Everyone knows blenders are one of the most versatile tools in any kitchen. From making soups, smoothies, and other beverages to pureeing baby foods and grinding dry ingredients, you can use these babies for almost anything. The keyword here is ALMOST, though, and there are some things your blender is just not equipped to handle. This brings us to the question of the day; can you grind coffee beans in a blender? This article provides answers to all these questions and more.
Can You Grind Coffee Beans in a Blender?
Yes, you can grind coffee beans in a blender. In fact, not only can you grind coffee beans in a blender, you can do it rather easily too! The resulting ground coffee is also pretty good, with nice consistency. In fact, a good blender can actually produce better ground coffee than some tiny blade coffee grinders.
Now, you might be wondering, if blenders are so great at grinding coffee, why even have a coffee grinder in the first place? Well, the answer is simple; coffee grinders are specialized tools designed specifically for grinding coffee. This gives them a bit of an advantage over blenders.
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Blenders vs Coffee Grinders | Which is Better for Grinding Coffee?
One would think the answer to this question was straightforward, but this is actually far from the truth.
Technically, coffee grinders are the better of the two. Being designed specifically for grinding coffee, they are more efficient at getting the job done. They don’t waste as many ingredients as blenders and often take less time to produce great results. Just like blenders, however, there are different types of coffee grinders, some of which are notably better than others.
Burr grinders are the essentially golden child of coffee grinders and are the best choice when it comes to grinding coffee. Not only are they more efficient, but they also produce better grounds with more uniformity. If the question is whether to use a blender or a burr grinder or a blender to grind coffee, the answer should always be the burr grinder.
Blade grinders are another story though. In many ways, blade grinders and blenders are quite similar; they both use blades to shred coffee beans when grinding coffee. This similarity is actually what makes blenders great for grinding coffee. As such, blenders are essentially as good as blade grinders for making coffee, and a high-quality blender would often make better coffee grounds than a low-quality blade grinder.
That being said, blenders often have one advantage over coffee grinders, and that is the fact that blenders have larger capacities. This means you can grind more coffee beans at once with a blender. So if you are looking to prepare coffee for the entire family or for a group of friends, your blender is probably the better choice.
Are All Blenders Great for Grinding Coffee Beans?
While blenders in general are great for grinding coffee beans, there are a few exceptions to this rule. One of the more obvious exceptions is immersion blenders. Being blenders only used for pureeing and emulsifying soft ingredients, these blenders are no use for grinding coffee beans.
Since grinding coffee beans is a process that doesn’t require the addition of water, blenders that require water to work are also not a great choice for grinding coffee beans. This is not to say that these blenders cannot grind coffee beans, however. You’d just have to add a bit of water so as not to damage the blades of the blender. Seeing as adding water when grinding coffee often reduces the quality of the grind, many coffee enthusiasts would cringe at the thought of even considering it.
How Much Water Should You Add When Grinding Coffee Beans?
If you are using a blender that requires the addition of water to function, you might want to add some water to coffee beans before grinding. You would want to use as little water as possible though. Simply wetting the coffee beans a bit might even do the trick.
Which Blender is the Best for Grinding Coffee Beans?
While unconventional, it is possible to stick to blenders for your coffee grinding needs. If you would be making this decision, you’d want to have a top-quality blender on your side. Below is our top pick.
Vitamix 5200
In our opinion, the Vitamix 5200 is possibly the best blender for grinding coffee beans. This is our No. 1 choice for two major reasons.
First is the fact that this blender comes with some of the best blades on the market. These hardened stainless steel blades are super-sharp and precise. As such, they tend to produce better grinds with better more consistent particle sizes. Then, there is also the fact that this blender is a wet and dry blender; a blender equipped to handle both wet and dry ingredients. This means you wouldn’t need to worry about adding any water to your coffee beans when blending.
The Vitamix 5200 has just one problem. Being a large blender, this blender wasn’t really designed for preparing single-serving ingredients, so you might have to grind more coffee beans than you’d need for just a cup of coffee. If you are okay with keeping some leftover coffee grounds for later, then you’d definitely love this blender.
Conclusion
Blenders are probably the most versatile kitchen equipment out there and can be used for almost anything in the kitchen. And while there are a few things your blender can’t handle, grinding coffee beans is not one of them. Not only are blenders capable of grinding coffee seeds, but a quality blender like the Vitamix 5200 can even do almost as good a job as your typical coffee grinder.
So if you find yourself needing to grind some coffee beans without a coffee grinder in sight, your blender could make a great substitute. As long as the blender is not an immersion blender and can handle processing dry ingredients, then you would be just fine!