Cleaning the grinder on a La Specialista, how deep do you guys go?

[Thomas Martinez]

Was reading through some maintenance for the Delonghi La Specialista and thought I'd share what I know about cleaning it out for others who may be interested in the process. Simply dump the ground coffee out of the hopper and use a vacuum to remove the remainder of the grounds that end up in the machine. Once you remove the grinder section of the machine, you can properly clean that area out as well.
What’s the most common cleaning protocol? To dump out the beans and vacuum it out? Or do some people goes further and fully disassemble the machine? I’d assume it’d be every time you use oily dark roasts? Or maybe once or twice a year?
Do people usually use the vacuum to remove the grounds from the machine? Or do people just tip the machine to empty the grounds?

 

[Enchanting Elk]

The vacuum is the most important part. I use a little dust buster and the amount of grounds that comes out is mind blowing. You end up with stale coffee in your shots if you dont do this step.

 

[Proud]

Once a year full teardown. If your using oily beans daily it’ll wreck the burr. Do quick clean every few weeks. Proper grinder clean every 2-3 months. No issues in 4 years.

 

[Pixellated Han]

wait what tools are needed to remove the grinder section? mine is relatively new but i havent gotten around to it yet

 

[Planet of the]

Any brew with alot of oils in them will destroy the burrs. The oily nature of dark roast coffee will quickly destroy the burrs. I had a friend who had his La Specialista grinder channels nearly 40% blocked by coffee grounds. He had no idea why his coffee dose was so inconsistent. For brewers who use coffee machines frequently with any roast past a city roast, do not wait a year between burrs deep cleans. Every 3-4 months minimum use grindz burr cleaner pellets.

 

[Dull Dragonfly]

Just tip it and tap it lol never vacuumed mine