How to Operate a Coffee Grinder

How to operate a grinder should be how to operate different coffee grinders for the home. Coffee grinders come as very simple machines to operate to those needing instructions on how to operate the coffee grinder correctly. Household coffee grinders come as blade grinders and as burr grinders. A burr grinder does not get as hot and grinds the beans more evenly creating a better brew of coffee. With some grinders, you need to look at the grind size every so often to check if the grind size is what you want. If it is not small enough you can start some grinders again for a finer grind.

With most simple household blade coffee grinders, take off the cap on the top. Put the needed amount of coffee beans you will need to make the amount you want in the grinding chamber. Put the lid on and make sure it is secure. Most grinders will not run if the lid is not locked in place. Set the knob or lever on the front of the grinder to the grind size you want. Turn on the grinder and set on the counter until it finishes. Check to see if the grind size is what you want. If it is the right size, take off the top and pour the ground coffee beans into the lid. Then, transfer the ground beans into the coffee filter of your coffee maker. Always be sure to use your brush, which usually comes with the grinder, to rid remaining coffee grounds in your coffee grinder before putting the lid back on the coffee grinder. If you leave any coffee grounds in the chamber they will make your next pot of coffee bitter. Also, be sure to put the cord away rather than leave it out on the counter. This is a safety issue. Cords left out on the counter can get snagged on something or pulled by young children who can reach up to the counter top.

Some household grinders have grind-settings from French press to Espresso and have an automatic turn off for the number of cups of coffee you want to make. These are called programmable grinders, but usually have a manual timer.

Household burr coffee grinders use ceramic burrs in two ways. Flat-plate ceramic grinders are shaped like two stacked dinner plates while conical grinders are like two glasses stacked one inside the other. Both of these types of ceramic grinders are extremely hard and provide the best job for multi-use grinding, such as coffee beans or seeds. Ceramic is non-corrosive and is also suitable for grinding pepper, salt and spices. Fill the hopper of your mill grinder with whole beans and put on the lid. Move grinding burrs to grinding size desired as noted. A suggestion here, 1-3 for espressos, 4-6 for filtered coffeemakers and 7-9 for percolators. Set the timer for the number of cups to be ground 0 – 12. If you want a finer grind, it is a good idea to wait about 2 minutes before setting the grinder for another minute of two of grinding. If there are any unground beans left in the hopper, it is a good idea to put them is the original bag to keep fresh. Be sure to clean the grinding area after each grinding.

The more advanced coffee grinders are ceramic burr grinders that are usually considered espresso grinders. These burr grinders will grind up to 50 settings or more and come with or without dosers. A doser is a container that sits on the grinder and catches the ground espresso beans into compartments that hold enough coffee for one espresso drink. Some dosers come with a built-in tamper. Each doser compartment holds enough finely ground coffee for one espresso drink.

To produce fine powder for Turkish coffee or espresso and even coarse enough for French press coffee, put the whole beans in a chamber at the top of the grinder. Select the grinding setting you want. A rocker switch must be held down to keep the grinding burrs in motion for the entire grind. After the grind is done, it is very important to change the grinding speeds while the grinder is on and the burrs are in motion, if this is not done the burrs will “gunk” up and require you to clean it every time this occurs.