Whole-bean coffee ground right before brewing will result in a fresher cup of coffee, with less exposure to flavor-destroying oxygen. This also helps to protect the natural flavors of the coffee, so it doesn’t become bland and stale.
But what if you want to grind fresh beans every morning for that all-essential cup to start your day and don’t have a grinder?
With some simple kitchen tools and a little elbow grease, you can easily replicate the texture and consistency produced by a grinder. Here are the ways to grind coffee beans without grinder:
1. Blender
One easy way to grind your beans to a good consistency is by using a blender.
Remember that you won’t be able to make the coffee grounds the same size, but you will still be able to make a drinkable coffee.
Some blenders may have a setting specifically for grinding coffee beans, but if yours doesn’t don’t worry! You’ll want to make sure you use a pulsing setting, or blend the beans yourself manually.
While blending the beans, heat is created which can “cook” them. It’s important that the entire grinding process takes no more than 20-30 seconds to prevent the beans from burning.
How to grind beans with a blender
- Select the “medium-high” setting, or “grinder” setting if your blender has one
- Pour the desired amount of coffee into the blender (¼ cup to ½ cup of beans is ideal) and close the lid shut. Make sure it’s firmly in place!
- Using the pulse setting, grind the beans in time limits of 3 to 5 seconds.
- Repeat this process a maximum of 6 times for a maximum total of 30 seconds.
- If needed, tilt the blender to the side while grinding to ensure that the grind is mostly consistent.
2. Mortar and Pestle
The bottom of the mortar is usually unglazed, while the pestle is unglazed and slightly rough to help with the grinding. The mortar and pestle is a centuries-old kitchen tool used to grind herbs, spices, and medicines into a fine powder. It combines a hammering and rolling motion to help create a consistent texture. The bottom of the mortar is usually unglazed, while the pestle is unglazed and slightly rough to help with the grinding.
The method also provides you with a way to create a range of grinds, from coarse French-press to fine Turkish-coffee.
How to grind beans with mortar and pestle
- Fill your mortar with a few small scoops of coffee. Don’t fill it more than about ¼ full for best control. You can always grind a second batch.
- Hold the pestle with your dominant hand; use your other to hold the mortar in place.
- Using the pestle, forcibly press down and crush the coffee beans with a twisting motion.
- Once crushed, use the pestle to roll the coffee around the bowl, until you see the consistency and texture you want.
- If you need to grind more coffee, empty the coffee you’ve already ground into a bowl (or your coffee maker) and repeat the process till you have enough coffee.
3. Food Processor
This is a good option if you’re in a pinch and can’t use a regular coffee grinder.
This product is like a large version of a blade grinder, which is not as good as a burr grinder for things like particle size or adjustability.
If you are stuck in a vacation rental with no coffee maker, here is how to make coffee without having to go to a coffee shop every morning.
If you use a food processor instead of a blender, you will get similar results, but you will need more beans because the food processor’s blade is usually wider than the blender’s.
To make a stronger coffee, double the amount of coffee. If you are only making coffee for two people, you will already have enough coffee grounds for tomorrow. Make sure to store the leftover coffee grounds in an airtight plastic bag.
How to grind beans with a food processor
- Pour the desired amount of coffee into the food processor (½ cup to 1 cup of beans) and make sure the lid is firmly in place.
- Using the pulse setting, grind the beans in time limits of 3 to 5 seconds
- Repeat the process until the desired consistency is achieved, for a total time of up to 30 seconds.
- If needed, tilt the food processor to ensure the grounds are roughly the same size.
4. Rolling Pin
The classic rolling pin can crush and grind beans at the same time to produce a more even texture and finer grind than some other methods. Using this item does require a little elbow grease as well as an observant eye to ensure uniformity.
This method is most effective for French press coffee, since the grounds should be coarser than those used for drip coffee. It is also a bit more time-consuming, but will give you the desired results if you’re in a bind.
A easy way to grind coffee beans with a rolling pin is to put them in a plastic bag. You won’t have coffee beans flying around if you use this method.
If you follow the proper steps, you can use this technique to grind the coffee beans to a medium-fine to fine consistency, which is ideal for drip or pour-over brewing methods.
What you’ll need
- Rolling Pin (This can be any durable cylindrical object like a wine bottle, can of food, or wooden dowel)
- Large cutting board or counter space
- Plastic Ziploc bag or parchment paper
How to grind beans with rolling pin
- Place a measured amount of coffee into the plastic bag or between two sheets of parchment paper. Tip: To reduce scattering of the grounds, fold the edges of the parchment paper over to seal them.
