Introduction
The skill of brewing should be complemented by cleanliness, which includes understanding how to clean your hand grinder and ensuring your tools remain in proper condition.
It’s understandable that you may not have been guided on how to clean your hand grinder. This article aims to offer a straightforward cleaning guide to bring clarity to the process.
Why Is It Important to Clean Your Hand Grinder Regularly?
Just as you understand the importance of cleaning dishes, recognize that the significance of cleaning your hand grinder is equally essential.
Especially for an expensive grinder, taking good care and implementing a cleanliness routine will ensure it’s longevity. It takes habitual practice and discipline, but once you understand how simple it is, it would become effortless to your daily grind.
Know that coffee oils tend to accumulate and leave residues to coffee hand grinders and tools. Typically the concentration of oils occur around the burrs and catch-cup. So, our main focus would be on cleaning these parts.
Things You’ll Need to Clean Your Hand Grinder
To clean our hand grinder before and after use, we’ll use the following items:
- Hard & soft brush
- Mini air blower/puffer
- Soft kitchen cloth
- Small bowl (optional)
To get these items, you can either check them out from Amazon or find them at a grocery store or IT shop. It is better to find a brush that is made for coffee grinders, and not one for casual dusting because the texture of the brushes may be too hard.
For air puffers, you can easily get them at camera or IT shops or find one that is made for coffee such as this MHW-3BOMBER Air Blower. For kitchen cloths, we recommend the Scotch-Brite High Performance Kitchen Cloth that dries quickly and traps oil.
A small bowl is used to gather the grinds, but you can use a bin or tissue paper.
Steps to Clean Your Hand Grinder
Step 1: Brush off any grinds that have accumulated around the burr and catch-cup
Step 2: Use an air blower to remove trapped particles within the body and brush it off at the bottom
Step 3: Turn your hand grinder upside down and knock off any remaining grinds
Step 4: Use a soft kitchen cloth to wipe off dirt and oils within the catch-cup and grinder
How Coffee Beans Affect Your Hand Grinder
Typically coffee beans that are roasted dark or are charcoal roast will leave more oils, so be sure to clean the burrs often. Also, fresher coffee beans, typically roasted within a week, also yield higher oil content.
If you are frequently transitioning between different coffee beans, maintaining a clean hand grinder is crucial. The oils left on the burrs can significantly impact the aromatic profile of subsequent beans, potentially altering their intended flavor profile.
Storing your Hand Grinder
If your hand grinder comes with a bag, ensure that it is always kept and stored in a dry and safe place.
If you do not have a storage bag, you could look into obtaining an Espresso Organizer box which can be used for tamping (if you own an espresso machine), storing and organizing your tools.
Maintenance Cleaning for Hand Grinders
Maintenance cleaning requires disassembly and calibration depending on your hand grinder. Since this can vary depending on the manufacturer of your hand grinder, it’s advisable to follow the manual provided by the manufacturer.
Certain materials, such as stainless steel, are not recommended for washing. However, if your grinder, like the Hario Smart-G Coffee Mill, features a ceramic burr and methacrylate resin construction, you can safely wash it.
Conclusion
Maintaining your hand grinder’s cleanliness and proper storage is essential. We believe that attention to detail matters. This philosophy lies at the heart of Art of Brew — making incremental improvements for better brews.
We hope this post helps you in your journey as a coffee brewer and will improve your coffee and tools. If you like this post, consider following AOB on Instagram and Facebook as you’ll receive freshly brewed updates.
Alternatively, here are some recommended reads to enhance your brewing skills: 5 Ways: To Improve Your Pour-Over Coffee and 5 Tips: How to be a Better Home Barista.