Clean Baratza Encore Grinder in 8 Easy Steps

Want to clean Baratza Encore coffee grinder? Check out our step-by-step guide and learn how to clean and maintain your grinder at home.

Taking care of your brewing equipment is paramount to making delicious coffee.

So, let’s go over how you can get a clean Baratza Encore grinder.

I’ve used my Encore nearly daily for the last five years without an issue. And I attribute that success to monthly cleanings.

Following these instructions will keep your grinder clean and working great for a long time.

Let’s get straight to it!

Cleaning Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder: A Step-By-Step Guide

Baratza encourages all its customers to take good care of their appliances. 

That’s why a cleaning brush is included with each grinder Baratza produces.

Let’s get started with everything you’ll need to follow this guide:

What You Need

While cleaning your Encore grinder might seem daunting at first, there are only three things you need. And two of those are somewhat optional.

1. Brush. This is the brush that came with the grinder. If you lost it (like me), you can use a pipe cleaner instead.
2. Pick (optional). This can be anything from a kebab skewer to a chopstick. It should be something thin and long and narrow enough to get between the burrs.
3. Vacuum. This isn’t super necessary, but it can be a helpful and quick way to clear out any clogs or clumps of ground coffee that are hard to get.

And honestly, that’s all you need for a thorough cleaning of your burr grinder.

Let’s Clean!

1. Turn your grind size to the coarsest setting, number 40. You need your grinder to be on the coarsest setting before you can remove the hopper.
2. Remove the hopper and rubber collar. Set these aside for later.
3. Remove the top burr. Simply pull straight up. The top burr is easily removable. While you can get a good amount of cleaning done without removing the top burr, I would still recommend removing it for a deep clean. For reference, I remove the top burr about every other time I clean my grinder.
4. Clean the burr with the brush. Using a stiff-bristled brush like the one provided to you, get all the coffee grounds stuck to the burrs off. Don’t be afraid of scrubbing at stubborn clumps, you won’t damage the burrs.
5. Clean the chute from burrs to chamber. Don’t forget this part! While you can get your burrs squeaky clean with the brush, the chute is usually a more likely culprit for clogs. It’s important to clean the entire system from hopper to chamber.
6. Clear and clean the bottom burr. The bottom burr isn’t removable. That’s why I recommend having a pipe cleaner if you don’t have the provided brush anymore. You need something to dig into the bottom burr and really go for those clumps.
7. Use the brush and pick to clean the opening of the bottom burr to the chute. If the bottom burr is especially dirty, I recommend going back to the chute again after this step to double-check that it’s clear.
8. Once the burrs are clean, turn your attention to the coffee bean hopper, chamber, and outside. A lot of people seem to forget this step. The hopper and chamber are still part of your grinding system! Any leftover grounds in the chamber might end up in your brew, and that’s not ideal. Also, if you tend to leave extra beans in your hopper for a long time, coffee oil and bean fragments might get stuck and end up in your brew.

Extra Pro Tips

Here are a few tips I picked up in my years as a barista and as an owner of an Encore:

• Don’t wash your burrs with water. Washing your burrs with water can lead to rust and corrosion, especially if you have steel burrs. It’s fine to wash your hopper and chamber with water, however. You can also run a damp rag around the exterior of your grinder to finish off your cleaning.
• Always clean the chute. Don’t stop at brushing clean the burrs. The chute that leads from the burrs to the chamber needs attention as well.
• Use a skewer to dislodge stubborn clumps. If there are stubborn clumps of coffee ground in the lower burr, you can use a skewer or chopstick to dislodge and clean them up.

How Do You Disassemble Your Baratza Encore?

Now, there are three main components to your Baratza Encore burr coffee grinder:

1. The body
2. The casing
3. Accessories

The accessories are easily removable parts. Those are the hopper, chamber, rubber collar, and upper burr.

The casing is removable, but you need extra tools. The casing is the outside of the grinder.

The body is the main hardware of the Encore. This includes the motor, base, and bottom burr.

Do I recommend totally disassembling your grinder every time you need a clean?

No. Not at all. 

In fact, it’s almost never worth totally disassembling your grinder.

I would only recommend disassembling it in case you need to make a repair. Other times you might want to totally disassemble are when upgrading burrs or if you haven’t cleaned your grinder in more than six months.

But here’s how to go about disassembling:

1. Remove the hopper, rubber collar, and upper burr. Make sure the hopper is rotated to the coarsest setting before pulling up.
2. Remove the chamber.
3. Remove the on/off knob. It doesn’t come off super easily and needs a pull, but it is meant to come off.
4. Using a flathead screwdriver, lift the casing from the bottom and pull the casing off. Lay the grinder on its side and pry the casing gently up from the base. This does take a little finesse. Be careful not to break the casing.

FAQ

Let’s finish things up with a few last-minute questions you might have about your Baratza Encore.

These are great things to keep in mind when thinking about regular maintenance for your grinder.

My Finishing Thoughts

The Baratza Encore conical burr grinder is actually pretty easy to clean.

Baratza even includes a cleaning brush with each grinder they produce.

And really, all you need to do is remove the chamber, hopper, and upper burr. Then clean each section separately with the brush and reassemble it.

I recommend cleaning your grinder about every 4-6 weeks, but monthly is even better!

Wondering which Baratza grinder is right for you? Check out our article on the Baratza Encore vs the Baratza Virtuoso!