One of the best ways to start your morning is with a fresh cup of coffee. But what will happen if you see that your coffee grinder is not working? It is not surprising that a coffee grinder may eventually break because it is a mechanical device.
As a coffee-savvy person, it is very difficult for someone to stay far away from a delicious cup of coffee for the excuse of not having a perfect coffee grinder at home.
Every coffee-conscious person knows freshly ground coffee beans are the key to producing better quality coffee than pre-grounded coffee which is full of freshness and richer in flavor. To know more about coffee grinding, you can read the detailed article on why a coffee grinder is most important for coffee brewing?
A smart, energetic, and serious coffee lover must keep a quality coffee grinder in the kitchen so that he can use it when needed because perfect coffee extraction is important no matter whether you brew pour-over coffee or Turkish coffee.
Unfortunately, if you find your coffee grinder is not working, do not freak out yourself because here is some great news for you – several coffee bean grinding alternatives and effective methods are available. So, you can easily utilize the method you like best just before brewing coffee.
You also use these 8 alternatives coffee grinding methods for the following cases:
- Your grinder has broken
- You have no grinder at all
- You might receive the whole bean as a gift
- You forget to bring a coffee grinder on an outdoor vacation
- Regularly use pre-ground coffee but want to experience whole bean grinding
You could choose 3 solutions in case of breaking the coffee grinder:
- Immediately you might visit your neighbor, friends, or family members and borrow some pre-ground coffee.
- You can visit your local coffee shop and request them to grind it for you with little fees.
- You can borrow a new grinder
Here are the top 8 alternative ways to grind whole coffee beans without a grinder
#1: How to use a blender for coffee grinding:
Though it seems obvious, you can easily use a normal home blender to grind a whole coffee bean as an alternative to a coffee grinder. Before using a blender for coffee grinding, you must check the manufacturer’s guideline and recommendations. Otherwise, your blender can be blocked or damaged.
Most of the blender uses a blade so it will easily chop the coffee beans just like a blade coffee grinder. It is fantastic if your blender has a grinding setting because it will be perfect for chopping coffee beans. Otherwise, you must be careful that you grind a small amount of coffee beans in the blender. The blender blade is rotating at a very high speed, so it produces heat that causes oil burns. Consequently, you will get bitter and harsh tasty coffee.
When you’re done grinding, wash the blender thoroughly to remove the coffee aroma.
A blender is ideal for grinding coffee in a pinch, but you won’t get a consistent or fine grind. A blender is great for achieving a coarse grind.
Pulse the beans only in short bursts to prevent the blades from heating up and cooking the beans.
#2: How to use a food processor for coffee grinding:
As an alternative to a coffee grinder, you can follow the same grinding process for different designs and basin sizes.
In fact, you will get better results when you grind small amounts of coffee bean batch by the batch process.
Would anyone like the coffee smell from one’s food processing unit? Obviously-no one will like that. So, you must disassemble and clean this food processing unit when you finish the grinding job to get rid of the coffee trace.
Most importantly, with a little bit of practice, you can use a food processor to grind the whole bean quickly and effectively, and you will only get a coarse and uneven grind, but the brewed coffee will still be drinkable.
#3: How to use an immersion blender for coffee grinding:
You can manually grind the coffee beans using an immersion blender that works similarly to a blender or food processor. To grind coffee beans in an immersion blender, just put some amount of beans into the container and then insert the blender into the container. Then start blending the beans for 25 to 30 seconds and continue the process until you achieve your desired grind size.
During grinding, the coffee bean may fly out so use your hand to cover the top and you must carefully choose the container size so that the coffee beans don’t spill over the sides of the container.
To remove coffee oils and scent from an immersion blender and container, it is best practice to resin and wash after grinding.
#4: How to use mortar and pestle for coffee grinding:
Have you ever thought about the different use of mortar and pestle like grinding coffee beans? Yes, with a little bit of practice, you can easily grind your coffee bean in mortar and pestle which will serve the purpose of a coffee grinder.
You can easily get it at local grocery stores. Even though using mortar and pestle for coffee bean grinding is an old-school method, it still works effectively.
Just place the mortar on a solid surface, put 1 to 2 tablespoons of coffee beans into it and cover the top with one hand to prevent beans from jumping out. Use your other hand to swirl the pestle around to mash the beans for approximately 5 seconds. Then, move the pestle up and down in a vertical motion to hammer the beans.
You just continue swirling and hammering actions until you achieve the desired consistency. To get a more consistent grind, you must grind small amounts of coffee beans in each batch.
By using mortar and pestle, you can grind coffee beans from a course to a super fine grind as you want.
Grinding the coffee beans with a mortar and pestle is a great alternative because it is probably the easiest and most straightforward way on how to grind coffee without a grinder.
#5: How to use a hammer for manual coffee grinding:
A hammer is a very useful tool when it comes to crushing something. Though it might look weird to you, you can still use your hammer, meat tenderizer, mallet or frying pan as an alternative to a coffee grinder.
First, take some beans and place the beans between two pieces of parchment paper, or into a sealed freezer bag. Spread the beans properly so they’re in an even layer. Use your hammer to strike the beans consistently and periodically check the bean’s condition. And, keep hammering until you get what you want.
By using a hammer, you can get grind from a coarse grind to a medium grind.
#6: How to use Rolling Pin for coffee grinding:
If you do not want to disturb someone around with the loud sound of a hammer while grinding a coffee bean in the morning, then a rolling pin is the perfect option for your coffee grinding. A rolling pin will just do the grinding job much more quietly.
Take the desired amount of coffee beans in a thick plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag is preferable) that you want to grind and seal the bag. Then keep the bag on a flat surface and spread the beans in a single layer. Use a rolling pin to strike the beans and once it cracked, start applying pressure vertically and roll the rolling pin back and forth until you get the right grind.
By using the rolling pin will, you can get a medium-fine to fine-grind.
#7: How to use a Hand mincer for coffee grinding:
A hand mincer is a manual grinder that not only can be used to mincemeat, and make pasta but also can be used to grind just about anything, including coffee.
First, take the desired coffee amount of coffee beans into the grinder and then turn the crank arm with your hand in a clockwise direction to process the beans.
To achieve a finer grind, collect the ground beans, and continuously run them through the grinder.
#8: How to use a knife for coffee grinding:
A knife can perfectly serve the purpose of the coffee grinder when you are out of reach from your coffee grinder or even if your coffee grinder is not working as intended.
You can use a knife for coffee grinding and our recommendation to use a cleaver or other large-bladed knife because it will make your job easier.
Position the knife perpendicular to your working surface and use gentle pressure to push down to crush the beans as you want.
Simply, you can comfortably use your body weight to push down to crush the beans by leaning down rather than stressing your hands only.
Bonus: How to grind coffee without coffee grinder or any tools
Make Sure You Choose The Perfect Grind
Coffee beans can be ground in various sizes such as extra coarse, coarse, medium-coarse, Medium, medium-fine, fine, Extra fine, etc., and each grind size is suitable for different brewing methods. That is why choosing the perfect grind is one of the most important factors for brewing delicious coffee rather than choosing an expensive coffee maker.