How to Clean a Coffee Grinder: Complete Guide for All Grinder Types (2023)

Whether you’ve invested $40 or $400 in your coffee grinding equipment, understanding how to clean your coffee grinder is crucial for extending its life and continuing to enjoy the best home-brewed coffee possible.

In this guide, I’ll be explaining exactly how to clean your coffee grinder, whether you have a blade grinder, a burr grinder, a manual grinder, or an electric grinder. But first, it’s important that you understand why keeping your grinder clean is essential.

Why You Need to Clean Your Coffee Grinder

I know, I know…nothing but coffee beans goes through your grinder, so it’s tempting just to let it ride and never clean it. And if I’m being honest, I have done this for longer than I’d like to admit. Technically, not cleaning your grinder won’t cause health issues, like mold growth in your equipment. But there are two problems you’ll run into if you never clean your coffee grinder: clogged burrs and bits of months-old coffee grounds in your cup.

If you have a burr grinder — you can read about why I recommend a burr grinder in my coffee grinder buying guide — the oils from your coffee beans — namely, triacylglycerols, sterols, and tocopherols — will gradually collect inside your grinder. When the oils combine with coffee dust or small particles from the crushed coffee beans, the gunk can eventually build up and clog the burrs.

Clogged burrs can put undue strain on the motor of an electric burr grinder or make a manual one harder to use. The gunk can also lead to decreased performance of the burrs, which can mean a less consistent grind size distribution. Ultimately, this means a shorter grinder lifespan and a less appealing and consistent cup of coffee.

The second issue you can run into is old coffee grounds getting trapped in your grinder. Part of the point of investing in a coffee grinder is to get fresher coffee and to avoid the old pre-ground coffee that most supermarkets carry. When you don’t clean your grinder, bits of ground coffee can get stuck in there and contribute to a less fresh cup of coffee when you grind again in the future.

Ultimately, cleaning your grinder regularly will extend its life, yield more consistent coffee, and make each cup as fresh as possible.

Now that you understand why grinder cleaning is so important, I’ll explain how to do a deep clean of your coffee grinder.

How to Clean an Electric Blade Coffee Grinder

I don’t recommend electric blade grinders for quite a few reasons, but one thing these grinders have over burr options is that they are super easy to clean. The entire surface area that the coffee beans come in contact with is exposed, so cleaning should take just a minute or two.

You can follow the steps below to clean your electric blade grinder:

• Step 1: Begin by putting about ¼ cup of uncooked rice in the grinding chamber.
• Step 2: Put the top of the grinder in place and turn it on. Let it grind for about a full minute or until you notice that the rice has been chopped into a fine powder. The rice will naturally collect the oils left behind in your grinder.
• Step 3: Discard the rice.
• Step 4: Unplug the grinder and wipe the inside of the grinding chamber and the top of the grinder clean with a damp paper towel to remove all of the rice particles. Be sure to clean the blades carefully to avoid cutting yourself.
• Step 5: Let the equipment dry off completely.
• Step 6: Put about ⅛ cup of coffee beans into the grinder. Cap it and let it run for about 30 seconds.
• Step 7: Discard the grounds and brush the grinder clean. The grounds will mix with any remaining rice powder to remove it. You’re now ready to grind more coffee.

How to Clean an Electric Burr Coffee Grinder

Electric burr grinders are the best option, in my opinion, if price is not an obstacle. However, a high-quality grinder will be quite expensive, and the cleaning process is a bit more involved than it would be with a blade grinder.

You can follow the steps below to clean your electric burr grinder:

