Can The Ninja Grind Coffee Beans – The Answers to the Question Grinding Your Mind

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You have probably heard of the Ninja brand of kitchen appliances. You may even already have one – or several – pieces in our arsenal of accessories. Not just those of us that could have the label of kitchen appliance enthusiast. 

I know it’s crossed my mind a dozen times – and maybe even more often for y’all – to use my regular Ninja machines like my badass blender or my powerful food processor – to chop up whole coffee beans to the desired consistency so I can enjoy a delicious fresh cup of coffee. I can’t count how many times coffee enthusiasts have asked me, “Can the Ninja grind coffee beans?”

Well, my response will differ depending on what kind of Ninja you are trying to use to grind your cup of beans. If you have a Ninja blender, though, my go-to answer is “Yes!” just use the  Ninja coffee grinder attachment. 

But not everyone has a dedicated coffee grinder on hand. So I’ve got some information in stock for those of you wondering if a Ninja blender can grind coffee beans or if I can use the pulse grind with a food processor instead. 

What are Ninja Kitchen Appliances?

There is always the chance that you’ve come upon this post without prior knowledge of the Ninja brand. It’s understandable, especially if you’re not an avid cook!

There should probably be an AA (Appliance Anonymous) program for people like me who might have a slight problem.

Whether you’re like me and know and love Ninja, or you’re a complete newbie who thinks I’m talking about a badass with kung-fu skills, let me share a bit about one of my favorite brands.

Ninja is a well-known brand of small kitchen appliance manufacturers. They have a consistent reputation for superiority and high performance at an affordable cost. And they’re really sleek-looking too!

Types of Ninja Brand Small Appliances

There are multiple models of Ninja tools, from blenders and food processors to air fryers and cookers to coffee makers and coffee bean grinders. Seriously, they have a product for every kitchen need – including some that you may not even realize!

But, If you’re like me, you probably prefer to find one tool that serves as a quick solution for multiple purposes so you don’t have a ton of stuff to store away. 

Then again, maybe you don’t mind adding separate appliances to your surplus as long as it serves a superior purpose with better results. And it has to give you a consistent grind size that is better than what you get from other sources. 

So, you may be wondering, do I really need to buy a coffee grinder to prepare fresh coffee beans if I already have a Ninja food processor or blender?

Keep reading because I’m going to answer that very question!

What is a Ninja Coffee Bean Grinder?

First, I want to talk about the Ninja Coffee Bean Grinder! 

This small but mighty attachment works like a mini blender or spice grinder, tackling whole spices and coffee beans with ease. You get the perfect fine consistency from whole beans without the risk of burning or scorching. 

I’ve found the Ninja grinder the best choice if you’re serious about your coffee game. Not only is it small and easy to store away without taking up any space, but it lets me grind small batches at a time which you can’t do with a regular blender cup. 

Why Use a Ninja Grinder Instead of Other Ninja Appliances?

If you don’t have a Ninja grinder already, you might not think it’s necessary to buy one. In fact, you may wonder why grind your own coffee beans at all. You can get a ton of different flavors and grinds at most stores ready to make. While buying pre-ground coffee guarantees consistent results from your brewing process, it’s not the best way to a perfect cup of coffee.

There are several reasons that coffee lovers believe that you get the best flavor from fresh ground coffee beans. But even more specifically, most coffee aficionados believe that the best methods use Ninja grinders.

Fresh Coffee Grinds Taste Better 

The first reason that you should use fresh ground coffee beans from a dedicated coffee bean grinder instead of beans pre-ground or chopped with a milling blade mixer is the taste.

It’s all about freshness. Your coffee will have the most robust flavor right after you grind the beans. But the longer that coffee stays ground without being brewed, the less flavorful it will taste. 

So, for rich coffees like espressos and even cold brew, it’s a good choice to make sure you’ve got the strongest flavors – i.e. the freshest grounds. 

Consistency of Coffee Grind Size

The size of the grind also affects your coffee’s taste. The best results come from grind settings that turn the coffee grounds into a fine, even textured powder. 

Without getting all sciency, grinding your coffee beans creates a larger exposed surface area which makes it faster for the flavor to extract. But as the grinds encounter oxygen, the flavor starts to degrade.

To help make it easier to understand, let’s compare a cold-extraction coffee brew with a strong espresso drink. You get a stronger flavor from a coarse or medium grind in a smaller cup without much coffee such as a single-serve cup of espresso.

Cold-brew coffees take longer to prepare because the water sits on the grinds for several hours. So, it’s better to use a chunky, coarse grind. Because you’re using cold water, the extraction of flavor is smooth and never bitter. Whereas to make an espresso coffee, the water pours through a fine grind quickly – in less than two minutes.

Check out this chart for different grind sizes, grind consistencies and looks, and methods of preparation.

Grind size	Texture similarity	Best for
Extra coarse (1.5 mL particles)	Rock salt	Cold brew
Medium (0.75 mL)	Sand	Drip, pour-over, Chemex
Medium fine (0.5 mL)	Table salt	Espresso, Moka pot, Pour-over cone, siphon brewer, Aeropress
Fine (0.3 mL)	Granulated sugar (fine)	Espresso
Superfine (0.1 mL)	Flour	Turkish coffee

Versatile for Different Coffee Makers

What type of coffee you want to make can determine which coffee maker you buy. And it’s going to affect the type of grind you’ll need out of your beans as well as which device will give you a better grind. 

