Maintaining regular cleanliness of your coffee grinder, especially if it’s regularly used to grind coffee beans for making aromatic coffee, is crucial. This practice ensures that the resulting beverage is always a safe and healthy choice for consumption.
Like other equipment, the coffee grinder also needs regular cleaning for better working. However, most coffee lovers do not know how to clean the coffee grinder correctly. If you are among those people, do not worry because we are here to guide you.
Here, we will let you know the right way to deep clean a grinder in a few simple steps. Apart from this, you will learn various other things about coffee grinder cleaning. So, let’s begin!
Why Should You Clean Your Coffee Grinder?
If you want your coffee grinder to deliver efficient performance, you should perform the cleaning regularly. When you use the coffee grinder multiple times, you may notice oil coats forming on the burrs, chamber, and hopper. Therefore, you will need to wash the coffee grinder after some use so that the oil does not go rancid.
Besides, the dust and coffee powder present at the nook and corner of your coffee grinder can also minimize its performance. The fine coffee dust in the grinder can make the motor overwork, resulting in an uneven grind.
As a result, you will get a bland coffee flavor that you will never want. It can also damage the aroma and overall taste of your coffee. Due to these reasons, you should wash your coffee grinder after some time.
By keeping the grinder clean, you will be able to attain a fresh and flavorful coffee brew. You can also improve the longevity of the grinder by keeping the grinder clean.
How Frequently Should You Clean the Coffee Grinder?
The answer to this question depends on how frequently you use the coffee grinder. If you are using your coffee grinder more often, you should wash it after a few days. However, if you use the coffee grinder less often, you can clean it after a few weeks.
If you notice any build-up, then make sure to clean your coffee grinder as soon as possible. The build-up is the sign that you require performing cleaning of your coffee grinder.
Experts also recommend cleaning the machine if you are grinding a new roast or using different coffee beans so that the flavor does not get affected. Otherwise, you should plan cleaning at least after every two weeks. Or you can also plan cleaning once a week if you use the machine more often.
Can You Clean a Grinder with Rice?
Some people usually question whether rice is a suitable option to clean a grinder or not. The answer is yes; you can clean a grinder with rice. This is because the rice will absorb the oil coating formed in the grinder.
Also, it will knock out any loose particle or coffee powder present in the coffee grinder. Though you can clean your grinder with rice, you should keep in mind that it has its pros as well as cons.
The prime benefit of using rice for cleaning is that it can easily help you remove the oil coats, dust, and ground particles. The best thing is that if you use rice for cleaning, you will not require disassembling the grinder.
On the other hand, the prime con of utilizing rice for cleaning is that some brands do not recommend doing this. Before using this approach, you should read the user manual and know whether the brand recommends using rice on their coffee grinder or not.
Some brands do not suggest it because the rice grains are harder than the coffee beans. Due to hardness, the rice starch can clog the blade if not used correctly. Therefore, you should first learn whether the coffee grinder that you have supports rice for cleaning or not.
Further, if you do not like using rice to clean the grinder, then you can use something else instead of rice. There are various cleaning tablets also available in the market that will help you in better cleaning the coffee grinder. However, if you are going to utilize cleaning tablets instead of rice, you will have to follow a slightly different approach to get your work done.
Materials Needed to Clean a Grinder
Following are the materials you will require to perform the cleaning of the coffee grinder accurately.
- Dishwashing liquid
- Cleaning tablets
- Uncooked rice
- Bottlebrush
- Large bowl
- Sponge
- Towel
How to Clean a Blade Coffee Grinder?
In the blade coffee grinder, you will notice multiple blades and a motor. The motor is used to rotate the blades that will help you cut the coffee beans.
As compared to other coffee grinders, you may get uneven grounds while using the blade grinder. Following are the few steps to follow to wash a blade coffee grinder correctly.
- First, take 1/4 cup of uncooked rice and add it to the hopper.
- Now you will have to run the grinder. Keep the grinder on until you get a fine powder of rice.
- After that, collect the fine powder of rice and dump it into the waste bin.
- After removing the rice powder, unplug the grinder.
- Now take a damp towel and use it inside the grinder to clean it.
Via these simple steps, you can clean your blade grinder. Use this method whenever your grinder seems dirty or gives an unusual smell.
How to Clean a Conical Burr Grinder?
To clean a conical burr grinder, you should follow the given steps.
- First, try removing the hopper. By removing the hopper, the cleaning task will become easier for you.
- Once you have removed the hopper, wash it with your hand. Also, wash the lid of the hopper.
- Operate the burr grinder for a few seconds after removing the hopper. This will help you extract small coffee particles from the burr grinder as well.
- Make sure to unplug the grinder before doing any further tasks.
- After unplugging the burr grinder, try removing the rubber and plastic parts. Use your hands to wash those parts.
- Now take a stiff brush to get rid of grounded coffee remaining in the burr grinder. Use the stiff brush on both the outer and inner burrs.
- Take a dry cloth and use it on inner and outer burrs for additional cleaning. Using a dry cloth, you can eliminate the oil remaining during the grinding of coffee beans.
- It is not recommended to use water to wash outer and inner burrs.
- Once you are done washing and cleaning the burr grinder, dry out all the parts.
- After drying the burr grinder completely, reassemble it.
Now the burr grinder is ready to use.
How To Clean a Coffee Grinder with Cleaning Tablets?
If you do not like to use rice to clean your coffee grinder, you can use grinder cleaning tablets. The cleaning tablet is also recommended if you do not want to go through the hassle of disassembling and assembling a coffee grinder.
Using the cleaning tablets, you can remove all the particles present in burrs. The cleaning tablets also absorb the coated oils formed in the grinder. Following are the steps to clean a coffee grinder using a cleaning tablet.
- First, you need to pour the cleaning tablet into the hopper. You can also remove the hopper if possible. Place the tablet and allow the machine to run for a few minutes.
- Now take 30 grams of coffee ground, add it to the grinder, and remove the coffee ground and tablet residue.
- After doing this, you will be required to rinse the bin.
By following these simple steps, you can clean your coffee grinder with the help of a cleaning tablet.
Can You Clean a Burr Coffee Grinder with Water?
If you have a manual coffee grinder burr, then you can use water to clean it. Try using soapy water to get a much better cleaning outcome. Also, try to gently scrub the oils and ground particles present in the coffee grinder.
You can take a bowl with soapy water and dip disassembled parts of the coffee grinder in it. You can also utilize a soft brush or cloth with water for optimal cleaning outcomes. However, do not put the whole machine in water as it can damage it.
You can remove the parts of the grinder and put them in soapy water for better cleaning. If there is some electrical or any part that can get damaged with liquid, avoid adding water.
Summary
Most people usually find it hard to clean a coffee grinder correctly. Well, let us tell you that cleaning a coffee grinder is a hassle-free task if you know the right approach. If you do not know how to clean a coffee grinder correctly, then do not worry because here, you will discover all the methods you can use to clean the grinder. Whether you own a conical Burr grinder or a blade coffee grinder, you can clean them using the given methods.
