There are several methods you can use to grind coffee beans at home even without a grinder.
All coffee lovers and enthusiasts know that pre-ground coffee does not offer the taste and aroma which we crave. So the best way to ensure a perfect cup is to grind your own high-quality and freshly roasted coffee beans just prior to brewing. There are many quality coffee grinders available in the market, and in a previous blog post we discussed their differences and how to best use them for optimum results. But if you do not yet own a coffee grinder, or you wake up one morning to find yours malfunctioning, do not despair! There are ways to get your beans ground to an acceptable level at home and without a grinder.
All coffee lovers should know how to grind coffee beans without a grinder even if it is a skill you may need infrequently. There are many effective ways to do just that so let us start looking at them without further ado:
Mortar and Pestle
If you are an expert cook and like to freshly grind your herbs and spices before mixing them in your cooking, you will be well familiar with Mortar and Pestle. But even if you do not cook, chances are that a shelf in your kitchen might have a dust-covered Mortar and Pestle sitting on it. The versatile tool requires some extra time and effort but it is well worth it if you want to grind coffee beans at home without a grinder as it gives you control over the texture and the grind.
It is recommended to use a ceramic Mortar and Pestle as it will not absorb the oils that get extracted from the beans. Start off by adding two tablespoons of beans to the Mortar and start swiveling, crushing, and pressing the beans with the Pestle in your dominant hand. The line between a coarse and a fine grind is very thin so be careful and keep monitoring the grounds until you have reached your desired grind. Transfer the grounds to your coffee maker before adding more beans into your Mortar and repeating the process, but do not put in more than two tablespoons or you will most likely end up chasing the beans all over your kitchen.
Immersion Blender
You can give your immersion blender a new job other than blending creamy soups for you by employing it to grind coffee beans for you. If it has a chopper bowl attachment, add two tablespoons of coffee beans to the bowl before giving them a grind. If it does not have its own chopper bowl though, you can put the beans into any bowl that can endure the blender’s blades. Shake the bowl a couple of times during the process to make sure all the beans are properly ground.
Meat Tenderizer or Hammer
The answer to your no grinder problem might not be in the kitchen after all but hiding in your garage. A hammer can smash (don’t) the beans into grounds and so can a meat tenderizer. Just place the coffee beans on a cutting board inside a zip-lock bag (do not place the bag on your kitchen counter to prevent the risk of damaging it). Place a piece of cloth over the bag to prevent it from tearing. Make sure not to beat the beans, but apply firm pressure on them with the hammer till they reach the consistency that you desire.
Pepper Mill
Genius, right? Simply put some coffee beans into your pepper mill (or beat them to smaller pieces first if your pepper mill is small), and grind them like you grind pepper. The consistency of the grounds using this method will be worth the time and effort. Just make sure you have cleaned out any residual pepper first!
Even a rolling pin can be used to grind coffee at home without a grinder.
Rolling Pin
Put some coffee beans into a zip lock bag before letting the air out from it. Place it on a chopping board or any flat surface and arrange the beans in such a way that they are all in a single layer. Starting from the bottom, apply pressure while rolling the pin to the top and keep rolling it up and down until the grounds are as fine as you want them.
Food Blender
You use your food blender to make drinks, right? Grinding your beans is also part of a drink preparation process. Done with the justification, let us look at how you can use it to powder the beans. Put coffee beans into the blender and run it at a medium-high speed. Some blenders have a ‘grinder’ setting as well. Use quick and short bursts and tilt it side-to-side to ensure uniformity of the grind.
Knife
The simplest of all the techniques but good for no more than a single cup as it can be tiring to grind enough beans to prepare a drink for many. Place some beans on a cutting board and make the blade of a large butcher knife face them. Apply pressure by placing a hand on top of the knife and move the knife back and forth. It is the same technique as grinding garlic cloves.
Food Processor
Just like a food blender, your food processor can do the job for you just fine. Use the same method as the blender and you will be able to enjoy your morning cup of coffee in no time.
Frying Pan
No, we are not telling you how to roast the beans, it is still about grinding them. Lay down the coffee beans on a chopping board and arrange them so that they are all positioned in a single layer. You can take a large quantity depending on the surface area of your frying pan. Hold the disk of the pan (not the handle) with your hands on the opposite sides and apply pressure on the beans from the top. Grind them to the desired fineness.
In case of an emergency (no or broken coffee grinder), these methods can help you grind coffee beans at home quickly, producing results that are pretty close to the ones that blade coffee grinders offer. The effort they require is worth it as the alternative of leaving your home without your morning brew is simply unacceptable for most coffee lovers.
Be sure to shop Two Bit Rush Coffee Roasters' coffees. We offer a selection of single origin coffees, curated blends, and flavored coffees. Roasted daily and delivered fresh.
