The Daily Grind Part 1: Burrs in the Grinder...Not Under the Saddle

The burrs in a coffee grinder refer to the parts of the grinder that actually do the crushing of the coffee beans. As with most mechanical items, coffee grinders need some maintenance. Over the next several blogs, I will write about various aspects of grinders and put together some resources to help you make an informed decision about what grinder is right for you.

This past week, Roastmaster Jeff and I changed the conical burrs in our Baratza Preciso coffee grinder. One of the reasons I chose this grinder three years ago is the control I have over the coarseness/fineness to which I grind my coffee. Each brewing method I use requires a different grind setting in order to produce the amazing cup of coffee I am anticipating drinking. This particular grinder has metal conical burrs that grind the coffee and they need periodic changing. I had been putting this day off as I am not exactly mechanically inclined and I wanted Roastmaster Jeff close by to make sure I didn’t make too many mistakes.

Changing the burrs started with deconstructing the grinder. Thankfully, Baratza has some great YouTube videos that shows you as well as instructs you how to take apart their grinders. After waiting for my new burrs to arrive in the mail and watching several YouTube videos, I was ready. Here’s a pictorial story of what I was looking at and changing.

The task was accomplished pretty quickly. What took longer to do was dig though the vacuum bag for the washers I vacuumed up when I was vacuuming all the coffee ground out of the grinders inner parts. Then came the dialing in the grinder.

Things I learned:

• Having the right tools really helps.

• Be careful what you vacuum. Yep, I sucked up two washers that we didn’t see in the burr casing. Roastmaster Jeff dug through the vacuum debris and rescued them!

• How to adjust my newly installed burrs so we started out grinding coffee close to where we were accustomed to grinding.

• Make sure you have someone close by who is mechanically inclined. It will probably take both of you to figure things out the first time.

Wow! We didn’t realize just how dull the burrs had become over the course of time. What took one and half turns of the timer knob now take a quarter to a third of a turn of the grinder knob. Now that I know how to do this, I won’t put it off so long. It was actually pretty easy. It was the dialing in the grinder to match the coarseness/fineness of the coffee to the brewing method that took some time. Each time I change the burrs, I will have to do this again. That makes knowing what the right grind looks like important! Here’s my visual aid for getting the right grind:

For more tips on grinding coffee, click here to read the blog from July 2015.

Next blog: Grinders, Grinders & More Grinders – A look at the three types of grinders for home use and what might be the best home coffee enthusiast grinder for you.

#grind