How To Clean A Cuisinart Burr Coffee Grinder – A Step By Step [Video]

Last updated on October 27th, 2023 at 16:09

A dirty grinder results in a less than perfect cuppa Joe in this tutorial I will discuss how to clean a cuisinart burr grinder easily and almost effortlessly!

There is nothing at all difficult that you cannot do. With good maintenance and weekly cleaning, your coffee will be fit for the coffee gods and your burr coffee grinder will last you much longer.

Let’s get cracking on and help you to get a nice and clean coffee grinder.

How To Clean A Cuisinart Burr Grinder?

A burr grinder can be either conical or flat and with the blade made of either ceramic or steel. Cleaning a burr coffee grinder involves a different technique to that of a blade grinder.

The most commonly available and most popular cuisinart grinder is their burr mill coffee grinder.
This type of coffee grinder has both an inner burr and an outer burr.

The manipulation of the inner burr, moving it closer or further away from the outer burr, changes the size of your grind.

This type of machine gives you more control and better consistency in your grind. A uniform grind will give you better coffee.

To keep it well maintained and brewing you great coffee for many years you need to get into a good maintenance and cleaning schedule. I clean my home machine weekly and at my coffee shop they are cleaned by staff at the beginning of every shift. That is 3x daily.

Read: How To Remove Static Electricity From Coffee Grinder!

How To Clean A Cuisinart Burr Coffee Grinder Your  Step By Step Guide

Let’s get straight to it with an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide.

Step 1

Carefully disassemble your grinder. This is best done bit by bit or part by part. If you are taking it apart for the first time, simply use blank office depot stickers or masking tape to number and name the parts.

Label each individual part, be it a screw, washer or what ever. Take note of what they are and where they go. This ensures that you have set instructions and a reminder of what goes where should you need to stop for any reason and return to the task later.

If you are a competent handy man or handy woman, you may not need that extra pre-cautionary step.

Locate the part where your coffee beans are held, the hopper. This must be removed and washed by hand. Clean and wash the lid also.

Read: How to crush coffee beans at home

Step 2

Now you have the hopper removed, switch on and run your grinder for 5 to 10 seconds. This is a quick and easy step to quickly remove any coffee dust or coffee particles from the burrs.

Now unplug the grinder.

Optional: You can give a good blow long on the burrs manually or use a canister of compressed air. I use a compressed air can at home and have a pressurized air pistol installed in my coffee shop. The extra benefit here is moving more coffee dust and coffee grounds that may be stuck.

Step 3

Carefully remove all rubber and plastic parts of your grinder, including the little removable grind chamber that catches the ground coffee. Any part or component that is in contact with your beans must be removed and cleaned. Wash all these components by hand.

Step 4

Time to remove and clean the inner burr. First remove it; you may need to use some tools to do this. Clean with a coffee grinder cleaning brush or a stiff child’s tooth brush.

Be careful to remove any and every bit of coffee dust that is stuck.

Use a dry towel to wipe clean the outer and inner burr. You must use a dry towel as the objective here is to absorb any coffee oils that are left behind. A wet towel will not achieve this goal.

Under no circumstances should you clean your burrs with water. This is a golden rule regardless of whether a steel burr or ceramic burr.

Wait for, and allow all the components that you have removed and cleaned to be absolutely bone dry.

Step 5

This is where your previous notes will come in handy. Your job is now literally complete. All you need to do is reassemble your clean Cuisinart coffee grinder.

Cleaning Cuisinart Coffee Grinder Parts Without Disassembling Your Grinder

If you are not confident or capable of disassembling your burr mill grinder, you can buy specially designed cleaning tablets that you simply run through your grinder.

These tablets are simply placed in the hopper and then pulsing the grinder until the cleaning tablets have completely passed through your grinder.

Run an ounce or two of coffee beans, taking advantage of any old or left-over coffee beans in your grinder for one complete grind cycle.

Throw away the grounds and wash by hand your grind drawer.

This tablet based technique in the coffee grinder cleaning process is best used and highly advised with new machines that are still under guarantee or warranty. If you disassemble yourself, you may invalidate the product warranty.

Cleaning your machine by hand is much better, without a doubt as you get more of the oils from coffee beans and residual coffee oils cleaned up than with the tablet method.

Failing to clean regularly will end up with a build up inside your machine and an unhealthy, bad-smelling coffee. As a coffee lover and coffee enthusiast, this is not something you want or even dare to serve to your friends.

There is a variation of the coffee cleaning tablets version that involves the use of uncooked rice.

Naturally you are free to try this out as you wish. At Latte Love Brew we do not recommend using rice as a substitute for the cleaning tablets.

The video below shows this technique with a different grinder, not a Cuisinart conical burr grinder.

It is said by many that this technique is best with a blade grinder. If it is a Cuisinart blade coffee grinder that you own, then watch this video below.

