Ever asked yourself how to grind coffee beans with a blender? Ask anyone who truly loves coffee and they will be quick to tell you that the best cup of coffee comes from using fresh whole coffee beans.
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Grinding Coffee with a Blender
Alternative Grinding Options
FINAL VERDICT
The reason is that as soon as you grind your coffee beans, the chemical compounds contained in the beans are released and exposed to oxygen and then they begin to oxidize.
It’s for this reason that it’s recommended that you only grind your coffee beans immediately before you plan on using them to brew your coffee. This will help ensure that your coffee is of the highest possible quality.
The best way to grind your coffee is obviously with a specially made burr coffee grinder. They are designed to perfectly grind coffee beans according to whether you desire a coarse or a medium grind.
But what about those people who don’t own a coffee grinder? What sort of options do they have?
Quite a few actually.
One way to grind your coffee beans is to use the most common household appliances – the blender.
While it’s certainly not as ideal as using a grinder specifically designed for coffee beans, a blender can still get the job done. In fact, you can even still grind your coffee down to either a fine or coarse grind when using a blender.
Read on to see how you can still make a perfectly good cup of coffee even if the only grinding equipment you have on hand is a basic kitchen blender.
How to Grind Coffee Beans with a Blender
If you’re going to be using a blender for grinding your coffee beans, simply follow these simple step-by-step instructions.
First things first, figure out how many coffee beans you’ll be needing. This amount will depend on how many cups of coffee you are planning on brewing. We’ve covered this topic more in depth elsewhere on the site, but in general, we recommend using 10 grams of coffee beans per six ounces of water you’ll be using. After measuring out your coffee beans, the next step is to decide on your preferred type of grind, usually either coarse or a medium-fine grind.
How you actually grind your coffee beans in a blender will depend on what type of grind you are aiming for.Â
Medium-Fine Grind
Making a medium-fine grind is surprisingly quite easy to do using a blender. All you have to do is add your coffee beans to the blender, turn it on, and let it do its work for a few minutes. You’ll end up with a fine grind that’s perfect for using with a French press or pour-over coffeemakers.Â
Coarse Grind
Making a coarse grind with your beans is a little bit more complicated with a blender. It’s still doable, you’re just going to have to grind your beans in pulses as opposed to just grinding them all at once for a few minutes. Grind the beans in a few short increments, shaking the blender between each grind. You won’t get the same coarse consistency as you could with a coffee grinder, but it will be close enough to work well for use in drip coffee makers.
After you finish grinding up your coffee beans, simply use them as you normally would when brewing your coffee and then enjoy!
Alternative Grinding Options
By following the instructions above, you can easily use a blender as a viable alternative for grinding your coffee beans.
However, what about options for grinding your coffee beans if you don’t have access to a blender?
Not to worry as there’s still a few clever ways that you can grind your coffee beans without needing a coffee grinder or a blender.
Here are a few other methods that you can try, taken from our article about making coffee without needing a machine:
- Use a mortar and pestle, starting with just a few beans and adding more in as you go
- Place the beans in a plastic freezer bag, then wrap them in between two towels, and use a hammer to grind them down
- Similar to the above method, you can use a rolling pin to crush your coffee beans instead of a hammer
It should be noted that by using the above methods, you’ll have less control over what type of grind you’ll end up with.
FINAL VERDICT
As you can see, there’s several viable methods to grind your coffee beans if you don’t have access to a burr grinder. Whether using a blender or one of the other alternatives we’ve provided, you can get the job done.
However, if you’re serious about making a good cup of coffee, we definitely strongly recommend investing in a quality burr grinder. It will make the grinding process so much easier and allow you much greater degree of control over your grinds.
