# Can I use a high-end blender to grind coffee beans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620 "2018-05-22T15:47:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/1 "2018-05-22T15:47:17Z")
I seek normal grind. I’ve a huge bag, and a teeny tiny grinder. If I “Bump” the blender once or twice, stir up by hand to mix, “Bump” it again, could I wind up getting a reasonable grind going? Of am I going to wind up destroying/ pulverizing all of the beans? I make cold brew, so very finely ground stuff won’t do. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/2 "2018-05-22T15:59:52Z")
I don’t think you’re going to get an answer that applies to all blenders. It seems like it should work (assuming you can control the timing enough to avoid pulverization), since a lot of the cheaper grinders are basically the same technology (spinning blades). But I’d just sacrifice a cup of beans and give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/3 "2018-05-22T16:02:59Z")
I’ve done it successfully with a low-end blender. It took about 20 minutes to do a 10 oz bag of beans. I didn’t do anything special except stir it once in awhile to ensure it all blended well. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/4 "2018-05-22T16:03:46Z")
I wouldn’t recommend it. Invest in a good coffee grinder that handles a larger volume. ---
**Author:** ![40below](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/51bf81/32.png) [@40below](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/40below)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/5 "2018-05-22T19:26:51Z")
You should get a good burr grinder, you’ll have trouble getting a consistent grind, ranging from espresso at the bottom to coarse grind on top using a blender. Also, the blender produces heat, which can destroy the oils in the coffee bean. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/6 "2018-05-22T19:30:38Z")
My wife and I are coffe snobs who buy green coffee, roast our beans, grind them, and have a ridiculous certified by Interntional Cupping Association Brewer to precisely brew our coffee. So here’s my take: Will it work? Sure. It may be n issue getting your blender clean but it’ll work. Here’s why you don’t want to do it: Blade grinders are generally inferior to burr grinders, because you don’t control the size of the particles you are making. Some stuff will get chopped into a fine powder, others not so fine. A uniform grind is key to making good coffee. Too fine my clog your maker, too coarse nd your coffee can be too week. Even so, blade grinders are designed to give you as uniform a grind as possible within the limits of their technology. They are designed to work with air and beans in a small chamber. A blender is optimized for liquids and counts on a vortex type action to cycle material from the top to the bottom. This vortex works poorly without liquid. You will end up with almost whole bens on the top and a superfine powder at the bottom. Not great coffee. Also, you get the best results by grinding right before brewing, so best to do a little at a time if possible. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/7 "2018-05-22T19:31:13Z")
> [@40below](#): > > You should get a good burr grinder, you’ll have trouble getting a consistent grind, ranging from espresso at the bottom to coarse grind on top using a blender. Also, the blender produces heat, which can destroy the oils in the coffee bean. Exactly the information I saw over and over and over again on rec.coffee or whatever it was called. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/8 "2018-05-22T23:50:13Z")
Grateful as always for the collective wisdom of the Teeming Millions™, I’ve abandoned this idea. Now, I’ll not be investing in a burr grinder. Instead, I shall invest in some patience. And will grind using the small unit we already have. That way, I just have to count to seven to get a consistent ground size. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/9 "2018-05-23T00:44:54Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I seek normal grind. I’ve a huge bag, and a teeny tiny grinder. I hear there are apps for that sort of thing 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/10 "2018-05-23T02:39:39Z")
:smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack::smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/11 "2018-05-23T02:55:03Z")
Take the whole beans and boiling water, add them together to the blender, blend well, pour through a filter into mug. I have no idea how this would come out. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/12 "2018-05-23T03:03:59Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I hear there are apps for that sort of thing 😃 And that is the win. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/13 "2018-05-23T05:29:56Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Take the whole beans and boiling water, add them together to the blender, blend well, pour through a filter into mug. > > I have no idea how this would come out. I do. It would be one of the worst possible ways of brewing coffee. As has been said above, the best way to get a good cup of coffee is to use an even grind. If the fragments are of different sizes, the big ones will be under-extracted and the small ones will be over-extracted, producing bitterness. This method guarantees that you will be extracting from the maximum possible range of fragment sizes from whole beans to powder. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-use-a-high-end-blender-to-grind-coffee-beans/814620/14 "2018-05-23T05:41:20Z")
Of course you **can** do it. It will “work”, in that the job gets done somehow or another. But do you want good coffee? If you say “No, I definitely do not want good coffee, I just want **some** coffee, I don’t care” - then go ahead. 🙂 Using your blender for coffee would also mean you get a coffee-flavoured blender, so if that appeals to you… A cheap little coffee grinder, even secondhand for a dollar, is probably no worse than the best blender.