How to Grind Coffee Beans With a Food Processor at Home?

If you don’t access to a coffee grinder, food processors and blenders are among electric appliances that are suitable for grinding coffee beans.

Today, coffee drinks are most popular beverages in the united states and many other countries all around the globe.

In 2022, coffee consumption in America hit a new record and more than half of American drink it in their daily diet.

Many people prefer to have this energizing brew to soft drinks like tea or bottled water.

 Perhaps, you are a coffee lover and always try to brew a fresh and delicious cup of coffee for your daily activity.

To brew one of the most popular drinks in the world, you need to grind coffee beans with a grinder or other electric devices.

But, is it better to buy coffee ground or purchase coffee beans and grind them in the home?

To have a better fresh and tasty drink, buying coffee beans and grinding them can give you an exceptional opportunity to enjoy a more flavorful drink.

On the other hand, cost-effectiveness suggests that using coffee beans and grinding them in the home is a better option.

read more: How To Grind Coffee Beans With A Blender

Why grinding coffee beans is better?

Whole bean lasts longer and you store them without being worry about losing their freshness. On the other hand, when coffee is ground, the changes by which the coffee goes stale speeds up.

This means to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee, it is better to buy beans in bulk and grind them right before brewing the coffee.

The longer the coffee grounds sit in on the grocery shelves, the more freshness will wear off from the final drink.

So, as we said, grinding coffee immediately before its preparation will give you the opportunity to enjoy best flavor and aroma from your coffee and have a better experience.

But, the problem is that some people do not have a quality coffee grinder. What can they do?

Do they need to buy a grinder or is there any creative solution to grind the beans?

Is food processor prefect for grinding coffee beans?

We all know that using a food processor for chopping vegetables and using in the home is perfect to make things like bread crumbs. But, can we grind coffee beans with food processor?

Fortunately, the answer in yes, both food processors and blenders can be used for grinding coffee beans in the home.

So, they can turn whole coffee beans into something that is brew able. But which one is better?

Is food processor better than blender?

Some people believe that a food processor can work better than blender. Why?

Because, it has more space for the beans to move around. So, the resulting coffee ground will be more even. This helps in having a consistent coffee drink.

Is food processor better than a grinder?

If you are a coffee lover, who enjoys drinking coffee frequently, having a right grinder, that is intended to do the grinding process perfectly, can give you more control over the process.

Investing on a high quality grinder can help you to control the size of coffee grounds and improve the consistency.

As you know the size of coffee grounds matters a lot, and for this reason, as a coffee fanatic, it is better to invest your money to buy a grinder.

But, if you usually purchase coffee grounds from the market and you’ve mistakenly bought a bag of beans, if you don’t have a grinder, it seems using a food processor can help you to grind them. How to do it?

Steps to grind coffee beans in a food processor

1. Pour the coffee bean

First, you need to pour coffee beans into a food processor. A cup or 1/2 of cup of beans is enough to begin the process.

2. Use plus setting

To grind the beans, you just need to use the plus setting of device in time limit of 4 to 5 seconds.

3. Repeat the process

By repeating the process, the desired result and consistency can be achieved.

Grind Size Based on Brewing Methods

There are various methods for preparing coffee. You can use home grinders, coffee grinders, or fully automatic coffee machines for grinding. The grind size needs to be adjusted separately for each grinder. From ‘fine’ to ‘coarse,’ each brewing method offers its specific grind size and often requires several trials.

The relationship between grind size and the contact time between hot water and ground coffee appears to be crucial. For example, preparing optimal espresso takes 25 seconds, while a filtered coffee cup takes less than two minutes. If you prepare your coffee in a French press, the brewing time can even be as long as four minutes. However, in general, it can be said that the shorter the contact time, the finer the grind size should be.

• For example, a French press requires a coarse grind – it won’t work well with fine grounds.
• Filtered and pour-over coffee rely on a medium grind from coffee grinders. You can compare the desired consistency with sugar.
• When it comes to espresso machines, portafilters, and espresso makers, a fine grind is suitable. However, you shouldn’t grind too fine even in this case. Water should not pass through the coffee grounds too quickly or too slowly – but it should create enough pressure to achieve the desired output speed.

brew your coffee

Congratulations! your coffee ground is ready to use it for brewing a delicious cup of drink.

