5 Simple Ways to Grind Coffee Beans Without a Grinder

Few things are as disheartening for a coffee lover as finding that the grinder will not just work when you have everything else ready and just want some grinds to make your coffee.

But grinders are just like any other appliance which means they are prone to get damaged, and natural wear and tear can also take them out of business unexpectedly.

However, your grinder's failure to work should not be the end of making coffee for you. With a little inventiveness and innovation, you can still chop down your coffee beans to the fineness you need to make your favorite coffee.

In this piece, we look at some of the best ways to grind coffee beans without a grinder to help ensure you can always get your caffeine fix.

5 Best Ways to Grind Coffee Beans without Grinder

Grinders make things faster and easier for you, and this is more so if you have a fully automatic one. But, there are still some other good ways of grinding coffee beans. Here is how to grind coffee beans without a grinder.

1. Motor and Pestle

Motor and pestle have been used for ages to grind various things from spices to herbs to create a fine powder. This grinding method uses a combination of rolling and hammering motions, and it can also be highly useful for grinding coffee beans.

While the grinding process might be quite slow, motor and pestle are still one of the most effective methods of grinding coffee manually.

The Grinding Procedure

1. Add a small number of coffee beans in the mortar
2. Hold the pestle with your dominant hand and the mortar securely with the other hand
3. Forcibly crush the coffee bean with the pestle
4. Continue crushing the beans and adding more as you go along
5. Roll the grounds around using the pestle to achieve a finer consistency

2. Blender 

The working mechanism of a blender is quite similar to a coffee grinder, and so it should be obvious that it will also help you make coffee grounds for your beverage. Some people will even use the two interchangeably.

Most blenders also have a grinder setting or attachment, and so they will give you a much easier time grinding coffee than most other grinder alternatives.

But you will need to grind in small batches and avoid running the blender continuously as this can generate heat and give your coffee a bitter taste as the heat burns the grounds. And here is how to grind coffee beans with a blender.

The Grinding Procedure

1. Add a few coffee beans to the blender
2. Select the grinder setting on your blender
3. Turn the knob or push the start button to start grinding
4. Continue adding coffee beans in small batches and grind until you attain your preferred consistency

3. Rolling Pin

When you do not have a motor and pestle or a blender, you will need to get more creative to grind coffee beans. One of the things that can be very useful is the rolling pin, and you can find one in almost every home.

And while you will need some elbow grease when using this grinding method, when used properly a rolling pin can give you a uniform texture and finer grinds than most other manual coffee grinding methods.

The Grinding Procedure

1. Pour the coffee bean you want to grind into a small plastic bag
2. Now lay the bag flat on your counter or over a cutting board
3. Use the rolling pin as a hammer to crush and roll over the beans in the bag
4. Keep rolling the pin back and forth and hammering the beans until your desired fineness is achieved

4. Hammer 

A hammer's crushing force can also come in handy when you are looking for a DIY coffee grinder, and it will only take a little elbow grease to give your coffee grinds the consistency you want.

Besides a hammer, other things like the meat tenderizer and mallet will also be useful for grinding your coffee, and the procedure will still be the same. The method is great when you want to make coarse grinds, but you need to be very careful as you can easily crush your fingers.

The Grinding Procedure

1. Place the coffee beans into a zipper freezer bag and squeeze out the air before sealing it
2. Wrap the bag with a tea or ordinary towel
3. Now use the hammer to crush the beans and try to cover all of them
4. For maximum consistency, start from one side of the bag towards the other

5. Knife

If you do not want to use any of the methods above or you just cannot find any of the things above in your house, you can still use a large knife. However, this should be a last resort because besides being sharp and dangerous, the knife is not a very effective grinding method.

Large knives like the butcher knife will have a wider blade that will give you a larger surface area and allow you to exact greater force to crush your coffee beans. This method will provide a medium grind but if you are not sure with how to crush coffee beans with a knife its best to avoid this risky method.

The Grinding Procedure

1. Place a handful of coffee beans on the counter or your cutting board
2. Carefully hold the knife flat and ensure the sharp edge is faced away from the fingers
3. Place the flat knife over the coffee beans
4. Push down the knife firmly with your palm to crush the beans
5. Keep pushing the knife down until all the beans are crushed uniformly

Conclusion

A grinder that will not do its job well can ruin your day as it makes it hard for you to make your daily cup of coffee. But, before you decide to skip your coffee or buy expensive café coffee, you should know that there are still other ways to grind the beans without a grinder.

Some of the best ways to grind coffee beans without a grinder will include using motor and pestle, blender, hammer, knife, and a rolling pin.

And while some of these methods might not deliver the same consistency you would get with an electric grinder, they will still crush coffee enough to be able to use it to make coffee.

With a little practice using these and other methods, you should be able to master how to grind coffee beans without using grinders.

Sources

1. 3 Ways to Grind Coffee Without a Grinder - WikiHow