cleaning the grinder

System

i know to clean the bean hopper and dosing chamber . but what about the deeper innards. when i had the blades out there was a lot of rancid residues in there . is this an issue? cos cleaning down there is a much bigger job.

Lovey

G'day Small house, What sort of grinder do you have as this can have an effect on how you clean it?

fattylateplease

i know to clean the bean hopper and dosing chamber . but what about the deeper innards. when i had the blades out there was a lot of rancid residues in there . is this an issue? cos cleaning down there is a much bigger job.

Should be able to unscrew it. A full clean once a month is a good thing if you can. All professional cafes should un-do the grinder for a good clean. If you can't, there are people who offer the service. Rancid coffees are for yesterday's coffee makers.

psaigh

You can purchase grinds pellets that'll do the job for you, you just put the into the hopper like you would coffee.  They're a little expensive but do a good job and are food safe.  I was listening to a pod cast from coffee geek where they said using rice is a cheaper alternative.  Apparantly the coffee oils are attracted to the starch.  But this will taint the flavour of the next few coffees so be sure the waiste a bit of coffee through it after. I should say however, that i haven't been game to do this myself so i dunno how well it works.  for me, if i've got the time i'll just pull it apart and get cleaning (it's kind of therapudic) or if i don't have time, i go with the pellets. ic

tommy

putting rice through your grinder?!!?!?!?!?! ive never heard that before and definately not keen to try it lol fried rice or steamed rice

Brett H

Here's a good thread to revise.  My grinders are up for a clean so out comes the vacuum cleaner to enact a simple 'suck it and see' practice.  In the mean time, check this out: http://sprudge.com/saddest-espresso-hopper-entire-world.html

Lizzie

I use/have used rice to clean grinders... it works well. On one occasion it was and emergency measure, as initially I could  not get the burrs off, however, when I did manage later on, I was very pleasantly surprised with the level of 'clean' the rice had achieved. And, the chunks of very rancid gunk which came out when the rice was ground were significant and plentiful.... it was a very dirty and smelly grinder  :o For a rice-clean I change the grind setting to 'fine plunger' ; I generally use 2 kg of rice per 'normal' clean, and run it through in short bursts over about 45 minutes. The very dirty grinder took a bit more effort: I had to run it a  bit longer than short bursts to warm the insides up a tad after which the chunks of gunk easily were dislodged. L

Brett H

on 1384592867:

I use/have used rice to clean grinders... it works well. On one occasion it was and emergency measure, as initially I could  not get the burrs off, however, when I did manage later on, I was very pleasantly surprised with the level of 'clean' the rice had achieved. And, the chunks of very rancid gunk which came out when the rice was ground were significant and plentiful.... it was a very dirty and smelly grinder  :o For a rice-clean I change the grind setting to 'fine plunger' ; I generally use 2 kg of rice per 'normal' clean, and run it through in short bursts over about 45 minutes. The very dirty grinder took a bit more effort: I had to run it a  bit longer than short bursts to warm the insides up a tad after which the chunks of gunk easily were dislodged. L

I tried it with my Lux grinder years ago and admit to getting good results. I only used one cup and it was as per the advice of a prominent Melbourne Coffee Guru.  Having said that it is not a method that is encouraged.

mycuppa

Despite all the urban myths about rice and it's effectiveness at cleaning grinders - I personally would not use it, especially on domestic or even semi-commercial units. There are other methods that can be used with lower risk. It's the same reason I do not use a bunch of ball-bearings or bluestone rocks to clean the drums and face-plates on both my roasting platforms - of course it works, but not ideal. I've seen a few cases now of issues developing during and after a so-called "rice clean". One poor chap totally burnt out the motor on his small domestic grinder after reading a "how-to" on a forum. Somehow I don't think his little unit was intended for many kilos of rice. One could argue the same thing could have happened if it had been coffee beans. Cleaning grinders is pretty easy and gives you the opportunity to assess the blades/burrs.

FreshCoffee2

In all honesty in forum participant type home use situations, an unnecessary practice. I rarely clean my cupping grinder at work. It us used every day, for a great deal more coffee than you would use at home, and because it is used for quality control and cupping rather than "straight" coffee making, it is run out of beans/grinds ad infinitum. ie there is precious little residue left in the grinder to sit permanently and sweat out oils and stick. I use a small paint brush to clean out the (not a) "dosing" chamber, I occasionally wash the hopper in soapy water, and I rarely remove the grind adjuster/top burr mount. If you are using the grinder as above there isnt anything there except insignificant amounts of grinds....and if they are well and truly stuck to the metal, they arent going to somehow come out and interfere with your coffee tasting experience. Grinders that have coffee left in them ad infinitum a la commercial / cafe use, or home bodies that dont know any better, are a different kettle of fish and as stated by Jeff, you remove the top burr mount and take a look inside and do it manually....if you have the requisite expertise...because some people just shouldnt touch anything mechanical be they home bodies or cafe people. Also, there are too many risks in using rice including that you dont know the bona fides of the writer of whatever internet post you just read about using rice ( & wrt anonymous internet posts, who do you trust with your grinder?). If you want to use something....use a proprietary cleaning agent that has been designed for the purpose eg "grindz". Of course, we all have different opinions 

conikal

on 1178668293:

... when i had the blades out there was a lot of rancid residues in there .

No amount of vacuuming, blowing, brushing , etc is going to shift the sticky coffee oil residue. If you have the burrs out, you could scrub them in soapy water ( dry well after) using a tooth brush or similar. But this is tricky , requiring dis assembly and care with the sharp burrs. Propriety cleaners will do a good job without dismantling the grinder but they are expensive. Rice can be just as effective but there is some care needed. Because it has a much smaller "grain" size than coffee beans, there can be a higher loading on the motor, so as was mentioned, be careful with low powered domestic grinders and only feed the rice in slowly to avoid stalling the motor. Usually , only a half cup or so would be needed to "scrub" off the gunk from the burrs. You will see from the color of the rice grinds how much muck is in the burrs. A few gms of coffee after will flush out any remaining  rice grinds..but it wont affect the coffee anyway. Just my experience, it works well for me  ( every 6 months ..ish)..... but at your own risk. !

UNM

A good brush will clean the oil off the burrs. Many commercial solvents will also do the job - automotive brake parts cleaner for example. It evaporates leaving no residue. I don't worry. Occasionally, I give the burrs a clean, but mostly rely on normal usage to manage regular oil changes on the burrs.

FreshCoffee2

on 1178668293:

... when i had the blades out there was a lot of rancid residues in there ....

Noting that is from 2007, nevertheless there are atleast a couple of issues... We dont know what the posters modus operandi is with his/her grinder, and if it is a person who leaves coffee in there all the time then a certain amount of retraining is required in addition to OR separate to, any clean up of the grinder. And if so then a "lets start from scratch" big clean up may be required after which (ie after retraining on better use of the grinder), only a minimum of "cleaning" will be required. I believe all of this is very much subject to any particular individual's management of their equipment, and to the type of grinder being used, as in the main commercial or semi commercial grinders are usually a lot easier to get into than domestic models, and then a lot easier to get back together ***properly*** than many domestic models. Also some domestics actually have inherrent problems with left over grinds and if not cleaned out regularly will...fail. so  horses for courses. after that...rice is not reALLY a good option, cheap or not, as it is too easy for people who are not in the know, to wreck tHEIR grinder as a result of using it (after reading about it on the www). And very well said....all "at your own risk"