• Step 1: UNPLUG THE GRINDER. You should never do any maintenance on your electric grinder without first unplugging it.
• Step 2: Remove the bean hopper and collection cups from your grinder and wash thoroughly with warm, soapy water. Set them aside to air dry.
• Step 3: Remove any grommets or other obviously removable pieces from the grinding chamber and wash them with warm soapy water. Set them aside to air dry as well. I recommend following instructions for your specific grinder to ensure you don’t cause damage to your equipment. Every grinder is different, so you should follow a guide made specifically for yours.
• Step 4: Unscrew the conical burr and remove both the burr and the screw carefully. Again, I strongly recommend you find a guide specific to your grinder’s make and model to ensure you’re doing this step correctly.
• Step 5: Once the burr is removed, use a dry, clean toothbrush to scrub the conical burr and the receiving burr that’s still inside your grinder. Take your time on this step, and make sure to get inside all the nooks and crannies on all sides of the burrs. A toothpick can be a handy tool for scraping stuck grounds and oils out of tight crevices.
• Step 6: Wipe the burrs gently with a damp cloth. I recommend against using a paper towel here, as small pieces of the paper can scrape off and get stuck inside the grinder once you reassemble it.
• Step 7: Use a dry cotton swab to clean any grounds out of the bottom of the grinder, where the grounds travel from the burrs down into the collection cup.
• Step 8: Once all components are cleaned and dried, you can reassemble your grinder. Just be sure to tighten the screw that holds the conical burr in place and follow the directions provided by the manufacturer if you have them.

This process is a bit involved, and thankfully, there is an easier way to get your grinder clean. You can buy Urnex Grindz Coffee Grinder Cleaning Tablets to get your grinder clean without all the effort. You simply place a tablet in your grinder, grind it, run a small amount of coffee through to discard, and your grinder is clean of most oils and small coffee particles.

I should note that you’ll still have to do a manual cleaning of your grinder even if you use these tablets. However, you can probably get away with cleaning one to two times a year if you use a cleaning tablet once a month.

How to Clean a Manual Coffee Grinder

Manual burr grinders are a little easier to clean than an electric grinder only because they pretty easily come fully apart. You can expose all areas of the grinder quickly for easy access, although the extent to which the grinder comes apart depends on the type you have.

You can follow the steps below to get your manual burr grinder all nice and clean:

• Step 1: Unscrew the bean hopper and disconnect the grounds cup. Clean these pieces with warm, soapy water and set them aside to air dry.
• Step 2: Open up the grinding chamber, which is usually held closed with a few screws. Carefully remove the inner burr and set aside. You should take very careful note of how your grinder is assembled, as all grinders are different. If you’re uncomfortable with the process, I recommend checking out a video on YouTube for how your specific grinder should be disassembled and reassembled for cleaning.
• Step 3: Use a dry (and clean!) toothbrush to scrub all sides of the burrs. If the bristles can’t get down into the grooves all the way, you can use a toothpick to scrape out any oils or stuck grounds.
• Step 4: Wipe the burrs down with a damp cloth. Let the burrs dry completely before you reassemble, as any remaining moisture could cause the metal to rust over time.
• Step 5: Reassemble your grinder according to instructions from the manufacturer or a guide on YouTube.

You can also use the Urnex Grindz Grinder Cleaning Tablets in your manual grinder. Just plop a tablet into the grinding chamber, grind it manually, and discard whatever comes out into the collection cup. Run a small volume of coffee beans through your grinder to pick up any excess tablet pieces, and discard the grounds before you grind coffee for use.

How to Keep Your Coffee Grinder Clean: Ongoing Maintenance Vs Deep Clean

The cleaning process for a coffee grinder is anything but fun, so I do everything I can to keep my grinder clean and working properly on a daily basis. This helps cut down on the need to do these pesky deep cleanings. There are two things you can do to carry out regular maintenance for your grinder.

First, I recommend brushing the collection cup and the bottom of the burrs — the part that is accessible when you remove the collection cup — clean after every single use. This takes just a few seconds, but it can improve the flavor and freshness of your next cup and cut down on the need for deep cleanings.

Second, I suggest using cleaning tablets about once a month if you use a burr grinder. These are great for removing large-scale coffee oil build-up and stuck grounds, and they won’t impart any flavor to your cup.

Wrapping Up: Why Cleaning Your Coffee Grinder Is So Important

Your coffee grinder is the lifeblood of your daily coffee. Seriously: it’s one of the most important pieces of equipment for ensuring you’re drinking fresh and flavorful coffee day after day. As annoying as it is, you really have to clean your coffee grinder regularly. Doing so will extend its life and decrease the amount of stale coffee grounds that contribute to a bitter, acidic, or dull flavor in your morning cup.

You can follow the guides above based on the type of grinder you have to keep your equipment clean and functioning properly for years to come.