Not everyone owns a traditional coffee grinder. With whole coffee beans, not having a grinder is a problem. If this sounds like you, you might wonder if you can use your Ninja to grind coffee beans.
You can use your Ninja to grind coffee beans effectively. While any Ninja will work, the Ninja Master Prep may work best for grinding coffee beans. However, a coffee grinder would still be the preferred method for creating the best-textured grounds.
This article will teach you what you need to know about grinding coffee beans in a Ninja. So if you find yourself without a coffee grinder, you can still create the perfect grounds.
Table of Contents
- Is a Ninja Good for Grinding Coffee Beans?
- How Finely Can You Grind Your Coffee Beans in a Ninja?
- How Long Do You Need to Grind Your Coffee Beans in a Ninja?
- How Many Coffee Beans Do You Need to Put in the Ninja?
- Can You Grind Coffee Beans in Any Ninja Blender?
- What’s the Best Ninja For Grinding Coffee Beans?
- Is It Better to Use Your Ninja or a Coffee Grinder?
- Will It Ruin Your Ninja If You Grind Coffee Beans in It?
- If I Need a Coffee Grinder, What Should I Get?
- Final Thoughts
Is a Ninja Good for Grinding Coffee Beans?
When it comes to grinding coffee beans, the Ninja is one of the better blender options out there.
The blade and force the blender generates are powerful enough to grind coffee. But like all blenders, it can be tricky to create perfectly even grounds.
The size and shape of your Ninja’s blade will affect the ground consistency. And the speed setting you select will also impact the consistency.
For these reasons, a smaller blade and the pulse setting are generally preferred for grinding coffee beans in the Ninja.
How Finely Can You Grind Your Coffee Beans in a Ninja?
The truth is grinding coffee in a Ninja is probably going to result in coarser coffee grounds.
This doesn’t mean you can’t get finer coffee grounds, but it’s probably unrealistic to expect your Ninja to be able to create grounds fine enough for espresso.
You can get relatively fine coffee grounds if you have a small blade attachment. The smaller the blade attachment, the more it will be able to interact with the grounds to break them up.
The other factor that will affect the texture of the coffee grounds is how long you grind them. A shorter duration of grinding will result in coarser grinds.
Staying patient and pulsing your coffee beans longer will result in finer coffee grounds.
How Long Do You Need to Grind Your Coffee Beans in a Ninja?
The answer to this question depends on what type of coffee you’re making.
You may want coarser grounds if you’re brewing your coffee using a French press. Consequently, you likely won’t want to grind the coffee beans beyond 30 seconds.
On the other hand, if you’re making drip or pour-over coffee, you want to aim for finer coffee grounds. This means you will probably need to pulse the coffee beans for at least 30 seconds or up to 1 minute.
It will also depend on how many coffee beans you’re grinding. It may be a quick process if you’re just doing one cup's worth of beans. But if you’re grinding multiple cups worth of coffee beans at once, it could take longer.
How Many Coffee Beans Do You Need to Put in the Ninja?
The amount of coffee beans you need to put in a Ninja depends on how much coffee you want.
Generally speaking, you want to make at least 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds for one 6-ounce cup of coffee.
You can create 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds by using 10.6 grams of whole coffee beans. Other people estimate it takes about 70 whole coffee beans per cup.
If you’re not in the mood to pull out your food scale, don’t worry. You can estimate a bit on this one. Eight tablespoons of whole coffee beans should make just over 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds.
Multiply eight tablespoons of coffee beans by however many cups of coffee you want. And then simply place that amount in your Ninja.
Can You Grind Coffee Beans in Any Ninja Blender?
You can blend coffee beans in any Ninja Blender, as all the blades are strong enough.
All Ninja blenders are also large enough to blend multiple cups worth of coffee beans at once. This is true even of the single-serving Ninja blender.
Ninja blenders are generally considered high-quality blenders. This means they have blades sturdy enough to break through the tough exterior of coffee beans without causing damage.
However, remember that a Ninja costs much more than a basic coffee grinder. So if you want it to last longer for other purposes, you may think twice about grinding your coffee beans in it.
What’s the Best Ninja For Grinding Coffee Beans?
There are many Ninja blenders available on the market. And while all of them will be okay for grinding coffee beans, some are better than others.
The Ninja blender most recommended for grinding coffee beans is the Ninja Master Prep. This blender was designed for chopping and grinding various items finely.
As a result, it’s a better fit for creating more evenly ground coffee beans relative to the other options.
But even better than the Ninja Master Prep is Ninja’s own coffee grinder. You simply won’t beat using a coffee grinder for grinding coffee beans. So consider investing in the one from Ninja if you’re a fan of their products.
Is It Better to Use Your Ninja or a Coffee Grinder?
At the end of the day, a standard coffee grinder will produce better coffee grounds.
Coffee grinders are designed to be able to create a variety of different textured grounds. The size of the blades and the speed at which they work to create more even coffee grounds.
And if you upgrade to a fancy coffee burr, you can quickly create fine espresso coffee grounds. This is challenging to do with a Ninja blender.
This isn’t to say you can’t create good grounds using a Ninja blender. But investing in a traditional coffee grinder is in your best interest if you're a daily coffee drinker.
A coffee grinder will allow you to customize your coffee ground experience in a challenging way to match with a Ninja.
Will It Ruin Your Ninja If You Grind Coffee Beans in It?
You most likely won’t ruin your Ninja if you grind coffee beans in it. But there is potential for the coffee beans to damage the blade.
Given that the Ninja blades are high-strength stainless steel, it’s unlikely that they will break easily.
However, regularly exposing your Ninja blender to coffee beans daily could result in unnecessary wear and tear.
Purchasing a separate coffee grinder is recommended if you enjoy using your Ninja for other blending and cooking purposes. This will extend the life of your Ninja blender.
If I Need a Coffee Grinder, What Should I Get?
Coffee grinders range from basic and inexpensive to highly customizable with a large price tag.
If you’re not too picky with your coffee grinds, you can find a variety of small and simple coffee grinders. These types typically don’t have many settings. A good starter option is this one from Black and Decker.
Coffee connoisseurs may want more options to create the perfect variety of coffee ground textures. In this case, it may be better to go for a coffee burr with multiple settings.
A highly recommended coffee burr with multiple settings is the OXO coffee burr. This burr will let you create a wide variety of textures of coffee grounds.
If you want very fine and fresh espresso grounds, it’s worth investing in a good coffee burr.
Final Thoughts
You can grind coffee beans in your Ninja blender. But it should not be your first choice if you have a coffee grinder at home.
Any Ninja blender can grind coffee beans. But the Ninja Master Prep is the best blender option for grinding beans. Ninja does offer its coffee bean grinder, which will be the superior Ninja appliance for the job.
The Ninja blender will be better at creating coarser coffee grounds. Creating a fine espresso ground using a Ninja blender would be challenging.
Generally, you will want to use the pulse setting on your Ninja blender. The duration that you grind them will depend on how coarse or fine you want your grounds. You probably want to aim between 30 seconds to one minute.
At the end of the day, a coffee grinder is a superior method for creating even and customizable coffee grounds. But your Ninja blender will do the trick if you’re in a pinch and need to make coffee grounds.
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