How to grind coffee beans without a grinder ?
You don’t have a coffee grinder at hand? No worries! This article tells you how to grind coffee beans without a grinder.
1. Use a Blender
This alternative is a little obvious. Have you ever used your blender to grind coffee into grains ? It’s a little more complicated than it looks.
Part of the reason is that mixers work better when there is liquid to help move around the solids you put in.
If you’ve ever made a smoothie or milkshake without enough liquid, you know how it can hang your blender blades and overload the engine. Do this too often and it can even break the blender motor.
To get a correct grind size at the output, first check if the blender has a grind setting. If this is not the case or if you plan to use a personal blender at a speed, use this trick :
add a small amount of coffee beans
grind them to the right consistency using short bursts of power
remove the grains
grind another small portion.
It will take some time if you plan to brew a whole coffee but it can help prevent your blades from getting stuck and deteriorating.
If you throw half a bag of coffee into an old blender, you will get uneven grinds with pieces of badly ground grains. Or worse, you could damage your blender’s engine by trying to do a task that it is not able to do.
2. Mortar and pestle
A much more civilized option than a small rock and a large stone but still quite old school, is mortar and pestle. This method of crushing goes back to ancient Egypt. You can have one in your kitchen to make pesto, aioli or chimichurri.
Otherwise, you can buy a mortar and pestle in the kitchen utensils section of most stores. You probably won’t get the perfect grind, but you’ll get grinds that you can use without a problem.
When grinding your coffee beans with a mortar and pestle, you should be careful not to crush them into unfilterable dust. You will need about two tablespoons of grind per cup that you want to brew.
Use the pestle to crush them against the bottom of the mortar. Stir them a little as you go to make sure all the grains are crushed.
3. Meat grinder
If you are not familiar with this device, it works in the same way as the old metal pencil sharpeners that your primary school teacher probably had on his desk. Meat grinders are devices used to finely chop all kinds of meat and vegetables.
It is easy to understand how to chop coffee beans with a meat grinder. It is a stainless steel or plastic machine with an internal blade assembly that you use with a crank to chop everything you put into it, even coffee beans.
To get your hash with a hand grinder, measure the amount of grains you want to grind. Turn the crank while slowly pouring the grains into the grinder. You can sift your grinds and put the large pieces back into the mill several times, if necessary.
4. Meat tenderizer hammer
Also called meat hammer, this kitchen tool is a small metal hammer used to soften and flatten pieces of meat. The head of the mallet has two flat sides covered with small bumps or spikes. You can probably guess how to proceed, but let us add a little helpful advice before you start breaking your coffee into grain.
Pour your coffee beans into a zippered freezer bag. Evacuate all air before sealing the bag to avoid blowing it up like a balloon. Wrap the bag in a dishcloth so as not to pierce it with the meat tenderizer.
Just use a little force to hammer the grains as evenly as possible. Check the condition of the beans after a few strokes so as not to make your coffee beans unusable.
5. Use A Hammer
As you can guess, this is the same tool that you use to drill nails. Although it does not have the same surface as a meat tenderizer, it will do the same job in the same way. You probably will not get the best grind with the help of a hammer, but you will be able to brew coffee.
To crush your coffee beans with a hammer as cleanly as possible, place them in a freezer zipper bag. Empty the air and seal the bag. Place a towel around the bag. Hammer evenly.
6. Rolling pin
Whether you’re rolling with the standard wooden model, a heavy marble or a shiny stainless steel rolling pin, this kitchen utensil will allow you to grind your coffee beans without a grinder.
This method gives you a little more precision than hammers while using an object that most people already have in their kitchen.
First, you will measure your coffee beans, and then pour them into a plastic freezing bag. Push as much as possible, then seal the bag closed. Start rolling slowly, from one side of the bag to the other.
If you roll from the bottom of the bag to the zipper, it can force the coffee beans out of the zipper and cause a hell of a job. You can add a little extra protection by wrapping the bag in a towel but the extra padding could also extend your rolling time.
If you don’t have a real rolling pin, you can even use a glass bottle or solid wine to roll over your coffee beans.
The end word
Whatever method you use, it is important to be patient and apply pressure as evenly as possible to get the best grinding possible.
Now that you’ve discovered your hidden MacGyver side, here’s a paper clip and a piece of gum : see what you can make of it !
