Keeping Coffee Grinder Good to the Last Spin

Many coffee lovers won’t be caught without a coffee grinder. Scorning prepackaged ground coffee, they prefer to grind recently roasted beans for a fresher flavor.

Unlike a coffee mill, which pulverizes beans between grinding wheels, a coffee grinder chops the beans with a spinning blade.

A coffee grinder can also be used to unleash the flavor of whole spices and dried herbs. But frequent grinding of unusually hard spices may wear out the grinder prematurely. Coffee grinders are small and inexpensive; you might get one for coffee and one for herbs and spices.

Grinder use and care tips:

* Unplug the power cord after use. If you have to reach into the bowl for any reason, let the blade come to a complete stop first. The blade is sharp.

* Keep the grinder spotless. Wipe the blade and bowl and brush out stray bits after each use.

* Never immerse the body of the grinder in water.

* Use the pulse action to process beans. To pulse, release the control switch every few seconds and press again immediately.

* Don’t run the grinder when the bowl is empty. The blade may spin too fast and damage the motor.

* Don’t operate the grinder for more than 30 seconds at a time, or the motor may overheat. Total running time for a 5-minute period should not exceed 1 minute.

* The grinder switch can easily become clogged. Be sure to brush out any grounds around the switch.

* Dull blades are a common problem. They may cause you to grind the beans too long and overheat the motor. Blades cannot be resharpened, but on many models they can be replaced.

* If a grinder doesn’t run, the receptacle may be faulty. Try the grinder in another outlet in another part of the house.

* If a grinder doesn’t work, check the power cord and plug. A damaged plug can be clipped off; you can attach a new one yourself. If the cord is defective, it’s probably cheaper to buy a new grinder than to have the cord replaced.

* If a grinder shocks you or trips a circuit breaker in your home’s service panel, unplug it immediately and discard it.

To get the most out of coffee:

* Keep coffee beans in the freezer, which helps keep them fresh and retain their flavor longer.

* Before putting the beans in the freezer, transfer them from the original bag into several well-sealed small plastic containers. This reduces the coffee’s exposure to air and moisture, which rob it of freshness and flavor.

* When you remove the beans from the freezer, let them warm to room temperature before grinding. They will grind more evenly and with less stress to the motor.

* Grind only as many beans as you need each time you make coffee. For drip pots and automatic coffee makers, grind the beans until they are fine. For percolators, a coarse grind is better.

Grinders typically have a single-speed on-off switch that works only when the cover is in place.