How to Grind Coffee Beans at Home

Anyone who’s ever personally ground a cup of coffee knows that few things can make or break your brew like the size of your grind. Whether you regularly use a hand grinder or an electric grinder or resort to DIY options, there are many factors to keep in mind when choosing the best option for grinding coffee beans at home. 

In this guide, we’ll cover individual tools and methods, detail the grinding technique, and discuss how the ground size affects flavor. By the end, you’ll be equipped with the skills and knowledge to grind your grounds more precisely and refine your home brew routine.

Ways to Grind Coffee Beans at Home

In the next section, we’ll discuss the different ways to grind coffee beans, including burr/blade grinders, hand grinders, and how to crush coffee beans without a grinder. 

Burr grinders vs blade grinders

When choosing an electric coffee grinder, the two most common options are usually between a burr grinder and a blade grinder. Each of these choices has benefits and drawbacks, but if you’re able to afford it, the best coffee will come from a burr grinder. We’ll talk individually about each kind of grinder here:

Blade Grinder - one or two rapidly spinning blades that chop up coffee beans

• Less expensive and smaller than the burr grinder

• Also known as a propeller grinder or spice grinder

• No adjustable size for grounds, inconsistent grind size

• Can heat beans unevenly, leading to loss of flavors or smells

• Easier to store and clean than a burr grinder

• Less maintenance

• More automatic than a burr grinder

Burr Grinder - one or two adjustable burrs (sharp, serrated edges that crush beans between two revolving, abrasive surfaces that grind the coffee beans)

• More expensive and bigger than a blade grinder

• Offers precision with grind size, leading to even water flow

• Require maintenance

• Preserves flavor and aroma more effectively through a slower, steadier pace

• More durable 

If you want to further customize your brew’s consistency, temperature, and retention (leftover grinds), you can also choose between flat and conical burr grinders:

• Flat Burrs - More consistent grind size, faster and better than conical burrs for high-volume amounts, more expensive 

• Conical Burrs - Less consistent grind size, sweeter and more flavorful for single cups, produce less heat, and are more affordable

Grinding coffee by hand

If you’re not quite ready to invest in an electric grinder, a more affordable entry point is a manual hand grinder. Manual hand grinders are quiet, portable, and can be effective enough with small batches

You may lose the flavor and aroma nuances that come from a more expensive grinder, but it’s a much more accessible option. And some coffee enthusiasts enjoy the ritualistic aspect of hand grinding their own coffee every morning.

Crushing coffee beans without a grinder

If you don’t have a grinder available or you’ve broken your grinder, there are temporary fixes, like resorting to household objects. They’re not the most consistent solutions, but they’ll get the job done. Here are a few DIY options:

• Mortar and Pestle - One of civilization’s earliest kitchen tools still works in a pinch. With a mortar and pestle, you’ll have decent control over the size of the grind, allowing a range of textures from coarse French Press grounds to ultra-fine grounds. Let’s walk through how to use a mortar and pestle.

• Fill the mortar up to a quarter of the bowl with coffee beans. 

• Hold the mortar with one hand and use your other hand to grind coffee beans with the pestle (when grinding, press down on and crush the beans with a twisting motion)

• Once the beans are crushed, roll the pestle around the mortar with a firm, circular motion to achieve the intended consistency and ground size.

• Repeat the process until you have enough grounds

• Rolling Pin - Effective for a coarser grind. All you need is a rolling pin and something to hold the beans (Ziplock bags, parchment paper, Cling Wrap)

• Blender - Depending on your model, your blender may have a “grinder” setting. Here's how to use a blender for grinding:

• Pour a small amount of beans into the blender and select the “grinder” setting or a higher-speed setting. 

• Grind your beans in small bursts ( if you overheat the oils of the beans, you’ll end up with a bitter coffee)

• Blend beans and then gently tilt the blender from side to side while blending to move the larger chunks into the path of the blade.

• Empty the grounds after intended consistency and repeat for the proper amount

For extra precision with your grind quality, explore the many distribution tool options from Pesado.

How to Match Grind Size to Your Brewing Method

In the next section, we’ll discuss how you can match your grind size to your brewing method.

Coarse grind for French press or Cold brew

If you’re feeling a cold brew or French press (coffee made using the immersion/steeping method), you’ll need an extra coarse grind. With a chunky texture that’s the size of sea salt, water runs quickly through coarse grind, but it also requires an extra-long extraction period. 

It’s useful for French presses due to not only the protracted extraction time, but also so the grinds won’t slip through the mesh strainer of the French press. Coarse grinds are also ideal for cold brews that also require longer extraction times.

When you use overly fine grounds for cold brew, you could end up with a bitter, overextracted brew that is tough to swallow, let alone enjoy. A French press will likewise yield a buttery or burnt flavor. Worse still, the brew will feel loose.

Medium grind for Drip, Pour-over, Moka Pot, or AeroPress

For drip, pour-over, or AeroPress coffee (Filter and pressure-based method), you’ll need a medium grind, which has a texture that resembles sand or sugar. This is the most flexible grind size, and a good default.  Let’s talk briefly about Drip, Pour-over, and AeroPress: 

• Drip - Passing hot water over coffee grounds in a vessel.

• Even extraction is key to a balanced flavor 

• Pour-over - Water poured directly on the coffee bed atop a filter

• Increases the surface area of the coffee grounds for slower, more controlled flow.

• AeroPress - Filter and pressure-based 

• Medium-fine grind prevents too much drip-through (only a little bit should be allowed) and is not too difficult to press

• Moka Pot - An electric coffee maker that brews espresso-like coffee by passing hot water driven by vapor pressure and heat.

• Medium-fine grind will give balanced extraction of flavors when the steam rises through the ground coffee.

Fine grind for Espresso 

Espresso is unique, as you’ll always want fine grind, which has a texture like flour or powdered sugar. The fine grind is necessary for high-pressure, short-extraction methods. Let’s talk about Espresso:

• Espresso - Hot water forced through ground coffee beans

• If coarse grind was used, water would not be able to extract the flavor from the beans. 

• If the grind is slightly finer or coarser than required, it can change flavor and cause channeling (uneven flow)

• Finer grind size presents more of a barrier to passing water

For the strongest, full-flavored espresso, pair your fine grind with Pesado’s high-extraction baskets.

Grinding Coffee at Home: Final Tips & Tools

You may not have thought about the intricacies of grinding coffee before now, but grind consistency can determine everything about the final product. Even the most premium, rare beans won’t shine if not properly ground. The basics of Coffee-making are a science, but your best personal brewing will come through experimentation with different tools and grind sizes.

It’s a process, but if you treat and store your coffee beans with the respect they deserve, you’ll be able to refine your practice. And when you’re feeling more confident, explore the many tools at Pesado that can elevate your brew.