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A Caffeine Addict’s Guide: How to Grind Coffee in a Vitamix

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There’s no better way to start the day than with a cup of freshly ground coffee. If you want to get into the bean-to-cup game but don’t fancy investing in an expensive coffee grinder, then we’ve got the solution for you.

If you already own a Vitamix blender, you can grind coffee beans in a matter of seconds. With a bit of practice, you’ll be crafting beautiful fresh coffee that tastes amazing every single time.

We’ll show you exactly how to grind coffee beans in a Vitamix so you can save money and skip buying a grinder!

how to grind coffee in a vitamix

How to Grind Coffee Beans in a Vitamix – Step By Step Guide

As a Vitamix owner, you’ll know that these devices can blend practically anything. They’re super powerful, reliable, and incredibly easy to use. Grinding coffee beans is an absolute breeze with a Vitamix in hand.

By working through the following steps, you can achieve ground coffee that is just as good as it is from a dedicated coffee grinder. To get started, all you need is a bag of high-quality beans and your Vitamix blender.

Step 1: Measure the whole coffee beans

Before you grind up your coffee, the first thing you’ll want to do is measure out your beans. We always recommend only grinding up the beans that you’re about to use, since coffee that is enjoyed immediately after grinding always tastes best.

If you’re using a French press to brew your coffee, then you want to aim for a 1:12 coffee to water ratio. This means if you want to brew 350 grams of liquid, then you need around 30 grams of ground coffee.

If you don’t have accurate weighing scales available, we’d recommend using a tablespoon of beans for every cup you want to brew. Weighing is always preferable though if you want to get the same results every time.

Step 2: Get your Vitamix ready

Next, we need to prepare the Vitamix for grinding coffee beans. The most important thing to focus on here is getting your blending container clean and as dry as possible. Any moisture inside the container will cause coffee particles to stick to the sides, which will be difficult to get out at the end.

In an ideal world, you want to reserve one of your Vitamix containers for exclusively blending dry foods. The benefit of this approach is that there’s no chance of any moisture getting into the container. Of course, this isn’t always possible or practical, but if you’re in the market for an additional Vitamix container, we have put together an article describing the differences of each container and their compatibilities with each Vitamix blender.

Step 3: Fill the Vitamix with the coffee beans

Add the measured coffee beans to your blending container. Smaller containers are best for grinding coffee because the beans are more likely to get evenly blended.

After pouring your beans into the container, give it a shake to spread the beans evenly around the blades.

Step 4: Switch on the Vitamix and grind the coffee beans

It’s time to grind! Switch on the Vitamix and start blending at the lowest power setting. Slowly increase the power until you achieve the grind you’re looking for. Filter coffee usually needs a coarse grind, whereas espresso machines and Moka pots require finer grinding.

If you are going for coarse grinding, then it’s a good idea to make use of the “pulse blend” function on your Vitamix. Keep giving the beans short blasts until they’re broken down into a suitable size.

Step 5: Fill your coffee maker with the ground beans

Pour the ground beans into your chosen coffee maker. If you have any excess grounds, then you can store these in a dry container for next time.

Step 6: Clean the inside of the Vitamix

Finally, brush out the inside of the Vitamix container to remove any fine grinds. It’s best to avoid using water here if possible since that will cause the coffee to stick to the container. Make sure no grinds have managed to escape into the main blender mechanism too.

Some Vitamixes are dishwasher safe, which could save you time on cleaning! Be sure to keep it clean so you won’t have your blender start leaking black liquid.


What Type of Coffee Beans Can You Grind in a Vitamix Blender?

You can grind all types of coffee beans inside a Vitamix blender. It doesn’t matter if you enjoy a chocolatey dark roast or prefer something lighter and more fruity; your Vitamix will easily take care of your beans. You can grind decaffeinated coffee beans with a blender too.


What Kinds of Coffee Drinks Can You Make In a Vitamix?

Since you can alter the grind size of your beans using a Vitamix blender, you can make practically any type of coffee drink with the device. For example, if you want to use a French press, then you can grind your coffee coarsely. If you enjoy coffee from a Moka pot, then simply blend the beans for a longer period.

It isn’t quite as easy to adjust the grind size of your beans when you compare a blender to a dedicated Burr grinder. However, when you consider a good Burr grinder can cost many hundreds of dollars, the results from a Vitamix are remarkably good.


How to Get the Best Blended Coffee Bean Results

Although a blender can produce very respectable coffee, you’ll need to take some extra steps if you really want to get it to Burr grinder level. For many people, this won’t be necessary, but hardcore coffee lovers will appreciate the chance to get their grounds even more uniform.

Getting your grounds consistent involves two processes – removing large chunks and removing the “fines”. Having too much coffee that is ground overly fine can lead to extra bitterness in your brew. Large chunks won’t brew properly and could affect the overall coffee quality.

Removing the chunks

If you’re brewing filter coffee, then large chunks in your grounds aren’t going to be a big problem. However, if you’re trying to get an espresso grind, then they’re going to have more of an impact.

One of the best ways to remove large ground pieces is to sieve your coffee. Espresso grinds should be small enough to slip through the sieve, while the larger chunks are left behind. You can throw these chunks back into the blender for extra grinding if you’d like.