Can You Wash Cuisinart Coffee Grinder?

Can You Clean Burr Grinders?

Yes,

absolutely you can clean your burr grinder and, more importantly, the burr mechanism easily. Some experts and coffee geek debate cleaning with specially designed coffee cleaning pellets or tablets Vs using rice and oats.

One thing this is not up for debate is the fact that you will get a cleaner grinder if, and when you clean it by hand.

My only suggestion regarding this is to not open and take your machine apart if it is still under warranty as you will likely invalidate it should it later break down.

When the warranty has expired get your tools out and open it up for a good proper clean.

How Do You Unclog A Burr Grinder?

Unclogging a burr grinder is very easy to do. You can unclog using the rice technique, or better still using the cleaning tablets. Next level is taking your machine apart and cleaning it by hand.

If your grinder is clogged, it is literally yelling out to you that it needs to be cleaned or is long overdue to be cleaned.

How Often Should I Clean A Burr Grinder?

You should not just wait until it is clogged, or you have foul smelling coffee or irregular, uneven grinds in your coffee grounds.

You should, by habit, give it a good quick clean once per week as a form of preventative maintenance and a thorough clean once per month at the very least.

What Happens If You Don’t Clean Your Coffee Grinder?

If you do not clean your coffee grinder regularly, be it a blade grinder, conical or flat burr grinder, steel or ceramic, manual or electric, all types of grinders need to be cleaned you will end up with smelly, pungent off tasting rancid coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions About – How To Clean A Cuisinart Burr Coffee Grinder

Should I Clean My Burr Coffee Grinder?

Yes, most certainly. If you don’t clean your coffee grinder you will end up with coffee old, rotten coffee grinds and rancid old coffee oil making their way into your cup of coffee.

A dirty grinder also presents a health hazard as bacteria and mold can grow where the old grinds and oils are.

How Often Should You Clean A Burr Coffee Grinder?

If you are a regular coffee drinker and use your grinder daily, you should, at minimum, clean your grinder at least once per week.

Personally, I strongly advise you to clean your machine, at least lightly after every cup of coffee that you brew. A light dust down with a brush, a blow out with your canister of compressed air and wipe down with a damp cloth.

A quick clean after every cup of coffee ensures that no old coffee grinds or oils from coffee beans get into your next cup.

Can You Rinse Out A Coffee Grinder?

Yes, but not directly under the tap (faucet) directly. To clean your grinder with water you need to take your machine apart. When it comes to giving your grinder a deep clean and taking it apart I strongly advise the use of distilled white vinegar as it will sanitize your grinder, kill all bacteria and mold (if any) and get rid of the coffee oils.

How Do You Service A Coffee Grinder?

Servicing your coffee grinder, a great starting point is to follow the instructions in this article and give your grinder a good, deep clean. For a full service you will need to contact a specialist and sharpen the burrs or blades.

How Do You Clean A Cuisinart Coffee Grinder With Vinegar?

Start by giving your Cuisinart coffee grinder a good deep clean using a soft brush and canister of pressurized air. Follow the instruction manual or a high quality video for your particular grinder model and take your grinder apart and clean the burr, blade, hopper, shoot and all parts with vinegar.

Rinse with water and let it air dry.

How Do You Clean The Inside Of A Burr Coffee Grinder?

Unplug your coffee grinder to avoid any accidents. Follow the instructions for your brand and model instructions to remove the top part of the burr.

Use a brush to brush and clean the burrs and remove the coffee grinds and oils.

How Do I Clean My Cuisinart Electric Coffee Grinder?

Always start by unplugging your grinder to avoid crushing and seriously damaging your fingers. Use a toothbrush to brush and scrub the coffee residue from the feed tube, the surface of the upper burr. Clean well to remove the coffee grinds and coffee oils.

How Often Should I Clean My Burr Coffee Grinder?

Keep your Burr coffee grinder clean by brushing it out with a long-haired brush like a paint brush after every use. Blow out the grinds too. This will keep your burr grinder and your blade grinder clean and make your deep cleaning much easier, which you should perform every 15 days.

Frappé-ing It All Up – How To Clean A Cuisinart Burr Coffee Grinder

There is nothing to worry about or be concerned about when you need to clean your grinder. At first this can be nerve racking when it comes to taking it apart.

For the duration of the product guarantee, use the grinder tablet method or grinder pellet method. After that, take it apart or have a competent friend do it for you. This is by far the best way to get it properly cleaned.  A good consistent grind size and quality is the result of a well-maintained, well-looked-after grinder. This will lead to better brew quality and better end product.

Now you know how to clean a Cuisinart burr coffee grinder you have no excuse for having a dirty one!

Do you have your own grinder cleaning tips and tricks or special methods?

Join our online coffee community on Facebook/Meta and share your “secret” tips and tricks with us all. We’d love to hear them and look forward to hearing from you.

Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location