are clean.
  • Brown deposits in the carafe or thermal carafe: dissolve 4 g of Cafetto Brew Clean per litre of hot water, leave for 15 minutes and rinse thoroughly. Also available as single-dose sachets.

Descaling

Use a descaler for coffee machines, e.g. Cafetto LOD. Both Fellow and xBloom advise against vinegar, which is hard to rinse out and can affect the taste and the machine.

Fellow Aiden

  1. Empty the water tank and add a dose of descaler.
  2. Fill with cold water to MAX.
  3. Insert the empty batch brew filter basket and the carafe. Set the shower head to the batch brew position.
  4. Select Settings, Maintenance, Descale and follow the instructions. It takes about 30 minutes.

The Aiden reminds you itself when it is time.

xBloom Studio

  1. Descale every three months or after 300 brews, whichever comes first.
  2. Mix 250-300 ml of water with about 80-90 ml of descaler in the tank. Place a container of at least 1 litre under the spout.
  3. Start descaling on the machine or in the app. It dispenses about 50 ml, lets the solution work for at least 30 minutes and then drains the rest.
  4. Rinse the tank and fill it to max with clean water.

Water

Use cold, fresh water. Hard water leads to faster limescale build-up and a flatter taste, while soft filtered water reduces the need for descaling. More about water hardness in Water, water filters and descaling.

Troubleshooting

  • Weak coffee: increase the dose or grind finer. Check that the beans are fresh and that the grind suits the brewer.
  • Slow brewing: descale. If the grind is too fine, the filter can clog.
  • Overflow in the brew chamber (Aiden): grind coarser and do not exceed the basket's maximum dose (82.5 g in the standard basket).
  • The Aiden pauses: the carafe has been removed or the lid opened. Brewing resumes when the parts are back in place. A yellow or red warning is shown if a part is missing.
  • Grinder fault on the xBloom: grind no more than 30 seconds at a time with at least 60 seconds of rest. Very light roasted beans (Agtron above 100) should not be ground as fine as espresso.

Can't find the fault? Contact us with the model, serial number and a short description, ideally with a video. We will help you find the right spare part or a service technician.

Barista & Espresso