How to Grind Coffee Beans Without a Grinder

Savoring the aroma and taste of freshly ground coffee is still attainable even if you don’t possess a coffee grinder in your household. You can leverage assorted methods to smartly employ items already in your kitchen for grinding your coffee beans.

Here are few ideas of how to grind coffee beans when you don’t have a grinder: 

Your Food Processor

The food processor is not ideal because it won’t produce a fine blend but if you have no other method then it will produce coffee that you can at least take a drink out of. Just like with the blender, put a small amount in, and don’t forget to close the lid. 

Don’t leave it running constantly, use a pulse setting if it has one, and just grind the beans with quick, sharp bursts before emptying it and starting over with more coffee beans. If you try to do too many at once it will just clog the blades. 

Your Blender

If you have a blender then check as some of them do actually come with a coffee grinder setting which is perfect. But if not you can use one of the regular settings for the same result. When using a blender it can get hot, so it’s best to blend the beans using quick, sharp bursts. 

If you leave it running continuously it is liable to get hot and this could cause the coffee beans to overheat and the resulting coffee will taste bitter and be very unpleasant. It will create coarse ground coffee

Your Chef Knife

A chef knife with a very wide, stiff blade can also be used very effectively to grind your own coffee beans at home as the flat blade provides better control than a hammer or mallet. You will end up with a finer grind as well. 

For this method, simply put the coffee beans on top of a chopping board, take the knife, and lay them flat edge over the beans. Use the palm of your hand to press down firmly on the blade to crush the beans. Trying to chop them will just result in beans flying everywhere. 

Pestle and Mortar

If you have an old pestle and mortar lying around in your kitchen then this is one of the best home tools you can use to grind your coffee beans, after all, it is designed precisely for grinding small items very finely. 

The key to achieving the consistency you require is to only grind a small amount of coffee at a time, as the mortar is normally quite small in size. Once you have ground the beans you can empty them into another container and start again.

Your Rolling Pin

A rolling pin can actually create a relatively fine ground coffee if you use the right technique and manage to both grinds and crush the beans together. If you don’t have a rolling pin then you could try using a glass bottle or a tin of food instead. 

The trick is to put the coffee in a sealed bag or within two pieces of greaseproof paper but make sure it can’t escape. Lay it flat on a worktop and then use your item in a hammer movement to push down and make sure the beans are crushed. Next, roll the item over the beans to grind them further, until you get your required consistency.

Your Mallet

If you own a mallet or some kind of wooden hammer, you can use this to crush your coffee beans as well. This method will also create a coarse or medium grind as a result but make sure you do it with caution. 

You need to follow the same instructions as for the rolling pin. Put your coffee beans into a plastic bag or within two pieces of paper but folded so no beans can escape from it. Then take the mallet and push it down firmly to crush all the beans. 

Conclusion

It is entirely possible to grind your own coffee beans without a specialist coffee grinder, simply by making use of some of your regular kitchen implements, however, you will always end up with a coarser and uneven grind than with a proper grinder. 

The most effective tool to use to get the finest grind by hand is the pestle and mortar so if you are going to be grinding beans regularly then it would be best to invest in one of these and your own strength as it will require some arm muscle to get the fine powder that you might require for use in an espresso coffee maker, for example. 

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