In the following, we’ll answer frequently asked questions about the ways to grinding coffee beans in the home:

Is grinding by hand is better than using food processors?

It depends on your preferences to choose a specific way for grinding coffee beans.

If you use a food processor to grind coffee beans, it takes less than a minute to finish the process.

But, if you use non-electric manual devices for grinding, it takes longer to grind the beans. Also, the final result is not the same in two approaches.

Do I need to tilt the food processor?

To get a better result, some people tilt the device to ensure the ground sizes are in the same range. The whole process may take just around 30 seconds.

Does a food processor give a consistent coffee ground?

Using a food processor will result in medium to coarse grounds with different sizes.

Even if you tilt the device to reach a consistent result, the ground sizes will not be equal.

Does all grinders are the same?

Even some grinders cannot produce grounds with the same size. So, if you use the electric devices frequently to grind beans at home, it is better to purchase a high-quality grinder.

Can I grind coffee grounds with hand?

Yes, if the final result after using a food processor is not as good as you expected, you can use simple devices like mortar and pestle to grind them.

Even using a rolling pin can help you to grind beans (this method works better for brewing French press coffee).

Is mortar and pestle better than rolling pin?

It depends on the amount of coffee, or the method that you want to brew them, to choose best device for grinding.

Mortar and pestle can produce fine and even super fine coffee grounds. But, it is more time intensive.

How can I use mortar and pestle?

To use them, it is important to fill 25 to 40 percent of the total capacity of mortar. This will stop overflow and prevents the beans from hopping.

Keep in mind: this method produces smaller amount of coffee grounds than when you use rolling pin. Unless, you buy a big mortar with more capacity.

Can I produce fine coffee grounds with a food processor?

Using a food processor will produce coarse to medium sized grounds. But, by repeating the process, it’s possible to have grounds with smaller size.

To have pulverized or super fine coffee grounds, you need to invest more time and use mortar and pestle.

But, if you want to use fine grounds to brew coffee frequently, buying a quality grinder is the best option that gives you control over the size of coffee grounds.

Can I grind coffee beans with blender?

Yes, a blender works like a food processor. But, it has a lower capacity. It is important to note that a blender produces heat and you shouldn’t grind coffee for more than 20 to 30 seconds.

What are the best devices for grinding coffee beans?

It depends on the equipment or appliances that are available at your home.

Here is a list of them:

• Grinder
• Food processor
• Blender
• Mortar and pestle
• Rolling pin
• Hammer
• Garlic press

What’s the best method to grind beans?

The best approach for frequent users is to purchase a quality grinder. It gives even coffee grounds with the desired size.

By having multiple speed, they can work well and produce coffee grounds with no heat generated.

But, if you don’t have a perfect grinder, you can use a food processor or a blender. Manual approaches like mortar and pestle also can help a lot.

How starbucks grinds the coffee beans?

Starbucks grinds coffee beans by using best commercial grinders. They are perfect electric devices that produce coffee ground with the same size.

For this reason, some people ask can starbucks grind our beans?

To prevent the mixture of flavor and oils that are in the different types of coffee beans, starbucks won’t grind your coffee beans. Because, it compromises the taste and flavor of coffee grounds.

Isn’t it easier to buy coffee grounds?

Yes, of course. You can easily buy a bag of coffee grounds from the market. But, the aroma and flavor of coffee grounds is less than freshly roasted and grinded coffee beans.

For this reason, many baristas buy coffee beans and grind them right before brewing coffee.

Does the size of coffee grounds matter?

Yes, the size of coffee grounds is very important and has a great impact on the final taste and flavor of your drink.

It worth mentioning that Some coffee lovers may prefer to use medium sized coffee grounds for brewing. But, others want to use fine (and even pulverized) coffee grounds for coffee preparation.

Which type of coffee bean is better?

We have different types of coffee beans in the market. Arabica and Robusta are two main popular types of beans that you can purchase and grind them by a food processor.

How can I brew medium and fine coffee grounds?

 There are many different ways for brewing coffee. Some of them are based on old-fashioned approaches (like using pots). Others use a more recent form of brewing techniques (by using electric devices like espresso machine).

Can I brew whole bean or coarse coffee grounds?

No, remember it doesn’t matter how do you want to brew your drink, the important point is to extract coffee compounds and caffeine efficiently, you need to start brewing your drink with coffee grounds.