Help! I bought a bag of coffee and didn't realize the beans were whole.

Ruth n Jersey

Ruth n Jersey

Well-known Member
Location
Northern New Jersey
I remember my grandma buying eight o clock coffee in the A&P. At the end of the check out counter was the grinder where you could grind it yourself. I would always grab a few beans that missed the grinder and play with them.

My grocery store had eight o clock coffee on sale so I decided to buy a bag.
I was so busy trying to decide the type of roast and flavor that I didn't see whole bean on the label.
I don't have a coffee grinder and thought about grinding it in my food processor or blender.
Then I wondered if it would dull the blade.
I do have a mortar and pestle. But that seems like a lot of work for a cup of coffee.
Maybe I could put them in a bag and run the car over them. Hubby says it won't work, I'll miss the bag.
Any suggestions?
I can't bring it back, because I opened it and they aren't accepting returns anyway because of Covid.
 

Put some beans in a bag and crush them a bit with a rolling pin, then put the crushed beans in a blender and set it at the highest setting. Turn the blender off to keep checking, you might have to stir them around a bit, and just keep doing that until it's ground to the consistency you want.
 

Ruth n Jersey said:
I remember my grandma buying eight o clock coffee in the A&P. At the end of the check out counter was the grinder where you could grind it yourself. I would always grab a few beans that missed the grinder and play with them.

My grocery store had eight o clock coffee on sale so I decided to buy a bag.
I was so busy trying to decide the type of roast and flavor that I didn't see whole bean on the label.
I don't have a coffee grinder and thought about grinding it in my food processor or blender.
Then I wondered if it would dull the blade.
I do have a mortar and pestle. But that seems like a lot of work for a cup of coffee.
Maybe I could put them in a bag and run the car over them. Hubby says it won't work, I'll miss the bag.
Any suggestions?
I can't bring it back, because I opened it and they aren't accepting returns anyway because of Covid.
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A grinder goes for less than $10. Almost the price of one Latte Grande at Starbucks. I buy my beans usually 3 days old from a local roaster and grind enough for a few days supply, beans are only fresh for 3 weeks at the most. Any roaster beats Starbucks brand, too bitter for my cup.
 
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ManjaroKDE said:
A grinder goes for less than $10. Almost the price of one Grande at Starbucks. I buy my beans usually 3 days old from a local roaster and grind enough for a few days supply, beans are only fresh for 3 weeks at the most. Any roaster beats Starbucks brand, too bitter for my cup.
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I also find Starbucks coffee, not to my liking. Hubby keeps the bag of coffee beans in the fridge. I drink a medium blend, any brand. Right now, it's Tim Horton's.
 
I have used my blender to grind coffee before. I like flavored coffee, and my husband doesnā€™t want any of that ā€œstuffā€ in his coffee grinder; so I just put a couple of spoonfuls into the blender and it did a great job. The main thing is not to put in more than enough for the one pot/cup of coffee at a time, or it can clog up in the blender, and then it leaves chunks.
 
We have 3 of these for grinding spices. Whole black peppercorns, Cinnamon, Dried onion flakes to make onion powder.

Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder for Beans, Spices and More, Stainless Steel Blades, Removable Chamber, Makes up to 12 Cups, Black

But if having fresh ground spice isn't your thing then the suggestion of taking the beans back to the store & using their grinder makes a lot of sense.
 
Thanks everyone, I'm going to try @Murrmurr's way and use a rolling pin and then put them in the blender. I was just worried about the blade getting dull. I don't want to buy a grinder. Just one more item to stand around and I'm happy with ground coffee.
I can't even bring a canned product back for exchange because of Covid.
They would never allow me to grind an open bag I brought from home. Actually I haven't seen the grinder in the store lately.
My store can't seem to decide on any covid precautions.
One minute everyone is buying from the salad bar, which I never do, and the next week its all closed up. A few weeks ago I was allowed to husk my corn and dispose of the husk in the trash can provided and this week we had to buy it as is.
 
Most blender blades are not meant to be sharp (like a food processor blade is). The ones on my Vitamix and the little Ninja personal blender are not sharp at all, and the idea is that the impact of the blades shatters whatever is in the blender.
If your blender does not have sharp blades, @Ruth n Jersey , then it should not bother it at all to grind up your coffee. I have used mine for grinding all kinds of things, seeds and nuts and stuff like that, besides the coffee beans.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
Actually I haven't seen the grinder in the store lately.
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I was just thinking this the other day too. It was heavenly to smell.

My google search for other uses for coffee beans failed. Coated with chocolate? Seems like Iā€™ve seen them used in a bowl to remove odours from a room.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
so I just put a couple of spoonfuls into the blender and it did a great job. The main thing is not to put in more than enough for the one pot/cup of coffee at a time, or it can clog up in the blender, and then it leaves chunks.
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Let us know if you try this suggestion, and Murmurr's method, @Ruth n Jersey

I have always felt confused about what is okay to put in the blender. They seem to have differing directions, and I dont know which is fine to put what, to not damage it, as you'd said....
But it might be fine, in most blenders of good quality, as long as one does it little by little. Gradually increase the blender speed?

Let us know how that goes, please. I love that old smell, too!! :)
 
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@Kaila I was about to try crushing the beans and then putting it in the blender but I found I didn't even have to put it in the blender. Using the rolling pin alone made a nice course grind.
I then put it in my French press and it made a great cup of coffee.

I have a Vitamix and you can buy a grinder attachment which I don't have, but since they offered that attachment it led me to believe its not a good idea to use the regular blender blade, Of course maybe they just want to make more money selling an attachment,
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
@Kaila I was about to try crushing the beans and then putting it in the blender but I found I didn't even have to put it in the blender. Using the rolling pin alone made a nice course grind.
I then put it in my French press and it made a great cup of coffee.

I have a Vitamix and you can buy a grinder attachment which I don't have, but since they offered that attachment it led me to believe its not a good idea to use the regular blender blade, Of course maybe they just want to make more money selling an attachment,
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Thank you for that additional info! :)
I guess the attachment they sell, would be the different shape and type of blades, with 2 flat circles, though I do not know that it would work any better than regular blender blades.

However, that's great to hear that the rolling pin was enough! I can't wait to try it, too!
I have a small immersion, and I also have a small French press, and I imagine either would do fine, now that you encouraged me! :)
Now, all I need are some whole coffee beans!šŸ˜

Do you happen to have a few extra, or a small handful, to spare?
I think I heard someplace, that you do!:LOL::ROFLMAO::love:
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
@Kaila I was about to try crushing the beans and then putting it in the blender but I found I didn't even have to put it in the blender. Using the rolling pin alone made a nice course grind.
I then put it in my French press and it made a great cup of coffee.

I have a Vitamix and you can buy a grinder attachment which I don't have, but since they offered that attachment it led me to believe its not a good idea to use the regular blender blade, Of course maybe they just want to make more money selling an attachment,
Click to expand...
The Vitamix has a pretty large blender container, so just a couple spoons of coffee beans would not be that easy to get out if they got stuck in the bottom, which is why I use the smaller personal blender, Ninja. The attachments for grinding are usually just a small container, which makes everything easier.
Actually, I think it would take more than a coffee bean to affect a Vitamix blender blade.

I have never tried the rolling pin idea, but I can see where it would work fine for a coarse grind coffee !
 
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