Coffee grinder rec?

[avaserfi]

Once a month is fine for cleaning the burrs. You can also use minute rice to the same effect, but at a far lower cost.

Also, you might want to clean the burrs manually once a year. Instructions are included with your grinder on how to do this (a very nice touch by Baratza).

 

[Alex2507]

Once a month is fine for cleaning the burrs. You can also use minute rice to the same effect, but at a far lower cost.

Also, you might want to clean the burrs manually once a year. .

Cleaning ?!?

Who knew?
I've got Uncle Ben's Converted rice. It's white and takes 20 minutes. That's better, right?

Seriously, can I use that and how much? ... fine grind? I need this spelled out.
I knew it was too good to be true. There's work involved.

 

[avaserfi]

Make sure the rice is parboiled (it will be on the ingredient list). It is the super cheap stuff that comes in a box. I don't know what "converted rice" is. I just run the rice through the grinder until only white powder comes out. Wipe out as much as I can with a brush, grind some coffee through and it is good to go. The Grindz/rice will absorb the old coffee oils and knock out some stuck grounds. My understanding is that a more coarse grind is suggested to prevent fine particles from getting stuck in the burrs.

Like I said, I do it once a month or so, you can do it less often. If the grinder smells stale it should be cleaned.

The caveat, some people think Grindz will leave less powder in the grinder chamber than rice. Also, it is supposedly less likely to absorb moisture in the air and less likely to clog the burrs of a grinder than rice. Most people I know use minute rice so I just went with that. The people who developed Grindz claim it is a better and safer cleaner, but of course they do.

 

[jostenmeat]

Cool, thanks Andrew. Since my superautomatic died, I've learned my lesson that good maintenance always costs less than buying a new unit!!

I did wonder about how often to manually clean the burrs, because I don't remember any time period offered, and once a year is pretty darn easy. I'll probably do that at least two to three times a year, so I should be good to go. The unit came with a stiff brush of sorts to clean stuff out.

I think I might just splurge on the Grindz in the future. Here is a 48 pack for $44 shipped. Maybe I'll buy that when I go through my 3 pack, several months from now. That's like a 5 yr supply, or less than $10/yr for sure. I bet you I'll still be drinking coffee 5 years from now.

http://www.amazon.com/European-Gift-48-Grindz-Coffee-GrinderCleaner/dp/B000ES1PNE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1266965424&sr=8-5

 

[jliedeka]

I hardly ever remember to clean my grinder but I do vacuum the loose stuff occasionally. I never have minute rice around but I've used plain white rice.

Jim

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

On this opportunity I'd like to welcome myself to proud owners of Baratza Grinders club.
Just got my Virtuoso and made first brew with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with on Moka (stove-top espresso)
Yam-mi !!

 

[jostenmeat]

On this opportunity I'd like to welcome myself to proud owners of Baratza Grinders club.
Just got my Virtuoso and made first brew with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with on Moka (stove-top espresso)
Yam-mi !!

Cheers. I'm really glad the people here talked me into the Baratza. It's great. I think my last bag was Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, too! I'm just about done with my Indonesian pound. Dunno what I'll get next.

 

[jostenmeat]

So I recently got myself a vacuum coffee maker, my first. I got a cheapie at $36 (but man they can really get up there). I think I read that some people find glass filters for them, but I can't be bothered and am using the cloth filters. I am not exactly sure how long many brews they are good for, but I think they should last a while, per piece. So, with the cloth filters I can choose to have a very fine grind (whereas with glass it should be coarse).

While the overall time it takes to brew, compared to a french press, really seems to be comparable, I do end up watching the vacuum maker up to the point that I remove it from the heat source. It's very tasty, but while I may not have got the proportions/grind/brewtime nailed down yet, I am not sure that's it's head over heels better than french press.

Some cons are that I use up more coffee with the vacuum maker, and because of the much finer grind I use (at around 10 right now, on a scale to 40 I believe it is), it takes a lot longer to grind (and perhaps puts more stress on my Barratza). Oh yeah, I'm currently working through a bag of Huehuetenango, and I probably buy more of these beans than anything else.

I'd like to one day buy a cheapie popcorn maching and try roasting myself, outdoors of course. edit: I forgot to say, it's the Yama:
http://www.amazon.com/Northwest-Glass-SY-8-40-Ounce-Stovetop/dp/B002CVTKW4/ref=pd_sbs_k_1

 

[Dan]

I haven't been very impressed with the cheap burr grinders I've tried. The jam easily and can burn the coffee. If you want to go cheap, stick with a blade grinder and use a Melita filter or one of these:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/coffee-brewers/filtercones/clever-dripper-with-lid.html

$15.00 and you can control the time you brew the coffee. 3 minutes works pretty well for me.

If you want to spend $200 I think you get more bang for your buck getting a roaster and have freshly roasted coffee than most of the stale junk available in stores roasted god knows when. You can get gourmet green coffee beans for $6-7/lb that will really open your eyes to a whole new world for flavor.

 

[jostenmeat]

I have access to really good coffee where I live, really awesome stuff. Truly light* roasted. They date every bag with the roasting date too, where sometimes I pick the freshest, and sometimes I'll pick a two day old so that it had time to degas a little.

I've played with brew times between 1 and 2 minutes on the vacuum. I think last time was like 75 seconds before pulling off the heat.

While the Baratza is my first burr grinder, I think it's awesome, and it is way better than my blade grinder. Remember I drink french press on most days. Blade grinder just won't work there.