If you are a self-professed coffee snob, you may scoff at the thought of purchasing ground coffee.  

You may say, “Ground coffee is how the common folk caffeinate, I am superior because I buy whole bean coffee!”

Hopefully, you don’t say that (even if you believe it’s true).

If you haven’t checked out our article titled “Whole Bean vs Ground Coffee, Which is Better?” We’ve conveniently linked it here for you.  Take a look at it before moving on. 

While there are many reasons to purchase whole bean coffee, grinding it can be a hassle for some.  Here are three ways to grind your own coffee beans.

Electric Grinder

When Black Friday and door-busting was still a thing, you could pick up one of these bad boys for $10. Heck, even if you go on Amazon, you can get one of these for pretty cheap.  They are super convenient and easy to clean. 

You dump some beans in it, press down on the top a fews times and as the machine pulses, the beans get grounded.  You decide how much grinding that you would like by how many times you press the machine.  It’s super simple and super cheap.

For those of you who claim to be coffee connoisseurs, there’s automatic grinding machines.  This is similar to what you may find at your local coffee shop and is an actual kitchen appliance.  I was fortunate enough to be gifted one of these things last holiday season and I love it. 

You dump a whole bag of beans in the hopper at the top of the machine and then adjust the knobs to the quantity of beans you want ground and how fine you want the beans ground.  The result is the perfect grind that is ready to be dumped into your coffee machine.

Both of these are great pieces of machinery but require electricity.  If you need something out in the field, perhaps the next method is for you.

Hand Grinder

 The smell of breadsticks and watching the second bowl of salad coming to your table. The server sits down the salad and asks if you would like cheese on it.  You’re no barbarian and nod your head. The server then deploys a wooden contraption with a handle.  As he cranks the handle, cheese flows down onto your greens.

Anyone have any guesses where this is?

Just like the server at Olive Garden coats your salad with the perfect amount of cheese, you can use a similar tool to grind your coffee beans.

Open it up, throw in some beans and then crank that thing until you have the perfect grind-no plug needed.

Take one of these to the field and your popularity just sky-rocketed. Stainless steel, or are you more of a vintage grinder. 

Hand grinding coffee has come a long way and having one of these things is great to take with you on camping trips, travel, or just keep as a back-up to your electric grinder.

They’re easy to take apart and clean and you often don’t know you need it until you actually need it.  Sure, you can’t go from bean to brew as quickly as an electric grinder, but it is still essential for all coffee lovers.

Mortar and Pestle 

Yes, you read the right.  If you find yourself back in time, perhaps in the Neolithic Era, this is A WAY to grind your coffee beans.  

While you may never want to do this, if you find yourself somewhere with absolutely no technology but have coffee plants growing around you, you can make this work!

Though it is A WAY to do it, it is not the best way, as it’s extremely time and labor intensive.  If this is something you want to try, make sure you don't load the mortar up to the top with beans. Use only about a third of the capacity at a time to prevent overflow and spilled grounds.

How do YOU grind your coffee?

Tell me in the comments!

Also, check out our newest author, Ian Roth, over at his personal blog Talking Llama!