olivia_bailey•19d agoProlific Poster

Just realized I spent 40 minutes cleaning my espresso machine grinder every week for a YEAR before I found a faster way

I got into espresso about 14 months ago and read online that you need to clean your grinder burrs every week to keep the taste fresh. So I’d take apart my Baratza Encore, brush every nook, and put it back together. That whole thing took me around 40 minutes each Sunday. After about a year of this I got frustrated because it still clogged sometimes. Then I saw a video where a guy just ran a little bit of rice through the grinder and then brushed the chute for 5 minutes tops. I tried it and it worked just as well. Now I save over half an hour every week. Has anyone else been doing the full tear down way longer than they needed to?

3 comments

3 Comments

sam1719d ago

Huh, I used to think the full teardown was the only real way to keep things fresh too. But seeing your math on that 40 minutes a week for a whole year makes me wonder why I never bothered to look for a shortcut. I might have to give the rice trick a shot next weekend.

jamie_smith19d ago

That "40 minutes a week for a whole year" part really stuck with me too. I'm curious though, have you ever tried the rice trick on a camera body you didn't care about first? I heard it can leave starch residue in weird places if you don't bag it right.

elizabethn5616d ago

I see it a bit different on the rice trick though. That "40 minutes a week for a whole year" math sounds nice on paper but I've seen too many people ruin camera bodies with moisture that didn't fully dry out. Even with a good bag, rice can trap humidity next to electronics longer than you'd think. I'd rather do a proper disassemble with silica gel packs if I'm going that route, it takes more time but at least I know it's dry. Shortcuts like that tend to bite you later when the sensor starts fogging up at the worst moment.