In most cases, you’ll have to take your grinder apart to give it a proper cleaning. Follow your manual’s disassembly process and use a brush to remove the old coffee. Don’t use water. The frequency of cleaning depends on variables like how often you make coffee. We recommend brushing your burrs when you switch between different beans.

While there are always exceptions, manual grinders are usually quieter, smaller and more lightweight than electric grinders. Since manual grinders are cheaper, investing $100 in a handheld grinder should also get you a more consistent grind than a similarly priced electric machine, but excellent grinders exist in both categories.

If you shop for an electric grinder, you’ll find some models that use toothed burrs and others that use a metal blade. Blade grinders are panned in the specialty coffee world because they often aren’t adjustable and can’t produce a uniform grind, which is why we recommend choosing a burr grinder. Luckily, all hand grinders use burrs.