Tech Tips: Dialing in Your Grinder

When it comes to coffee, espresso machines, grinders, accessories and even tea, we’ll happily admit that we really do know our stuff. However, while we’re knowledgeable about coffee, we try not to take ourselves too seriously. After all, doesn’t knowing when to be serious and when to poke a little fun at ourselves make us even smarter? As such, we are excited to introduce a brand new series called “it’s so easy a Kaylie can do it.” The point of the series is to show that while adjusting a grinder or espresso machine might sound scary or challenging (especially to those of us that don’t consider ourselves particularly handy), it really isn’t too difficult. In this inaugural episode, Brandon has Kaylie tackle a couple of common problems people encounter with their grinders. We used a Mazzer Mini Type A Grinder in this video, but these solutions apply to both home and commercial grinders, as are common issues no matter what type of grinder you have. First, Kaylie discovers the secret to unjamming a grinder that has gotten stuck when grinding to a setting that is on the fine side. The secret? Turn the lever to a coarser setting, and make sure you have your grinder on the next time you go finer. Second, she learns how to reset a grinder back to its original set point after someone has messed with or changed grind settings. This task is a little more complex; since it involves emptying the coffee out of the grinder and then adjusting the burrs to setting so fine that they touch (you will know you’ve reached this point when you hear a wheeling noise). Last, but not least, Kaylie gets our grinder to a point that is useable for espresso, which is usually about 10 notches to the coarse side of the settings. Follow along as Brandon teaches Kaylie how to troubleshot and fix these problems. Don’t worry; there isn’t a quiz at the end, unless you count trying out these steps on your own grinder. You can do it, really!

Tech Tips: Dialing in Your Grinder