Ways to Grind Coffee Beans at Home

Newly ground coffee beans yield the richest and most flavorful brews. For those planning to use freshly ground coffee for their brews, possessing a reliable grinding method for the beans is essential.

While in many instances this means, investing in a grinder, this is not the only way to grind coffee beans at home as there are a few other methods you can use. Below we highlight some of the best ways to grind your roasted coffee beans at home.

Ways to Grind Coffee Beans at Home

There are various ways of grinding coffee as you can use almost anything provided it can crush down the coffee into smaller particles. Hence, you do not have to stress over grinding coffee as you can use things you already have at home. Here are a few ideas to help you out.

1. Coffee Grinder

The first and perhaps the best way to grind your coffee, and this is more so if you are looking for something that will provide highly consistent coffee grounds is by using a coffee grinder.

Coffee grinders will come in various types, and they can be classified in different methods, for example, using the grinding mechanism type, and the power source. When using the grinding mechanism, the two main types are burr and blade grinders, and when using the power source, you can choose between manual and automatic grinder.

Regardless of the type that you prefer to use, the most important thing is to ensure that your grinder provides consistent and quick grinding.

And while there are many good coffee grinder models out there, CoffeeGearX provides some amazing recommendations, and they will help narrow down your options for hassle-free shopping.

2. Blender

When you want to chop down anything into a smaller size, the blender is one of the first appliances that come to mind. What you might not know is that it is also one of the best ways to grind coffee beans at home.

And the best thing about blenders is that they are one of those appliances that you can get in almost any home, and so the chances are that you already have one at home.

Some blenders will even have a grinder setting, which ensures you have an even easier time grinding coffee. If yours does not have this setting, you only need to select the medium-high speed setting and then add a small batch of coffee beans to start grinding.

And for the best results, you should use the pulse technique and tilt the blender as it is grinding to ensure all the beans cross the blades' path.

3. Mortar and Pestle

Mortar and pestle provide a more traditional way of grinding things, and they have been in use for grinding spices and herbs for many centuries.

Despite the coming if more advanced grinding mechanisms, the mortar and pestle are still relevant, and now you can add grinding coffee to the things you can use them to do.

With the mortar and pestle method, you will have more control over the grinding consistency, and so you can easily dictate the grind size for different brewing methods from coarse French press grinds to finer ones for making espresso.

While this method takes some elbow grease, it is still easy to hack as you will only need to add a few scoops of coffee beans to the mortar and then use the pestle to crush them in a twisting motion while also pressing down.

4. Frying Pan

A frying pan will not only come in handy when roasting coffee beans as it will also help you grind coffee beans when you do not have a grinder around.

This is perhaps the simplest and most convenient way of grinding coffee beans because frying pans are one of the most common cookware, and you will hardly find any home that does not have at least one.

To use the frying pan method to grind your coffee beans, you should place them in a plastic bag and then close the open end securely while allowing the air to escape to ensure the bag does not burst when grinding.

Place the beans in the plastic bag on a hard surface and then grasp the frying pan on opposite edges of the rim. You should now gently push down the pan to crush the coffee beans while applying steady pressure. It takes more force to crush the beans but you should be able to crush them adequately to make good coffee with a little patience.

5. Rolling Pin

The rolling pin is another widely available kitchen tool that can also be very handy when you want to grind coffee beans without a grinder. And the best element about it is that it will do both crushing and grinding at the same time.

With the grinding technique involved when using a rolling pin, you can get a more even coffee grounds texture, and with enough patience, you can also give the beans a medium-fine grind for making pour-over coffee. However, using a rolling pin requires extra keenness and some extra elbow grease.

To grind the coffee beans, you should place them in a plastic bag or between parchment paper sheets and lay them on a flat surface before using the rolling pin to press down and crush the beans. And to ensure the grounds are uniform and consistent, you should roll the pin back and forth over them.

6. Knife

A knife is probably not what will come to mind when you think of ways to grind your coffee beans at home. But if you do not have any other alternative or all the ways above do not seem to work well enough for you, it can be the lifesaver.

But, contrary to what many people tend to assume, the best ways to use a knife to grind coffee beans is using the flat side of the blade and not the sharp edge.

A chef's or butcher's knife works best because of the wider blade design, and the fact that it is also stiffer will give you some extra leverage.

With a knife, you can easily get medium-fine or medium grind that is ideal for pour-over and a few other brewing methods.

Grinding the beans with a knife is also quite a straightforward task as you will only need to place a scoop of coffee beans on the cutting board and then press down with the flat part of the blade to crush the beans.

And you can also place a paper towel over your knife to prevent the grounds from flying away as you crush them.

Conclusion

Grinding coffee beans does not have to be a complicated affair as there are various things that you can use at home. From the highly consistent and efficient grinders to other things like a knife, there are almost countless ways of grinding coffee.

The best way to determine which of these methods will work best for you will be by trying them all out, and then settling for what gives you the easiest time or the most consistent coffee grounds. But, ultimately a coffee grinder will always give you the best results.