Better life through better coffee. But wait, how about better coffee through better GRINDER? Now we’re talkin’. One of the best things you can do to improve your coffee experience is to grind it fresh, right when you’re ready to make a coffee. Yes, right then. Not at the grocery store when you’re buying your beans in bulk, and definitely NOT pre-ground in a bag. That is the easy route, and the easy route is not always the best route.
Let me explain, no, there is too much, let me sum up: ground coffee, be it for espresso, drip, Aeropress, Moka pot, etc… immediately starts to get, well, not bad per se, but just not as nice as fresh ground. There’s that word again, fresh. And the freshest approach is to grind it right as you are making a coffee.
“But…but…what about all the noise of a grinder?” Ok ok, you gotta houseful of kiddos and you don’t want to wake them up first thing in the morning when you’re trying to get your fix. Totally fine. Soooo in that case, grinding the night before is beyond acceptable. But that is STILL better than pre-ground coffee. Pre-ground coffee is a tool of the devil! Oh wait, that’s a Keurig. Never mind.
There are a multitude of grinders out there. And even the crappiest, hardware store-bought one is BETTER than pre-ground. No, really. I’m talking about the barrel-looking thing with a singular button action. Yes, even that is good. Economical, and if you use it just before making a coffee, even THAT will be an augmentation to your caffeinated existence.
But what I want to discuss is how to super-easy clean your Rancilio Rocky. This is indeed a little more fancy-pants, and not available at your local hardware. Most likely at your local roaster or cafe supply. But definitely at Seattle Coffee Co, Espresso Parts, and Amazon. It ain’t cheap but whoo whee! Absolutely, definitely takes your coffee to the Next Level.
Oh? You have a Rancilio Rocky and want to know the best way to super-easy clean it? Well let’s get to it!
First and most importantly, you gotta wait till the hopper is empty of beans. Yeah, I know, that sight makes me nervous too. But it’s only temporary. Hopefully you have some rice around. Just any ol’ rice as long as it’s white. This is one of only two things you’ll need to do this super-easy cleaning process. Rice. Jasmine, sticky, short-grain, from the grocery bulk section, it doesn’t matter.
No measuring really needed, but take some of this rice (perhaps a cup-ish?) and pour it INTO the hopper. I know that sounds crazypants, but trust me. “RICE!?!?!? What’re you nuts? My grinder!” No no no, the rice is going to get all ground up just like coffee beans. But what the rice does is absorb all the residual coffee oils that have collected within your grinder, on the burrs.
The burrs; the most precious component of your grinder. Oh sure, you could take a screwdriver and disassemble the housing and get to the burrs and scrub them manually, but didn’t I say this is the super-easy way to clean?
The rice does the job for you. It goes through the burrs and gets all ground up into, well, rice powder. Just like if you were grinding coffee. Make sure you have a bowl at the outlet to collect the rice powder, or you’ll have a mess on your hands. It’s only necessary to run the rice through once because it’s so effective. Near the end of the oil extraction, the rice will take on a darker hue as it is reeeeeeally gleaning all the residual coffee yuck left in your grinder over time. And that’s about it.
But wait, what about the OTHER thing I mentioned you will need to complete this process? It is the almighty, often bent, user-friendly…paper clip. Yes, the humble paper clip. There are some areas within the hopper that you just cannot reach, and the paper clip (really, you DO have one somewhere, check the back of the drawer), when slightly bent, makes for a simple and easy pokey tool.
Within the hopper, the rice will stick in some areas that fingers simply cannot go. In particular, there are three screw holes that keep a guard in place. Coffee beans, and rice, will absolutely get caught in there. Paperclip to the rescue! You can use it to get below the guard too to assist with any sticking rice. Suuuure is oily in there! When this cleaning process is finished, it only cost you a bit of rice, a modicum of time, and POOF! all better non-oily grinder.
Awesome. Now fill it up again and well, you’ve earned a coffee!