How do I clean my coffee grinder?
Brush out the chute and burr chamber every week or two, and strip the burrs for a proper clean every few months. Never wash burrs or the chamber with water, and never put anything metal near a running grinder.
Coffee oil is the enemy. It coats the burr faces and the chute, goes rancid, and adds a stale, bitter edge to everything you grind afterwards. It also builds up into a sticky layer that traps fines and increases retention. Cleaning is mostly about removing that oil before it accumulates.
The light clean takes two minutes. Unplug the grinder. Remove the hopper or bean chamber, open the chute or exit path as far as your model allows, and brush out the loose grounds with a stiff brush. A vacuum with a narrow nozzle helps in the chute. Wipe the exterior and the dosing cup area. Do this every week or two if you grind daily.
The deep clean means removing the burrs, and it is worth learning on your own machine. Unplug it, note the grind setting so you can return to it, and follow the manufacturer's disassembly procedure. Take the burrs out, brush both faces thoroughly, and pay particular attention to the leading edges of the cutting teeth where oil cakes hardest. A dry brush plus a dry cloth is usually enough; for stubborn buildup, a soft brush with a little isopropyl alcohol works and evaporates completely. Let everything dry fully before reassembly.
Water is the thing to avoid. Washing burrs or the burr chamber invites rust on carbon steel burrs and on the shaft, and moisture trapped in the chamber will cake the next dose into a paste. If you use any liquid at all, use something that evaporates and use very little.
Grinder cleaning tablets, which are food-safe pellets you grind through the machine, are a reasonable middle option for chute cleaning between deep cleans, especially on grinders that are awkward to disassemble. They do not replace stripping the burrs, because they do not reach the caked edges where the oil actually sits. Rice is sometimes suggested for this and should be avoided: it is harder than the burrs are designed for and can damage them.