For California coffee shops
Sell coffee. We'll show you how to clean everything.
Pick a machine. Follow the pictures. Be ready when the inspector walks in, and for the grade card customers see at the door in Los Angeles.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
7:40 am
The line is out the door.
Who cleaned the steam wand?
- The machines
The espresso machine, the grinder, the milk fridge, the pastry case. Each one has to be clean, and each one has a rule.
- The guessing
You can't be behind the bar every shift. Did the opener take the milk fridge temperature? You don't know, and the inspector can walk in any day.
- The point
You opened to pour great coffee, not to chase clipboards.
Watch a sample cafe's 7:40 am first, so you decide with the screens in front of you.
The answer
Step-by-step cleaning guides
for every machine in your coffee shop.
Espresso machine, grinder, milk pitcher: each has its own guide, with a picture on each step. You clean it the right way and miss nothing the inspector looks for.
Find it
Type espresso, grinder or milk pitcher. The app finds it, even with a typo.
Follow the pictures
One step per screen. Run water through the group. Run the steam wand into the drip tray. Tap Done after each.
Out of espresso cleaner? One tap
Tap I'm out. It goes on your order list, with one tap to it on Amazon, and you keep your place. Told the app your machine's brand? Then it is the cleaner the maker names.
Open the espresso machine's steps on a sample cafe, so you see the pictures before you sign up.
The rules
What does the inspector
actually check?
The milk fridge, the sanitizer bucket, the date on the cold brew. Here are California's rules behind them, coffee first, with where your county differs.
Hot and cold holding
Milk, cream and cold brew stay at 41°F or colder. Hot food stays at 135°F or hotter (HSC 113996).
CleanCleaver: Each milk fridge reading is saved with the time and the barista's name. A warm one asks what she did.
California: HSC 113996, HSC 114000
Guide: Hot and cold holdingCleaning and sanitizing
Wash, rinse, sanitize, air-dry. Test the sanitizer bucket with a strip.
CleanCleaver: Each strip test is saved with the reading, time and name.
California: HSC 114099.2, HSC 114107, HSC 114099.7, HSC 114099.6, HSC 114105
Guide: Cleaning vs sanitizing, and sanitizer strengthsDate marking and disposal
CalCode has no general 7-day date rule: only sealed reduced-oxygen food carries a Use By date (HSC 114057). We recommend the FDA Food Code's 7 days (3-501.17) for the cold brew and the milk you opened. The day you make it is day 1.
CleanCleaver: The app counts the 7 days and says what to write on the wrap.
FDA Food Code (model) 3-501.17, 3-501.18: not in California's code, so this line is our advice
Guide: Date marking: the 7-day rule
What else can the inspector check? 5 more rules
Employee health: report, exclude, restrict
A sick barista stays off the bar. The person in charge tells the county environmental health office about a diagnosed Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli (STEC), hepatitis A or norovirus. Two or more workers sick at once: the same call (HSC 113949.5). No hour count: call right away.
CleanCleaver: Health questions before each shift. You see only
OK to work
orNo food work today
.California: HSC 113949.2, HSC 113950.5
Guide: Sick workers: report it and stay homeCalifornia Food Handler Card
Each barista gets a California Food Handler Card within 30 days of being hired. It lasts 3 years. You pay for the course and the time (HSC 113948). Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties run their own card instead.
CleanCleaver: The app keeps each card and its expiry date.
