Grinding your own coffee beans to make your own delicious coffee is the pinnacle of home barista-ing, isn’t it? But, what if you don’t have your own coffee grinder?
The horror! How are you going to grind your coffee beans now without becoming a laughing stock among your other coffee loving friends? Fear not. We are here to help. How to grind coffee beans without grinder is actually a commonly asked – and simply answered – question among coffee afficionados.
Can I Grind Coffee Beans In A Blender?
If you don’t have a special coffee bean grinder, and you don’t fancy spending hours with a pestle and mortar, what can you do?
You’ll be pleased to hear that you can use your standard household blender to grind up your coffee beans!
It will almost certainly make a coarser grind than you would expect from a specialised coffee grinder, but that’s ok, right?
- Start by adding just a small amount of beans to your blender, until you figure out the speeds and avoid wasting your entire batch of beans.
- Use the Pulse button to start with, to grind the beans a little but you can still keep an eye on their progress.
- Once the beans have reached your desired consistency, you can add more beans, and use the pulse button again.
- If you are going for a finer grind, leave the beans in the blender for longer, and go for a higher speed.
- Bear in mind that coffee beans are pretty hard, so if you use your blender for a lot of them on a regular basis, you may have to sharpen or replace your blender blades.
- Some blenders even have a “grind” setting, which is ideal for a small batch of coffee beans.
- The most important thing to remember is that you should blend in small batches, to get a good consistency and avoid damaging your blender.
How Do You Grind Coffee At Home?
There are many ways that you can grind your own coffee beans at home:
- Coffee grinder. These nifty little gadgets are very simple to use – just place in the required amount of beans, press the button and off you go!
- Blender. Grinding beans in a blender is a very similar process to using a designated coffee grinder, but you will have to use smaller batches and “pulse” the beans.
- Food processor. Ideal for when you have larger batches of beans or are happy with a coarser grind for coffee in a cafetiere.
- Pestle and mortar. Take it back to the early days by grinding up your beans in a pestle and mortar. This will take some time, but it is very rewarding.
- Towel and hammer. If you have none of the above, you can simply wrap your beans in a clean towel and bash at them with a hammer. You won’t end up with a fine grind, but you will have the satisfaction of having “ground” your own coffee beans!
This useful article will show you many different ways you can grind your won coffee beans.
How Long Does It Take To Hand Grind Coffee?
The answer to this question depends on what method you are using to grind your coffee beans – some types of grinder take longer than others!
Hand grinders
These beautiful, old fashioned machines use a hand crank to turn a wheel which grinds up the beans and deposits them in a drawer beneath the grinder.
They are simple and easy to use; simply place the beans in at the top, turn the handle a few times and you will be rewarded with perfectly ground coffee beans.
These may take a few minutes to produce your ground coffee, and a little bit of elbow grease is needed to turn the handle (but no too much, don’t worry!)
Electric grinders
These are simple and easy to use. Simply add the coffee beans to the mouth of the grinder, press the button and away you go.
These don’t take long at all to grind your coffee beans to perfection; just place them in at the top, wait for a few moments and there are your ground beans.
Pestle and mortar
This is a much more labour intensive way of grinding your coffee beans,but it is pretty effective nonetheless.
Just pop your beans in the mortar vessel and pound them with the pestle (the rounded grinding club).
It might take you a good few minutes and a bit of sweat to achieve the perfect grind, but this is an effective method of grinding your coffee beans so you get a good, smooth cup of coffee.
Blender
If you don’t have a coffee bean grinder, a blender is a great substitute. It will take no time at all, and will result in a smooth blend.
All you need to do is place the beans in the goblet and pulse them for a few seconds in order to grind them to a good size for coffee making.
If you like visuals, here is a video on grinding your own beans:
How Do You Grind Coffee Beans For Strong Coffee?
- The best thing you can do to grind strong coffee, is to buy strong coffee beans. They all have a number on the packet denoting their strength, so go for the highest you can find.
- The fresher the better. Buying coffee beans from a local deli, or a seller that ships them fresh, will make your coffee stronger.
- Use the correct water to coffee ratio. It is recommended that you use 2.5 tablespoons of coffee to 6 ounces of water, for a strong cuppa.
- Experiment with brewing methods. Some methods will create a stronger coffee than others, so try a few different methods until you have figured out the right one for you.
Grinding your own coffee beans is the height of making great coffee. Now you know how to grind your own beans without the help of a machine, you will be all over this!
Once you can grind your own beans you can create the most beautiful cups of coffee, to impress not only your friends and family, but also yourself. Go forth, grind,and enjoy!
