How to Use a Blender to Grind Coffee

Pouring water over coffee grounds
What You'll Need
Coffee beans
Glass blender with tight top and jar body
Flat surface
Liquid dish detergent and water
What You'll Need
Coffee beans
Glass blender with tight top and jar body
Flat surface
Liquid dish detergent and water

You can enjoy the rich flavor and delightful aroma of freshly ground coffee beans without having to spend extra money on a coffee grinder simply by using your blender. Grinding your own coffee results in fresher, more flavorful coffee because beans hold flavor longer than ground coffee does.

Step 1 - Set Up Your Blender

Put your blender on a flat surface on the counter and plug it in. The flat surface is really important so the blender's vibrations do not cause other things to fall off the counter.

Step 2 - Decide how Finely You Need to Grind the Beans

blades inside a blender

Different kinds of coffee makers require different beans. Medium ground beans work best for a Drip maker. This means that when you pour the ground coffee into your hand, some will stick together, while most will fall away. Espresso Machines tend to do best with medium-fine grounds. In this case most will stick together, but individual grounds can be easily seen. French Press Makers require a more coarse texture so that the grinds do not stick together at all.

Step 3 - Pour Your Coffee Beans into the Blender And Grind Away

Start with a small amount of beans in the blender until you can figure out exactly how much ground coffee your beans will yield. As you have more experience, you will be better able to determine the right amount of coffee beans to put into your blender, but typically, a handful of beans should yield one to two tablespoons of ground coffee.

As an alternative to your large blender body, you can consider using screwing on a Mason jar to the grinding attachment of your blender. This can help you to grind a finer quality coffee. If you choose to try to grind your coffee beans in a Mason jar, simply put your coffee beans in the Mason jar, attach it to the blade attachment, and then screw the blade attachment onto your blender base as usual. Some people swear that this is an easier process that is more effective for grinding beans and spices.

Using either method, make sure that the blender top is firmly on so that you don't have an explosion of coffee beans all over your kitchen. Start with the blender on the pulse setting so your beans do not burn. If you don't have a pulse setting, turn it off every ten seconds to let the beans cool down. Do not, for any reason, put your hand in the blender while it is in use.

Step 4 - Cleaning Your Blender

blender

Twist the blade attachment off the blender body. Rinse the blender in the sink. Most blender bodies can be washed in the dishwasher as well. Wash the blade attachment and the blender top by hand. Pay extra attention when you wash the blade attachment, so you do not get cut.

Step 5 - Make Your Coffee

Pour your coffee grounds into the filter of your coffee maker. Follow your normal procedure for making coffee and enjoy.