Can You use a Ninja Blender to Grind Coffee Beans

You might not own a coffee grinder and are wondering if you can use a Ninja Blender to grind coffee beans.

I’ve already covered the topic of coffee beans and blenders in general before in the article “Can you Grind Coffee Beans in a Blender“.

This article will be more focused on if you can use a Ninja blender to grind coffee beans.

Not all blenders are the same, so I wanted to create a special blog post that answered the question specific to Ninja blenders.

So, what I’ll do here is discuss the different Ninja Blender designs and review how well they can or can’t blend and grind coffee beans.

Can You Use A Ninja Blender To Grind Coffee Beans?

The obvious answer to this question is that, yes, you can use a ninja blender to grind coffee beans.

Ninja blenders are excellent blenders. They are only behind BlendTec and Vitamix blenders as far as quality.

Any high end blender is capable of blending coffee beans. I’m a little hesitant to say that they efficiently “grind” coffee beans because blenders are not grinders. They are blenders.

If you are someone who owns a blender, and for some reason you find yourself with some whole coffee beans, and you need to grind it and you don’t own a grinder, then you can make due.

But for everyday use, I would advise that you just buy a burr coffee grinder.

The problem with using a blender such as a ninja blender to grind coffee beans is that the blades on a blender, any blender, is not going to get you a really fine grind.

You can blend up coffee beans into a rough and coarse grind. It’s something suitable for maybe french press style coffee. But if you want a more fine grind for pour over or drip coffee.

The blades on a blender are not designed to grind. And when you make coffee from whole coffee beans that’s what you want.

While you can make nut butter pretty well in a blender, it is not as easy to make

Which Ninja Blenders Are Best to Grind Coffee Beans?

I am not a big fan of using Ninja blenders to grind coffee beans, but I have done it. And therefore I have some thoughts as to which Ninja blenders are best to use.

First off, when it comes to grinding coffee beans, I would opt for a smaller blender. If you have a large sized Ninja blender, then it’s going to be a problem grinding coffee beans.

Not all Ninja blenders are going to be compact enough to grind the coffee beans.

I have used the standard, best selling Ninja Professional 72 Ounce blender.

And while that blender did work, it was a bit of a pain to use. The main problem with that blender is that it was large.

While being large is normally helpful when making smoothies and other things that you normally blend in a blender. It’s  drawback when using a larger blender.

So, I would suggest don’t even try grinding coffee beans in a Ninja blender unless you have one of the smaller versions.  A bullet style Ninja blender is simply better.

Stick with the smaller blender that has a smaller mixing jar. It will be a more confined space for the beans to be ground up by the blade.

I therefore suggest that you only attempt to grind coffee beans in a Ninja style blender that is a bullet style. Anything else will drive you crazy!

 

Drawbacks To Using a Ninja Blender to Grind Coffee Beans?

The main drawback to using a Ninja blender to grind coffee beans is that it’s a blender, not a grinder.

Coffee grinders are by nature very much different than blenders. They do not chop and blend, they grind.

The most common type of coffee grinder is something called a burr grinder. These are the more capable of taking a whole coffee bean and turning it into ground coffee that you can use in a french press, a drip filter, or even a pour over filter.

Burr grinder are cheap. And they are small. There is no reason to not have one if you’re someone who wants to get whole bean coffee and grind it at home

If you do not have a coffee grinder, and you want to have freshly roasted and fresh ground coffee, then what I suggest is to use the stores grinder.

This is the easiest way. You can find coffee grinders in most stores. These are super easy to use. You just get the bag of whole coffee beans that you like, open it, put it into the grinder, select your grind and you’re good to go.

Most supermarkets will have these. Even the big box discount places like Costco and BJs will have them.

If I didn’t own a coffee burr grinder, then that’s what I would do. Only as a last resort would I use a blender to grind coffee beans.

The main problem is that the grind will never be fine enough to get maximum coffee yield. You’re going to get a very coarse grind, even coarse for something like French Roast.

Just skip the headaches and get yourself a Burr Grinder. You can even find ones that are hand cranked and don’t require you to use an additional electrical outlet.

Here is a selection of burr coffee grinders that I like. You can pick either one that is electrical or one that is hand powered.

Should You Use a Blender to Grind Coffee Beans?

My honest opinion is no. There’s really no reason to use a blender to grind coffee beans aside from out of emergency.

If, for some reason, you’re out of coffee and you have some whole beans, and you’re in need of a cup of coffee….then go ahead and use your blender.

But other than that, there is really no reason to use a coffee blender on a regular basis. They are simply not designed to handle the grinding process.

Remember, you’re not grinding fruit and vegetables when you make a smoothie, you’re blending them.

Coffee beans are also different than nuts (which you can blend into nut butter in a blender). Coffee beans do not have the fat that nuts have, and therefore you need a burr grinder to turn them into ground coffee.

My suggestion would be to just go ahead and decide if you really want to grind coffee beans at home. If you do, then you need to go ahead and bite the bullet and buy yourself a burr grinder.