Any reason not to grind coffe beans in the blender?

[scfr]

I was given a bag of whole coffee beans as a gift, but do not have a coffee grinder. I'm planning to use my blender to grind them ... Probably not something that I would want to do long term (coffee beans are pretty oily & hard & have that strong distinctive aroma), but is there any reason not to do it just once?

Would they give off less oil if I froze them first?

Any other alternatives for grinding coffee beans?

[disneysteve]

First off, you don't want to freeze coffee beans. It dries them out.

As for grinding them, the blender may not be fine enough. I'd suggest taking them to your local supermarket that has a grinder and ask the manager if you can use it to grind your beans. I'm sure you can find a place that will let you do that.

Otherwise, ask around at work and find someone who will let you borrow a grinder. Maybe a neighbor has one. You can borrow ours.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by RedThunderBird

I would suggest quitting coffee altogether ===== it would do your health a lot of good .

Health Benefits of Coffee - WebMD

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Health Benefits of Coffee - WebMD

Ah ha! There's a woman's MD too

Women's Health Center: Information on Women's Wellness, Nutrition, Fitness, Intimate Questions, and Weight Loss

(I just had to check!)

[Aleta]

I picked up my coffee grinder about 5 or 6 years ago at Costco and it was under $10. My only advice is to only use your coffee grnder for coffee. Do not grind nuts in the coffee grinder.

I agree with Steve about asking your grocery manager about grinding the coffee there. Also Steve's right about not putting the coffee beans in the freezer although you can grind your coffee and put it in the freezer.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Aleta

Also Steve's right about not putting the coffee beans in the freezer although you can grind your coffee and put it in the freezer.

Purists would disagree with that as well.

For the record, I don't drink coffee but my wife does so I've picked up secondhand knowledge over the years.

[GREENBACK]

I use a small food processor and it does a fine job. I actually am not quite sure if it's much diferent than a coffee grinder in terms of the function they perform. You could just make "cowboy coffee" by rolling them up in an old shirt and pounding them on a rock with another rock

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

You could just make "cowboy coffee" by rolling them up in an old shirt and pounding them on a rock with another rock

That only works if you are then preparing the coffee in a cast iron pot over an open fire. If, however, you are using a modern coffeemaker, the beans need to be ground to a certain fineness to get the desired result.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

That only works if you are then preparing the coffee in a cast iron pot over an open fire. If, however, you are using a modern coffeemaker, the beans need to be ground to a certain fineness to get the desired result.

I wasn't sure how original OP wanted to get to the real thing

[scfr]

Using the food processor had crossed my mind after my original post, and mine is so old that if I killed it it would be a great excuse to get a new one! Thanks for the suggestion, Greenback!

RTB - Whether good for my health or not, giving up coffe all together would probably not be good for my marriage or other personal relationships.