Coffee Grinder vs Blender: Which Is Better?

Can you use a blender to grind coffee beans? Read our coffee grinder vs blender guide to understand their similarities and differences.

Even as a broke college student, I still refuse to sacrifice my freshly ground coffee beans. As I consider coffee my fuel for the day, pre-ground and instant coffee just won’t cut it for me.

However, coffee grinders are expensive. With other things to prioritize, such as food and rent, it took me time to save cash for a proper coffee mill. Luckily, my then-roommate owned a blender she borrowed from her parents’ kitchen. So in the meantime, her blender became my substitute coffee grinder.  

Since you can grind coffee beans in a blender, why should you still buy a coffee grinder? Even if a blender is an excellent alternative to a coffee grinder, it’s still not quite the same. So, let’s explore the coffee grinder vs blender!

What Is A Coffee Grinder And A Blender?

A coffee grinder is a must-have small appliance in the kitchen for coffee lovers. This device can be manual or electric and can grind any type of coffee beans. It has two kinds: blade (or propeller) grinder, the cheaper choice, and burr grinder, the superior of the two. 

A blender is an electric kitchen appliance primarily used in turning fruit or vegetables into liquid. It can also mix, chop, and mash wet and dry ingredients. It has a container similar to a pitcher with a blade at the bottom whirled by a high-speed motor.

Are you a coffee lover with no grinder or blender? Don’t worry, you don’t need to crush your beans to brew them!

You might also find our guide on how long do coffee grinders last useful.

What Does A Coffee Grinder And A Blender Have In Common?

A blender works excellently as a coffee grinder stand-in as it uses the same stainless steel blade similar to what propeller grinders have. The electric blade grinder and table blender require a powerful motor for faster grinding, chopping, and mixing.

Another similarity is the blade grinder, and a blender makes extra coarse to medium coarse coffee grounds. Aside from coffee beans, they can also grind spices, nuts, and herbs.

But these two machines will not be able to make fine grinds for espresso, will have inconsistent grinds, can burn your beans, and may make your brew too bitter or sour. You can still use a blade grinder and blender in other brewing methods such as Cold Brew, French Press, Percolator, Chemex, AeroPress, and Siphon Brewers. 

Newer multi-functional blenders have features like a detachable set of blades, grind settings, and pulse options, which you can also find in a regular coffee grinder.

You might also be interested in learning if you can use a coffee grinder for wet grinding.

Coffee Grinder Vs Blender: The Differences

Coffee Grinder	Blender
Can be manually or electrically operated.	Is only powered by electricity.
Grinds solid and dry ingredients.	Combines, chops, and slices solid, dry, and wet ingredients.
Pulverize coffee beans, herbs, nuts, and spices.	Turns solid food into liquid, soup, smoothie, or paste.
It does not require liquid to function.	It may need fluids to grind and mix ingredients.
Produces perfect-sized coffee grinds (burr).	Results in uneven grind size.
Coffee’s taste and aroma are preserved during the process.	Coffee can be burned, bitter, and sour due to the heat from the motor.
Can turn coffee beans into all types of grinds.	Can only grind beans into extra coarse to medium coarse (fine will be uneven or powdered).
Best used in grinding coffee beans.	Best used in grinding, chopping, and mixing larger ingredients.
A small, handy, and compact kitchen appliance.	A large, bulky, and heavy kitchen appliance.

What’s Better About A Coffee Grinder?

Both blade and burr coffee grinders turn whole coffee beans into different types of coffee grounds. This small kitchen device is made with the correct design and dimension to hold coffee beans in place during the process. The machine can also be used for raw spices, pepper, nuts, cinnamon, and seeds.

A coffee grinder turns dry and solid ingredients into powder for easier brewing. You can also choose between a manual grinder that is more satisfying to use or an electric one for efficiency. Using this device is simpler, faster, cheaper, and more effective if you want to reach that perfect cup of Joe.

Due to the constant advancement of technology, and our quest for better coffee, coffee grinders continue to develop and improve.

Today, coffee machines have many attributes to make your home cafe experience more exciting and fun; for example, the automatic coffeemaker Cuisinart DCC-3200 with adjustable temperature and self-cleaning features.

What’s Better About A Blender?

A blender is a must-have multi-practical culinary appliance in your kitchen. Compared to a coffee grinder, table blenders can handle more foods other than coffee beans like meat, vegetables, frozen fruits, and others. Table blenders are best used in slicing, mixing, and turning wet and dry ingredients into a homogeneous mixture.

Since blenders have a larger capacity than regular coffee grinders, grinding many coffee beans into coarse or medium coarse is faster. Its more powerful motor makes it easy for a blender to do so. You can also avoid messes created by some coffee grinders because the beans are in a closed pitcher or container.

Any blender with at least 500 watts of power with high, low, and pulse settings can quickly grind whole coffee beans. Multi-functional blenders like Ninja BL770 Mega Kitchen System are great for grinding beans and other ingredients without using a higher power setting.

Who Should Get A Coffee Grinder (And Why)?

People who want to turn an Arabica or whole coffee beans into coarse to a super fine powder should use a coffee grinder. Purchasing different packages of pre-ground coffee for each brewing method and storing it in your cabinet for an extended period will make it lose its flavor. You should get a coffee grinder if you want a fresher cup of coffee and save money in the long run. 

Having an electric coffee grinder at home means you can control the grind size you want to achieve the perfect cup that will satisfy your taste. A coffee grinder can offer you better-tasting coffee.

You might also be interested in our explainer on can you use a coffee grinder for spices.

Who Should Get A Blender (And Why)?

You should get a blender for your kitchen if you often make smoothies, milkshakes, soups, sauces, pastes, and other liquids. People who like juice will save more time using a blender than a juicer, which can take up to 30 minutes to prepare. 

If you want to keep all the fibre and nutrients from fruits and vegetables in your drink or food, it’s good to use a blender. Its blade will crush the ingredients until they’re completely blended into the mixture. Get a multi-functional blender if you like to be more practical and buy an appliance that will save you money. Additionally, a blender is a versatile kitchen device, and it’s easy to clean and maintain.

If you don’t mind inconsistent grinds and don’t grind your coffee often a blender is a good choice.