Coffee Beans and Grinding

Sooooo....DDs went to COSTCO yesterday and purchased coffee beans instead of ground. I don't have a coffee grinder nor do I have plans for purchasing one. Have any of you ground up coffee beans using your blender? I gave my kitchen aide away awhile ago. The bag is opened and I guess I could return it to COSTCO but detest doing so. Am not going to use a mortar and pestle, hammer, etc. as google advises, lol. TIA.

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Do you have a spice grinder? That will work also.

A blender will get the job done, but it won't make fine grounds. Fine grounds give more surface area for a more intense flavor. Just do small batches.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
If you need to get out some aggression, put them into a couple Ziploc bags and whack them with a hammer...

Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.
My friend grinds just enough in her blender everyday before she makes a cup or two. She doesn't grind in bulk since she says it will lose its freshness.
If you’re just using coffee in a drip machine, french press, etc., you’ll be fine using a blender. Consistent grinds won’t matter much, though a more consistent grind will provide a more consistent flavor of your coffee. If your taste palettes can’t tell, you’ll be fine with a blender.

But if this is for espresso, a blender will be absolutely terrible for grinding coffee beans. Espresso requires a good, fine consistent grounds.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!
Before we bought our full-sized grinder we used a spice grinder. Just can't do very much at one time.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt
If your blender has a small blending jar, use it to grind small batches of coffee. The smaller blender jars keep the coffee bits in close contact with the blender blades. I do this all the time. Works fine for drip/filter coffees.
Here is an idea that someone might try. If your blender blades will jit on a four-ounce mason jar you might try that. I was using a personal sized one that I bought at Aldis instead of the spouses' big Ninja blender to make smoothies and tried it for grinding coffee and it worked for a drip machine. But the spouse borrowed it and left it at someone's house.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2021 01:31PM by 2stepps.
My neighbor just brought us a small gift bag of organic coffee this week. They were thoughtful enough to "loan" us their coffee grinder in the event that we don't own one. Now that is attention to detail with gift giving, I thought to myself.

Perhaps you can borrow a neighbor's coffee grinder, grind up your beans, store them in an airtight container, and use them just like you would the pre-ground coffee you normally buy?

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl -- year after year..."
Thank you! I had thought of that and called my neighbor who is going to lend me hers, lol. So many great tips here.

@msimon-2000 wrote:

My neighbor just brought us a small gift bag of organic coffee this week. They were thoughtful enough to "loan" us their coffee grinder in the event that we don't own one. Now that is attention to detail with gift giving, I thought to myself.

Perhaps you can borrow a neighbor's coffee grinder, grind up your beans, store them in an airtight container, and use them just like you would the pre-ground coffee you normally buy?
How did the spice grinder and blender work?

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Oh my... when I get up I do not want to do anymore work to get my fix then I already do. LOL.... good luck grinding.
I bought a Keurig once from Costco, After a few months, it got a weird error message that had to be addressed before I could use it. While Keurig knew about it, it wasn't a recall.

The fix was easy, but it was way too much effort to exert before my first cup.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
Hi Honey! After googling, I looked at all my in house options. Rotary blades looked to be the same. I used the smoothie bullet blender that came with a smaller container.The grinds were larger than my ground coffee but didn't affect the taste. 8 cups were robust and we all loved it. My next step is to send someone to my neighbor and get her coffee grinder. I am going to grind the rest of it and put them in my next to empty coffee tin. They are both Columbian Coffee blends and I am not worried about blended flavors.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

How did the spice grinder and blender work?
When I found myself in that spot (before I got a grinder) I would take the whole beans to the nearest grocery store that had a self service grinder. Nobody ever cared.
One of the major grocery chains here removed the coffee grinders due to Covid. I neither have, nor want, a grinder. So, no purchases of whole beans for me. I’ve adjusted just fine.
A thought but not in these COVID times. I remember winning a Starbuck's basket way back in elementary school days. Two bags of coffee beans, gum, candy and some snacks. Enclosed was a note that I could bring it to Starbuck's to have it grinded. I wound up giving the coffee beans to my neighbor.

@1cent wrote:

When I found myself in that spot (before I got a grinder) I would take the whole beans to the nearest grocery store that had a self service grinder. Nobody ever cared.
Had fun (?) grinding with my neighbor's Capresso coffee grinder. So fine, just like my can of ground coffee. I did the rest of the bag and the smell was so aromatic. Looking forward to our coffee tomorrow.
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