Introduction
You love your Cuisinart coffee grinder. Bust like all appliances you understand that maintenance is essential. Coffee grinders can get caked in coffee-oils and bean crumbs before you know it. This will affect how the grinder works and how your coffee will taste. So, it is time to learn how to clean your Cuisinart coffee grinder.
Different Types of Grinders
The various Cuisinart coffee grinder models will be either a blade or burr mechanism. It is important to know which you have as the cleaning method for each one varies.
Blade grinders have rotating blades like those in a blender. They grind up the beans into grounds. A burr grinder is more precise and can be conical or flat. The burr grinders slowly grind the beans into even pieces.
How to Clean Your Cuisinart coffee grinder?
Grinders can also be manual or automatic. Although most people have automatic grinders these days. The cleaning process is the same. What matters is cleaning it regularly to avoid function issues. The last thing you want is poor quality coffee grounds to start your day.
Cleaning a Cuisinart Blade Coffee Grinder
Blade grinders will have two or three blades. These blades will be in a confined space and can pulverize anything you put in the grinder. To clean a blade grinder:
- Add ¼ cup of uncooked rice to the hopper
- Run the grinder until the rice is a fine powder
- Remove the ground rice in the trash
- Unplug the grinder and clean out the inside using a damp towel or cloth
You need to do this every time your grinder looks dirty or is giving off an unpleasant smell. The oils from coffee beans can stick to the blades which over time will start to smell.
Cleaning a Cuisinart Conical Burr Grinder
These Coffee Grinder and Brewers have more complex mechanisms so involve a different cleaning tactic. This is also the most common type of Cuisinart coffee grinder. The beans are fed into a fixture that can be adjusted with an inner and outer burr. Moving the inner burr closer to or further from the outer burr will change the grind size. You get more controlled grinding and a consistent grind size.
To keep your conical burr grinder in shape and for consistency, you need to clean the grinder regularly.
- First, you need to disassemble the grinder. Coffee beans are held in a hopper. This needs to be removed and washed by hand. You need to wash the lid too.
- While you have the hopper off the grinder, run the grinder for 5 seconds. This makes sure that any remaining coffee is removed from the burrs.
- Unplug the grinder
- Remove all plastic and rubber parts of the grinder. Any part that comes into contact with the beans needs to be removed. Wash each of these parts by hand. Don’t forget the bin that catches the coffee grinds too.
- Remove the inner burr keeping in mind that you may need tools to do this. With a stiff brush, knock any coffee grounds that may be stuck to the burrs loose.
- Take a dry cloth or towel and wipe the inner burr and outer burr. A dry towel needs to be used to absorb any coffee oils that may have been left behind
- DO NOT wash the burrs with water.
- Allow all the parts you removed and washed to dry.
- Once they are fully dry, you can reassemble the coffee grinder.
If you do not want to disassemble the grinder, there are cleaning tablets you can buy to run through the machine. The tablets are used by placing them in the hopper and pulsing the grinder. Do this until the tablets have been completely run through the machine. You then take 1 ounce of coffee beans and run them through. Discard the grounds and any residue from the tablets. Be sure to also rinse the coffee grind bin.
This may be convenient, but it is not as thorough as washing by hand. The best way to clean your Cuisinart coffee grinder is by hand. Plan to clean your grinder every few months or if you notice heavy build up or smells.
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Conclusion
Grind and brew coffee maker is your best friend. Without it, your morning cup of joie just wouldn’t be the same. As with all electronics, regular maintenance is essential for optimal function. Now you know how to clean your Cuisinart coffee grinder, so it can take care of you.
Also check this: Coffee maker under 50
Chris Ruppel says
How do I get to the burr grinder in a grind and brew, cuisinart?