These are our best tips for how to grind coffee beans properly.
If you love coffee, you should know that the best drinks can be made only from freshly ground beans.
However, not everyone knows how to do it correctly and what to do if there is no grinder at hand.
To answer these questions I have prepared some tips for you on how to grind coffee beans.
Want to drink only the best coffee? Let’s start.
7 Ways to Grind Coffee Beans Without a Grinder
Therefore, it is difficult to come up with alternative ways. However, some of them, you can not even guess. To make your choice easier, I found you the 7 best ways to grind coffee beans without a grinder:
1. Blender
Before proceeding to the grinding, you need to ensure the equipment is ready.
First, the device must be equipped with a lid. Otherwise, the crumbs of beans will be all over the kitchen.
The second important aspect is the number of knives. For efficiency, you need at least 4 knives. Otherwise, the ground beans particles will be too large and not suitable for brewing.
The blender should be clean and dry. Otherwise, the resulting product will be spoiled. After all, when moisture gets in, the coffee loses its flavor and aromatic properties. If the equipment was previously used to crumble other products, it should be washed in order not to catch the leftover food from the ready invigorating drink.
Knives in a blender are located high from the bottom of the bowl so when grinding, the beans will sink under the blade. To ensure a sufficiently effective grinding, it is necessary to chop the beans at low speed, periodically stopping the equipment and picking up the stuck residue from the bottom.
2. Meat Tenderizer
Another interesting method. Both electric and mechanical, the meat tenderizer can be found in everyone’s house, therefore this method can be compared with the use of a blender in terms of efficiency, availability, and speed of obtaining the result.
Depending on the model of the device, you can choose the appropriate options for knives for different types of products.
For grinding beans they are ideal, and if you pass them through the mechanism twice or even three times, you can achieve fine grinding for espresso. Before crumbling the beans, all parts of the grinder must be thoroughly rinsed, as smells of previously ground products with insufficient processing can get into the coffee.
3. Mechanical Spice Mill
Spice mill – another good and simple method. Surely there is such a mill in every house, sometimes they are even sold with spices. The mill is designed to crush black pepper and other spices, but it is also suitable instead of a grinder. Unfortunately, extra-fine crumbling should not be expected.
4. Hammer
Hammer – the easiest and non-standard way to prepare beans. If you cannot use more convenient devices, use this.
To obtain a powder suitable for brewing or steaming, in addition to the hammer, you will need heavy paper. Beans are wrapped in paper so that they do not fly away and knock with a hammer. You can also use a plastic bag.
5. Mortar and Pestle
This method is traditional. It is possible to test it at home in the absence of other alternatives.
Of course, you will have to put in a little more effort than when grinding with other devices, but you fully enjoy the process of making coffee and get an incomparable aromatic drink.
To get even more pleasure from the process itself, you can experiment with roasting grains or order beans of different degrees of roasting. Then the banal procedure of preparing a drink will turn into an exciting process.
6. Rolling Pin
Roll up the beans in a sachet, as in the case of a hammer, and simply roll them with a rolling pin to get some medium or finely ground beans. This method is quite simple to implement, will require a minimum of effort and not as noisy as when using a hammer.
7. Knife
This method is similar to the use of a rolling pin. It is useful in the case when you are far from home (for example, on a hike or vacation) and there are no electric appliances like a blender and meat tenderizer, and you find yourself without a hammer. With the help of a knife, you can achieve relatively small beans.
At the same time, it is desirable that the knife be wide so that the side of it is pressed against the beans.
How to Grind Coffee Beans With Grinder
If you have a coffee grinder, then it will be easier for you to make your drink. However, there are some peculiarities. So that you know about the bottom, I prepared instructions on how to grind coffee with a grinder that is suitable for each device.
Instructions
- Prepare a grinder;
- Fill it with beans;
- Turn on the device;
- Note the time: 10 seconds – coarse grinding, 13 seconds – medium, 15-20 seconds – fine and more than 30 seconds – superfine;
- Open the cap and pour the ground beans.
It sounds simple, however, each grinder has its own characteristics so it is best to learn how to use each one individually.
Blade Grinder
Most models are made featuring knife grinding. Beans are crushed by sharp knives, which move at great speed. The duration of grinding determines the degree of fineness. The longer the grinder works on the beans, the finer the ground coffee beans will be. Often, users complain about the heterogeneity of grinding. This is due to the small capacity of the knives, only 120 ml.
Burr Electric Coffee Grinder
In this case, conical or cylindrical millstones are used. They function akin to a mill — beans, falling between millstones, are crushed and ground into small pieces. The degree of grinding is regulated independently and depends on the distance between the millstones. In this case, the level of crumbling is quite homogeneous. Capacity at these models is up to 300 g of beans. Among all grinders, this type of device is the most popular.
Manual Coffee Grinder
Manual coffee grinder is beneficial in its ability to independently adjust the amount of freshly ground beans. It uses two knives. One is attached to the very bottom and the other to the rotating inside of the handle. With such grinding, it is impossible to spoil the coffee, namely, to burn it with great power.
Types of grinding
Different methods of making coffee require different grinding. If you do not know this, then I suggest you explore the types of grinding that will help you make coffee in various ways.
Coarse
Coarsely ground beans are similar in size to fractions of breadcrumbs. For coarse grinding, it is suitable to use a blender or food processor. It can be used for a French press coffee, a vacuum coffee maker and cold brewing coffee.
Medium
Choose medium grinding for a different result. The size of medium-ground coffee is similar to granulated sugar. This is best suited for drip coffee makers, custard and Chemex. Medium-Ground beans can be used for a variety of things except for espresso or Turkish coffee.
For medium grinding, chop the beans with a knife or hammer. You can also use a mortar.
Fine
Use fine grinding for espresso. In professional espresso coffee machines, home coffee machines and geyser coffee makers, it is necessary to use finely ground coffee to get the best result.
Use a mortar and pestle or rolling pin to get a fine grind without a grinder.
Extra fine
Choose extra fine grinding for Turkish coffee. Extra fine grinding is powdered coffee, which in size is similar to icing sugar. Such grinding is necessary for Turkish and Greek coffee. In this case, you must use a mortar and pestle.
Conclusion
It is not so difficult to grind coffee without a grinder. You will probably be able to find a device around your home that is suitable. For large and medium grinding, you can use a conventional blender, mechanical spice mill or meat tenderizer. Just remember that some techniques are not traditionally suitable for such loads and their parts may fail or deteriorate. For example, blender knives blunted.
More simple methods of grinding beans such as a hammer, stone or mortar, are a clear confirmation that everything ingenious can be simple. With the help of these devices, you can quickly get the ground beans you need, as well as amazingly aromatic drinks.
Of course, all the above methods will be irrelevant if you own a coffee shop or store. In this case, it is better to purchase or rent a good coffee machine, which immediately grinds the beans.