HSC 113948
Guide: Food handler cards and food safety managersDoes your county differ? 3 of California's 62 health departments do
California law: a California Food Handler Card within 30 days of hire, valid 3 years. Riverside County Department of Environmental Health: a Riverside County Food Handler Certificate within 7 days of starting work; it lasts 2 years; the state card is not accepted. Riverside County Code 8.44.030; rivcoeh.org Food Handler Certification
California law: a California Food Handler Card within 30 days of hire, valid 3 years. San Bernardino County Department of Public Health: a San Bernardino County food handler card; other counties' cards and other programs are not accepted; it lasts 3 years. San Bernardino County Environmental Health, Food Handlers and Managers page
California law: a California Food Handler Card within 30 days of hire, valid 3 years. County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality: a San Diego County food handler card from a county-approved school or the County test; it lasts 3 years. San Diego County DEHQ, Food Handler Training page
Allergens and cross-contact
A chain with 20 or more locations lists the major allergens in each menu item from July 1, 2026 (HSC 114093.5). For one cafe, the law asks that the person in charge knows the major allergens (HSC 113947). We recommend a written note for the oat, almond and dairy milks anyway.
CleanCleaver: The app makes the written allergen note for you.
HSC 114093.5 (SB 68, 2025)
Guide: Food labelsAccurate thermometers
Thermometers read within 2°F. Check yours in ice water at 32°F.
CleanCleaver: Dipping the thermometer in ice water is an opening step, saved with the reading.
California: HSC 114159
Guide: Thermometers and calibrationBackflow protection
The espresso machine's water line has a backflow device, and testable devices are tested yearly.
CleanCleaver: The yearly test is on the list, with the date it was done.
California: HSC 114193.1, HSC 114192; FDA Food Code (model) 5-203.15, 5-205.13: not in California's code, so this line is our advice
See one of these rules on the screen your barista sees, so you know it is one line, not a wall.
The plan
How does the new barista
get it on day two?
Pick Coffee shop
The app starts you with espresso drinks, lattes, cold brew and pastries. You edit the list.
Text each barista a link
She opens it in her phone's browser, answers the health questions and sees the milk fridge as her next thing. No phone? The shop tablet and a 4-digit PIN.
Every reading is saved
Each one has the time and her name. The binder is one PDF.
Setup happens once and takes minutes, so your first barista is on it tomorrow.
Not open yet?
What does a California coffee shop need
before the first latte?
First, your plans go to your county environmental health office, and you build only after they approve them (HSC 114380). Then the health permit from that same office: no food business opens without it (HSC 114381). In Los Angeles County that office is the Department of Public Health, Environmental Health; in San Diego County, the Department of Environmental Health and Quality. The permit goes on the wall where customers see it. A wash-your-hands sign hangs at every hand sink (HSC 113953.5). A notice says your latest inspection report is here to read (HSC 113725.1). Where your county grades, the inspector posts your grade card or placard after the first routine inspection.
Each barista gets a California Food Handler Card within 30 days of being hired, and you pay for the course (HSC 113948). In Riverside County it is the county's own certificate, within 7 days. At least one of you is a certified food protection manager within 60 days of opening (HSC 113947.1).
How to open a food business in your county
The permit comes first and the app keeps a copy of it, with the cards, in the binder.
What if nobody wrote it down?
A warm milk fridge nobody wrote down
is a gap the inspector can see.
An inspector asks to see your temperature record. The barista who opened typed the milk fridge temperature at 6:50 am. It is there with her name, and the binder is one PDF.
Why not lose a few points?
A few points cost little.
An easier shift is worth more.
A few points off will not close you, so that is not the reason. The reason is tomorrow morning.
- An easier shift
Your opener sees one next thing: the thermometer, the milk fridge, the strip. The espresso machine's cleaning steps come with pictures. Out of cleaner? One tap puts it on the order list. The date labels count the 7 days, so the cold brew is used before it is found. Less scramble at open and close. A new barista knows what to do on day two.
- Credit for your team
For the barista, this is not policing. It is one next thing with the rule beside it, and her name on good work: every reading, every
Caught early
. A reading counts the same whether it passes or not. When the inspector walks in, the opener hands over the binder and goes back to the bar. - Proof, not promises
An inspection is a snapshot. In Los Angeles County the letter at your door is your score: A is 90 to 100, B is 80 to 89, C is 70 to 79. Below 70, the card shows the number. San Diego and Riverside post a letter near the entrance too. Your records show how you run every day. Each milk fridge reading has the time and the barista's name, a photo where it helps, and corrections struck through, never deleted. The binder is one PDF with its own fingerprint. That is proof you can show, not a promise. The county grades; we don't.
