How to

What to buy to go with your grinder, and why.

• How to choose a coffee maker for your grinderChoose an SCA-certified drip brewer sized for how much you make, match its basket and filter, and grind medium-coarse on a burr grinder.
• How to choose a coffee scaleGet a scale that reads 0.1 g across your whole brew and has a timer; add water resistance and a small footprint if you pull espresso.
• How to choose a gooseneck kettleBuy a gooseneck sized for your batch; pick variable temperature if you brew light and dark roasts, and a stovetop model if you only need pour control.
• How to choose a pour-over dripperPick a cone like the V60 for control, a flat-bottom Kalita Wave for consistency, a Chemex for big clean batches, or a Switch to forgive pouring.
• How to choose a travel coffee setupPair a compact brewer such as the AeroPress Go with a slim hand grinder, pack whole beans, and plan how you will heat water.
• How to choose an espresso machine for your grinderMatch the machine's baskets to your grinder: single-wall baskets need an espresso-capable grinder, dual-wall baskets forgive one that is not.
• How to choose coffee filtersMatch the filter to your brewer's shape and size first, then pick a thinner, faster paper for fine grinds or a thicker one for a cleaner cup.
• How to upgrade from a blade grinderUpgrade when you brew pour-over or espresso or want repeatable settings; choose a burr grinder by brew range, power and cleaning, then weigh your dose.

Cleaning, static, burrs and keeping a grinder grinding true.

• How to calibrate a grinderFind the point where the burrs just touch, check the dial reads zero there, follow the maker's procedure if it doesn't, and record your own offsets.
• How to clean a Baratza EncoreGrind it empty, unplug it, twist off the hopper, lift out the ring burr, brush both burrs dry, wash the plastic parts and reassemble.
• How to clean a burr grinderGrind it empty, unplug it, remove the upper burr, brush the burrs and chamber dry, wash only the hopper and bin, and reassemble.
• How to clean a Fellow Ode Gen 2Unplug it, snap off the faceplate, remove four Phillips screws, pull out the dial and burr-and-auger, brush everything dry, then put it back in reverse.
• How to clean a hand grinderRemove the crank and catch cup, unscrew the dial to free the inner burr, brush and blow out the dust, keep it dry, then reassemble and recalibrate.
• How to replace grinder burrsRule out stale beans and dirt, buy your model's exact burrs, follow the manufacturer's guide to swap them, then recalibrate the zero point.

Finding the right setting on a new grinder or a new coffee.

• How to adjust grind for a new bag of coffeeStart at your last bag's setting, go a little finer for lighter roasts and coarser for darker ones, then adjust one step at a time by taste.
• How to convert grind settings between grindersTurn the source setting into a position on a shared 0–100 grind index, then read that index back on your own grinder's dial, and adjust by taste.
• How to dial in a new grinderStart at the manufacturer's suggested setting, brew a recipe you know, change only the grind in small steps, and write down where you land.

Sour, bitter, slow or uneven, and what to change.

• How to fix a slow pour-over drawdownGrind one or two settings coarser, pour low and slowly, keep swirls short, and try a thinner, faster filter if the bed still stalls.
• How to fix bitter coffeeIf bitterness comes from over-extraction, grind coarser, use slightly cooler water or brew shorter; if it comes from the beans, change the coffee.
• How to fix espresso channelingBreak up clumps with a needle tool, tamp level without tapping afterward, use the right dose for your basket, then fine-tune the grind.
• How to fix sour coffeeSour coffee is usually under-extracted: grind finer first, then lengthen the brew or use hotter water, changing one variable per brew.
• How to reduce grinder staticWeigh your beans, mist them with a few drops of water, stir, then grind. Moisture is the main thing that controls static.

Everything around the brew.

• How to descale a coffee makerDissolve a coffee-machine descaler in water, run it through a brew cycle without coffee, then rinse with several cycles of clean water.
• How to store coffee beansStore whole beans airtight, opaque and away from heat, buy one to two weeks at a time, and freeze sealed portions if you need longer.