A Ninja coffee bean grinder gives the perfect grind texture with small blender blades that pulverize beans into a fine powder rather than chopping them into pieces with an uneven consistency. You can get grind consistency from medium to superfine, depending on how much you grind.

This finely ground powder can work for most coffee-making methods. It also prevents grounds from burning or scorching. Plus a coffee beans attachment can be a good idea to prep a single serve cup from a full cup of coffee beans without a lot of elbow grease, a lot of money, or damage to your beans.

You can use a Ninja coffee grinder to make the coarse texture needed for the 10 to 20-hour steep using a cold brew method. Even if you get a finer grind texture, you can cold brew. Just shorten the brew time. 

Drip brews are a common method of coffee making at home, done via a drip coffee machine or using a cone – referred to as a pour-over method. Unlike cold brewing, drip brew, and pour-over methods extract flavor from roasted coffee grounds contained in a filter using hot water. Pour-over is also called a hand drip due to being manually bewed

Types of Ninja Appliances That Can Grind Coffee Beans

Ninja manufactures many types of small kitchen appliances, so there’s no surprise that there are multiple tools that have blades for chopping. And while it’s technically possible to use blade grinders for the grinding process, that doesn’t mean that you should! In most cases, a small personal blender like a Ninja Master prep should be your last resort.

The Issue With Using Blenders for Beans

The Sharkninja Operating LLC has a collection of blender styles and models to suit every aspect of your kitchen needs. I love that you can get single-serve mixers, which are perfect for my breakfast smoothies or delish afternoon juice fix. 

The Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro offers a single-serve quantity with two functions. But the Ninja Foodi Smooth Bowl Maker kicks ass for my fresh drinks with four functions.

And to mix up a batch of milkshakes for the whole family – or some tasty adult beverages once the kids are asleep – there are traditional models of blenders that serve small or large amounts with a standard pitcher. 

I dig all the features and accessories with the Ninja Professional Plus Blender DUO with Auto-IQ with three functions and a pitcher blender. While the Ninja Twisti High Speed Blender Duo has 5 features with a built-in twist tamper and drizzle cap on the pitcher. 

So, if I love these blenders so much, why don’t I recommend them for grinding up your coffee beans? All of the Ninja blenders – pitcher and single-serve – have sharp blades that could chop up dry ingredients like fruits, veggies, spices, and coffee beans. 

But the problem with using a blade grinder with a big cup for your beans is that you will need to grind it a lot to get all the beans ground up enough. Your cup of joe will taste bitter because of the heat generated from all the grinding. Plus, if you’re only trying to make a single cup of coffee, adding a small amount to your blender with a pulse setting can take longer to grind as the beans bounce around the container while the blades chop them into uneven pieces. 

And it’s louder than a freight train barreling through your living room with the kids screaming at the top of their lungs. So, it’s definitely not for a quiet Saturday drink before the rest of the house wakes up.

Problems Faced with Using Food Processors for Grinding Coffee Beans

Another chopping tool that you likely already have in your kitchen that you may contemplate using for grinding coffee beans is a food processor.

Like the rest of Ninja’s inventory, there is an impressive lineup of food blender processors. Two of my favorites are the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System and the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-IQ. 

Both machines have a blade chopping processor and spacious blender and an included dough blade. The Foodi offers seven functions while the Plus only has five. I can use these baddies for everything, making food prep and cleanup easy and fast. But again, they would not do well as an option for grinding whole coffee beans. 

Food processors also have blade systems, meaning the coffee beans will get chopped into alot of small yet unevenly sized particles. They can also make it too difficult to chop a small quantity of beans for a solo cup of joe without ending up with a nasty taste. 

Features That Make a Coffee Bean Grinder Superior

Now that you understand why a coffee bean grinder is important for your coffee making, let’s take a look at what features make dedicated coffee bean grinders so great.

The Business is in the Blades

The main reason I’m obsessed with my Ninja coffee bean grinder is the perfection of the grinds. With every use, I get a consistent, even texture of powder I can use for all of my coffee making methods.

So far, the only way I’ve gotten this same consistency for my coffee grinds from other methods is with a burr grinder. These tools can cost a pretty penny and take up a bit of space. Manual burr grinders are more affordable but again need a place for storing. 

Burr grinders work differently from other Ninja appliances like blenders or food processors. This style of tool crushes solid pieces into fine, even particles. Whereas with accessories that have big blades, you get a more inconsistent texture. Some pieces will be big while others get too fine. 

And as the blades toss around the beans to break them down into smaller particles, the oils in the beans start to release and heat up. Once the oils activate and warm, the flavor starts to turn bitter and acrid.  

The Ninja coffee bean attachment has sharp blades that spin the whole beans into tiny matching pieces. Because all of this action happens in a small container, the beans don’t bounce around everywhere to create inconsistent pieces. 

Using a Ninja to Grind Coffee Beans – The Final Verdict 

With all of the Ninja appliances out there, you have options on how you want to prepare your fav coffee from start to finish. While it’s possible to use any chopping tool to grind coffee beans, it’s not a recommended method. If you want to get the best taste from your coffee – regardless of the method of brew – it’s best to use a space-saving useful doodad like the Ninja coffee grinder attachment.

Let me know in the comments which method of coffee prep is your favorite. How do you prep your coffee beans or do you take the easy way out and buy them pre-ground?

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