CoffeeNate Recommended

quickly become rancid when left exposed for any length of time.  In addition to this, every grinder retains a residual amount of coffee inside.  (this is why I like to grind a handful of throw-away beans before I grind for my drink.  This will flush out the old coffee)  So, how exactly do we effectively clean the coffee grinder?  Here’s how…First, you’ll need

• 1 cup white rice
• 1 stiff toothbrush
• other stiff bristled brush / paint brush
• clean damp cloth
• dirty grinder

Here is the step by step instructions on how to clean a burr coffee grinder;

1. Place about 1/2 cup of white rice into the grinder and cycle through at the finest setting
2. If your grinder has a hopper, remove it, and use your brush to get any hard to reach areas, then wipe with the damp cloth
3. remove any loose parts inside of the grinder and attack the exposed parts with the appropriate brushes
4. If your grinder is small enough, you can tilt it over a trash can.  Alternatively, you can do this cleaning outside and use a can of compressed air, or just close your eyes and blow really hard.  That was a joke
5. Wipe any accesible areas with the damp cloth, even if they appear to be clean.
6. Reassemble the grinder, ensuring any removed pieces get wiped off.
7. Cycle the remaining 1/2 cup of white rice through the grinder (note how much cleaner the rice appears)  If the rice is still dirty looking, run another cycle of rice
8. Grind about one cup of coffee beans that you don’t mind throwing out.  This removes the residual amount of rice from the inside of the grinder.

Here is a step by step instructional on how to clean a blade type coffee grinder;

1. Fill ‘grinder’ with rice just covering the blades.
2. Pulse the blades for about one minute.
3. Remove rice and wipe inside of grinder with the damp cloth

Now don’t let the simplified cleaning process for the blade grinder lure you to purchase one.  Why?  You will NEVER ever experience a truly excellent cup of coffee until you invest in a burr grinder.  Now there are all sorts of burr grinders out there, and they are most certainly not created equal.  There are a few for less than $50, and you might as well grind the beans with your teeth, because they are not very good.  The purpose of a grinder is to precisely and uniformly grind the coffee beans.  Blade grinders will always produce a sub-par cup of coffee simply because it is impossible to achieve a uniform grind size.  Large chunks of coffee will not release their flavor, while the fine dust like coffee grounds will give away more flavor than they should, resulting in a bitter taste every time.  You can buy a fairly priced coffee grinder, such as the Breville BCG450XL, which I have personally used for a year.  This grinder retails for $149, but goes for about $90 or so, and is very well built.  (Today it was listed at $85!)  It does a great job of grinding coffee for everything from french press to fine.  It does have espresso and Turkish coffee settings, but it will not deliver consistent results at this degree.  I highly recommend this grinder for those of you who are new comers to the world of specialty coffee.  A decent grinder is a huge step in your journey to greater coffee knowledge, and subsequent enjoyment!

FREE COFFEE CONTEST!

The June free coffee contest is sponsored by Social Coffee & Tea Company! They will be giving away 5 prizes of free coffee to visitors of CoffeeNate.com!  I will be drawing and announcing the winners on July 1st.

Here’s how you can get the maximum number of entries…

• Leave a comment on ANY post at CoffeeNate.com! The comment must contribute to the discussed topic to qualify.
• Click the ‘TWEET’ button at the top or bottom of any post at CoffeeNate.com
• ReTweet any of my tweets that contain contest information, or a link to CoffeeNate.com
• “LIKE” the CoffeeNate.com page on facebook (You will receive an entry into every contest!)
• “LIKE” the Social Coffee Company page on facebook
• Refer a friend to CoffeeNate.com and have them send me a message saying “___ sent me.”
• Ask any coffee question
• Simply fill out the CoffeeNate.com email and free coffee contest form with your name and email (auto entry into EVERY future contest)
• Place a link to CoffeeNate.com on your website, or in a blog post. (email me the link to enter)