Removing the fines

Fines are basically coffee particles that have been ground into dust. To remove them, pour out your coffee grounds onto a piece of kitchen towel. Then, take another piece of towel and press it on top of the grounds. When you lift it away, the fines will be stuck to the towel!


Which Vitamix Blender Works Best For Grinding Coffee Beans?

Vitamix blenders aren’t cheap, but they are incredibly versatile. You can use it to grind coffee and you can even use your vitamix as a food processor

You’ll be able to get good coffee results with all Vitamix blenders. However, there’s one exceptional blender that we feel we should point out – the Vitamix 5200. Not only is this device fantastic for coffee grinding, but it’s just an amazing tool to have in your kitchen.

We also highly recommend trying out the Vitamix dry container. We did a comparison of the Vitamix dry and wet containers and the dry one is better for coffee beans.

Here are the best Vitamix blenders to own in our opinion.

coffee beans in a blender

Vitamix 5200 Blender Professional-Grade

The Vitamix 5200 is one of the brand’s leading devices. This commercial-standard blender is built from super high-quality materials and has clearly been designed to last. You also get a range of controls on the front to adjust the speed and power of the blades.

The blades are so powerful that you can even turn cold vegetables straight into hot soup inside the blender. Of course, you won’t need this much power when grinding your coffee beans, but it’s still great to have a tool of this quality in your kitchen for different situations. If you’re worried about noise, check out our blender noise reduction tips!

The 5200 comes with a 64 oz. container as standard, which is ideal for soups and smoothies.

However, we’d recommend picking up a small dry container to go with your blender if you’re going to be using it to grind coffee. Our favorite pick of the bunch is the Ascent Series Dry Grains container.

Vitamix Ascent Series Dry Grains Container

This dry food blending container doesn’t come cheap, but there really is nothing better for getting the best coffee results from your Vitamix. The container works perfectly with the 5200 blender, and this pairing produces some impressively consistent coffee grounds.

The container responds quickly to blender speed adjustments, giving you the maximum amount of control over the grind size. If you’re someone who likes to use different coffee brewing equipment, then this is surely a reason to consider this particular tool.

The container also comes with a tamper tool to push grains around the blades evenly. This is a great way to achieve consistent ground grains every single time.

If you feel like you need to clean the container more thoroughly, then you can simply put some warm water and a drop of dish soap into the pot. When you set it to blend, the container will fully clean itself in a matter of seconds.


Why Choose a Vitamix to Grind Coffee Beans?

The main reason to choose a Vitamix coffee grinder is the value for money. Although dedicated coffee grinders are great, especially if you’re looking for an even espresso grind, they’re pretty expensive for what they are.

On the other hand, Vitamix blenders are extremely versatile devices that can be used for a variety of things beyond coffee grinding.

The versatility is one of the reasons why Vitamix blenders are so pricey

Many coffee enthusiasts are surprised at the quality of grounds a Vitamix can produce. In addition, blenders are very easy to use. You can enjoy your very own beans without having to learn how to use a complex device.

coffee in a vitamix

Common Questions on Grinding Coffee in a Vitamix

Is it better to grind coffee beans in a blender or food processor?

Blenders and food processors can both be used to grind coffee beans. Since blenders usually come with smaller containers, they are typically more suited to grinding beans. It’s quite difficult to get an even grind when your coffee beans are bouncing around a large container.

In addition, blenders typically come with multiple containers. This means that you may be able to reserve one as a “dry container”. This is extremely helpful when it comes to grinding coffee because any moisture inside the blending container can negatively affect the grind quality.

How long should you grind coffee beans?

The length of time you grind beans completely depends on the coffee brewing method that you’re going to use. For example, coarse coffee is best for French presses, whereas a finer grind is required for espresso machines.

How long after grinding coffee should you brew it?

In an ideal world, you should be using brewing freshly ground coffee immediately after grinding. This is the time when you’ll get the maximum flavor and quality from your beautiful beans.

Of course, some people don’t want to be grinding up coffee beans every single time they fancy a cup. If this is you, then we’d recommend grinding up all your coffee for the day in one go, and storing it in a dry container.

Is it safe to grind coffee beans in a Vitamix blender?

Grinding beans in a blender is a completely safe practice. It’s just as safe as blending any other type of dry food item.

With that said, if your blender has any sort of opening on the top, then we’d highly recommend covering it to prevent any sharp coffee shards from flying out during grinding.


Final Verdict: Can You Grind Coffee In a Vitamix?

If you don’t own a dedicated grinder, then there’s no better way to easily grind coffee beans than with a Vitamix blender. By following our guide above, you’ll know exactly how to grind coffee beans in a Vitamix. In a matter of seconds, you can have fresh coffee that tastes so much better than the pre-ground stuff from your local store!

To get the most out of your whole beans, try experimenting with different brewing methods. By playing around with your Vitamix blender, you can adjust the grind size to match your chosen coffee maker.

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Richmond Howard

Richmond Howard started World of Blenders in 2022 to help people solve all their blender issues and buy the best blender for their kitchen! He's tested dozens of blenders and on his other site, Meal Prepify, he's helped over 3 million people learn how to meal prep.

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