Your grinder works harder than anything else on your counter. Every time you grind, it leaves behind coffee oils, tiny particles (called fines) and, depending on the roast, chaff. Dark roasts leave more oil. Light roasts leave more chaff and static.
It builds up slowly, so most people don't notice until something goes wrong. Here are the three signs to look out for, and what to do about each one.
Sign 1: Your coffee tastes sour
If your coffee has started tasting sour and nothing else has changed, old oils could be the cause. Oils from the beans coat the burrs and the grind chamber over time, and Baratza notes that dark-roast oils in particular can give your coffee a sour taste.
The fix: run grinder cleaning tablets through your grinder. They absorb the oils as they're ground, with no need to take anything apart. Baratza highly recommends tablets if you mostly drink dark roasts.
What helps: Cafetto Grinder Clean Tablets 430g. Check the pack for the dose and how often to use them.
Sign 2: It clogs or grinds slowly
Oils make ground coffee stick, so fines slowly pack into the burr chamber and the exit chute. Eventually coffee struggles to get through, and your grinder slows down or stops putting out grounds altogether.
The fix: give it a full clean every 4 to 6 weeks, or more often if you use dark roasts. Baratza's routine is:
- Unplug the grinder.
- Remove the hopper and the upper burr.
- Brush out any coffee left in the burr chamber and the chute.
- Wash the hopper and grounds bin in warm soapy water, then dry them fully before refitting.
If the chute is properly blocked, push the packed coffee out with a brush handle or an unfolded paperclip. Check from above and below, then test with a very coarse setting.
What helps: the Coffee Hit Mini Coffee Vacuum. It's a vacuum and air duster in one, with a crevice nozzle for the tight spots a brush can't reach.
To stop clogs coming back:
- Keep the grounds bin less than two-thirds full
- Don't grind coffee that's already been ground
- Don't store beans in the fridge, as condensation makes them clump
Sign 3: The burr won't sit right
On a Baratza Encore, the upper burr sits in a plastic ring burr holder. Its tabs keep the burr aligned and let you lift it out for cleaning. When the holder cracks, you'll usually spot one of these:
- A tab that's snapped, cracked at the base or missing its red marker
- The burr sitting loose or tilted in the holder
- The burr not sitting flush, so the hopper won't twist into place
- Bits of plastic in your grounds bin
The fix: replace the burr holder. If the burr itself is chipped, replace the burr and holder together.
What helps: the Baratza Ring Burr Holder for Encore ESP. We also stock it for the standard Encore and the Encore ESP Pro, so check the model number on the bottom of your grinder first.
To keep it from breaking: only change the grind setting while the grinder is running or empty, and keep an eye out for stones in your beans.
Still having trouble?
Some problems need more than a clean. If your Baratza won't start, shows an error code, makes odd noises, smells of burning or has a grind adjustment that's stiff or slipping, we can fix it for you.
Fix My Baratza is one fixed price with no hidden extras:
- Order the service and we'll email you a returns label.
- Remove the hopper and bin, pack the grinder securely and send it to us.
- We repair and clean it, test your burrs, and post it back to you.
Repairs can take up to a week. If your burrs need replacing, we'll get in touch first.
And if your grinder has simply done its years, the Baratza Encore ESP is the upgrade we'd recommend.