- Lay the bag flat on the counter.
- Using the pin like a hammer, press down to crush your beans.
- Once crushed, roll the pin over the beans while pressing down hard enough to crush the bean fragments.
- Roll the pin back and forth over the grounds until they reach the consistency you prefer.
- Continue rolling and crushing if grounds are still too large.
5. By hand
If you don’t have a blender or food processor, you can grind coffee beans by hand. This is the best way to do it if you don’t have any electric appliances.
When you want to make coffee that is ground super fine, you need to do it by hand. Blenders and food processors can only take you so far.
Although they may require more time and effort, these methods will produce better results.
6. Hammer
A hammer can be used to crush beans efficiently and it does not take much time. As the beans are crushed, the grounds will become increasingly fine.
A meat tenderizer, mallet, or hammer can be used to crush your beans, but use with caution as you may also crush your hand or kitchen counter. As you break down the beans, you can gradually make them into a finer powder.
Place coffee beans inside a bag and use low to medium pressure to mash them. Be careful not to use too much pressure or you may break the bag.
You don’t need a special hammer for this! Amazon’s choice product is a good option to try.
How to grind beans with a hammer
- Place the desired amount of beans in the bag, similar to the rolling pin method.
- Crush the beans with the hammer but do not strike them as you would strike a nail. Instead, use the same method as the rolling pin, pressing down firmly on the hammer.
- Continuously move the crushed beans to one side of the bag to ensure a fine grind
- If a hammer is not available, use the fatter side (not the edge blade) of a large knife to crush the grounds.
7. Knife
To Grind your beans with a knife, use the flat of the blade instead of the edge. The design of a butcher knife or chef’s knife, with a slightly wider and stiffer blade, provides extra leverage to make crushing and cracking the beans easier.
Beans can be crushed by using the flat side of a knife blade. This gives you more control and lets you produce a medium to medium-fine grind. If you have spent more time in chef school, this will be easier for you. If you are not close to being a chef, you should choose a different method.
What you’ll need
- Large butcher or chef’s knife
- Wide cutting board (to help catch runaway beans)
How to grind beans with a knife
- Place your beans on the cutting board.
- Place your knife flat on top of the beans, being careful to place the sharp edge on the board. Tip: Lay a kitchen towel (or paper towels) over the knife, to help prevent flyaway coffee grounds.
- Place your flat palm on top of the blade and press down firmly to crack the beans. Don’t be tempted to strike the blade, as if you were crushing garlic: the beans will bounce and fly away, which not only means more cleanup, but you risk losing some of them.
- Once the beans are broken, continue pressing down on the blade, pulling the blade slightly towards you to make the grind finer.
8. Hand mincer or garlic press
The method of extracting coffee beans by squeezing them between two hard surfaces is quite different from grinding them with a coffee grinder, but it is quite simple. The beans are placed into the area where the garlic, meat, or other food is held, and then firmly squeezed out.
One of the problems is that the holes are usually large, which results in a rougher grind. You may have to do this process more than once, or do it along with using a rolling pin or hammer.
To grind a small amount of coffee beans, use a hand mincer or press. Put whole coffee beans through the machine, then gather the grounds and repeat the process until you have the desired consistency.
How to grind beans with a hand mincer or garlic press
- Place a small amount of beans into the mincer or press.
- Firmly squeeze the instrument until all remnants of coffee beans have passed through.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 continuously.
- Your grounds may be too big and too coarse for some methods, so you can run them through the press again until you’ve achieved the type of grounds you want.
Clear the steam and coffee smells with a professional range hood
A range hood can help to remove smells and odors from your kitchen. It can also help to keep the air in your kitchen fresh. When you are cooking, the range hood can help to remove smoke and odors from the air. This can make cooking more enjoyable.
Grind consistency
Scott Rao, who is an influential voice in the coffee industry, stresses the importance of having consistent and uniform grinds to make the best cup of coffee.
A consistent grind helps to evenly extract the desirable flavors from your coffee, as well as helping to ensure that each cup you brew tastes just as good as the last one.
An inconsistent grind tends to produce coffee with an unpleasant aftertaste.
The reason we grind coffee beans is to increase the surface area that comes in contact with water. The grind can be finer or coarser, which affects how quickly water passes through it and how long the coffee brews.
If you don’t have a coffee grinder, the best way to get evenly ground coffee beans is to grind or crush only a few at a time.
You can control how fine you make the grounds by going slowly and repeating the same movement.
If you’re finding it difficult to get a consistent grind, using a French Press could give you a better result as it’s more tolerant of inconsistencies. The key to getting better at this is practice.