About five quick taps a day, on the phone your barista already carries. Count them on a sample cafe.
So what does calm look like?
Pour coffee.
The record keeps itself.
Tomorrow, the first barista opens the link, dips the thermometer in ice water, types the milk fridge temperature and tests the sanitizer strip. By close, Today shows what is still open.
25 days of real mornings is enough, so you can see if it holds.
Questions
Before you
start.
Does it show me how to clean the espresso machine?
Yes. Search for it in the app. Each step has a picture. Run water through the group. Run the steam wand into the drip tray. Backflush with water, then with cleaner at close. Each step says where it comes from. A manager can add your own way too.
Which cleaner do I buy for my espresso machine?
Tell the app the brand and model. For Breville, La Marzocco, Rocket, ECM, Profitec, Lelit, Rancilio, LUCCA and Fellow machines, the guide names the cleaner the maker says to use. It shows the maker's own words and finds it on Amazon in one tap. The same goes for grinders from Mahlkonig, Baratza, Eureka, Fellow and Moccamaster. Any other brand gets the plain espresso machine cleaner. No price is shown, and nothing is marked up.
Do we have to write down espresso temperatures?
No. Hot coffee served right away needs no temperature record. Milk and cold brew stay at 41°F or colder (HSC 113996), so the fridge is what gets written down.
Will my baristas actually do it?
Nothing to install: each one opens a link in her phone's browser. Today shows one next thing, like the milk fridge temperature, with the rule beside it. A reading counts the same whether it passes or not, so there is no reason to fudge a number. Points are for on-time work and never go down.
A new barista starts Monday. What does she need in California?
A California Food Handler Card within 30 days of her first day, from an ANSI-accredited course. It lasts 3 years, and you pay for the course and her time in it (HSC 113948). In Riverside County she needs the county's own certificate within 7 days; San Bernardino and San Diego counties run their own cards too. In the app she checks in with the health questions, then does the short lessons and sign-offs your setup lists before her first food step. A card on file shortens that list.
Can baristas type readings without their own phone?
Yes, on the shop tablet. Tap your name, then enter a 4-digit PIN.
Why does it say steps are left when I did the thermometer?
Three things hold Open for food: the thermometer, the fridge and freezer, and the sanitizer. Today shows which one is left.
Do I need the Prop 65 sign in a coffee shop?
Only with 10 or more employees, counting part-time. Then the food warning goes up (27 CCR 25607.5). One of three ways. An 8½ by 11 sign at each public entrance. A 5 by 5 sign at each register. Or the warning on your menu. With fewer than 10 people on staff, the law does not ask for it. The app prints the sign with the regulation's exact words.
What does a coffee shop pay?
It depends on how many people are on your staff list: Solo (1–2) is $8, Small (3–6) is $24, Team (7–12) is $40 and Kitchen (13 or more) is $69 a month, per location. The 25 free days start when you add a card on Stripe's page. Cancel before they end and you pay nothing. 25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Isn't a B grade cheaper than all this?
Maybe, if the grade were the only thing. In Los Angeles County the card hangs at your door: A is 90 to 100, B is 80 to 89, C is 70 to 79. But the reason is the shift, not the inspector. The opener sees one next thing, each machine's cleaning steps have pictures, supplies are one tap away. The date labels count the days, so less food is found too late. Your team gets the credit, with a name on every reading. Your records show every day, with times and names, and the binder is one PDF with its own fingerprint. That is proof you can show, not a promise. About five quick taps a day. The Solo plan is $8 a month.
Your binder is ready when the inspector is.
Pick your place. Start with one shift.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667