Coffee Grinder for Weed
One of the glorious things about the legalization of weed is that millions of people now have easy access to pain medication that they really need. We know for a fact that weed is great at reducing pain and helping people who suffer regularly improve their quality of life and now many of us are free to use it.
But nearly every form of cannabis consumption requires ground weed. That’s not a problem if you’re using it recreationally but it can be a huge issue if you’re using weed to relieve pain in your hands, wrists or arms. Or if you’re really lazy. Using a manual grinder can cause issues for both of those groups.
Also Read: Smoke Buddy Review
If you’re looking for a quick fun hack to take all the manual work out of grinding weed then you’ve come to the right place. A lot of people throw serious shade on using coffee grinders as an alternative to manual weed grinders but if used properly, they can actually work really well.
Why use a Coffee Grinder for Weed?
There are tons of different grinders on the market, many of them electric grinders that require no manual labor. Why use a coffee grinder then? Well, there are a few reasons.
Quality
“If you’re looking for an electronic weed grinder that doesn’t totally suck, repurposing a coffee grinder can be a great idea.”If you’ve looked around on Amazon for electric weed grinders then you might be a bit disappointed. A lot of their offerings are complete and total crap. Seriously, pretty much anything on there is under $10 and is obviously a cheap product made somewhere overseas using cheap labor.
If you’re looking for an electronic weed grinder that doesn’t totally suck, repurposing a coffee grinder can be a great idea. There are thousands of different products on the market and that competition means some serious innovation and quality. Electric coffee grinders have been around for decades, which means a lot more opportunity for advancement, a lot more testing and a significantly higher quality than a lot of other e-grinders on the market right now.
Cheap
If you decide to move off of Amazon to search for your automated weed grinder you’ll quickly find that they cost a pretty penny. Some of the high end electric weed grinders can cost upwards of $50 and some of them are even $100+. That’s a lot of money to be spending on a grinder and it’ll up your investment significantly if you’re looking to start using cannabis.
Coffee grinders on the other hand are significantly cheaper – even the good ones. You can pick up a decent grinder for less than $30 that’ll have just about everything you need.
Easy to Find
If you’re looking for a quality e-grinder that works, it might not be the easiest thing to find. As we mentioned above, Amazon’s stock is pretty awful at the moment which means you’re left to scouring the web to find a quality device that’ll do what you need.
There are thousands of coffee grinders sold on Amazon, Walmart, Jet and pretty much every major distributor on the web. They’re incredibly easy to find.
Features to Look Out For in Coffee Grinders for Weed
If you’re looking to pick up a coffee grinder for your weed then you’ll want to keep a few things in mind. Below are the major features you should look for when picking one out.
Fine Adjustments
The most important thing to watch out for is something that has multiple settings for fineness. A lot of people get worried about their weed getting shredded to dust from using a coffee grinder. That’s a totally valid concern, but one that’ll be a non-issue if the grinder has multiple settings.
You might need to experiment a time or two to see which setting works best, but once you have it dialed in you won’t have any issues with the consistency.
Catching Containers
The other major thing to watch out for is that the grinder has a container that catches coffee (or in this case, your pot) well. I’ve used crappy grinders in the past and if it’s not set up right your ground coffee can end up all over the counter. Pretty much anywhere but where it was supposed to go.
Grabbing yourself a grinder that gets the grounds in the bin, where they’re supposed to go will make your life a million times easier.
Burr vs. Blade
“The big advantage with most burr grinders is that you can adjust how close the two blades are to each other.”There are two major types of coffee grinders on the market: burr grinders and blade grinders. The difference is pretty simple – burr grinders have two blades that move in opposite directions to grind up the coffee. Blade grinders simply have one blade that rotates very quickly.
There are some sites that will go super in-depth as to which ones better than the other. They both work, and can work very well if used properly, but if you’re planning on using a coffee grinder for weed you’ll probably want to get yourself a burr grinder.
The big advantage with most burr grinders is that you can adjust how close the two blades are to each other. This allows you to finely tune how your pot gets chopped up. Blade grinders often times have settings as well but they usually just correspond to the speed of the blade. This doesn’t allow you as much control and you could potentially have issues getting a grind that works well.
Top Coffee Grinders
Below are my top picks for coffee grinders you can use for weed. I’ve made sure that all of the picks below will work well and include the major features you’ll need for it to be effective.
My #1 Pick: KRUPS GX5000
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better coffee grinder than this for less than $100. It really does work well. This is actually the coffee grinder that I use for my morning coffee, although it still works extremely well for weed.
The setup is pretty simple. The nob on the side will allow you to choose between 9 different grind settings. While this isn’t as expansive as other options, it’ll still provide enough precision for you to find a spot that works well for what you need.
The knob in the center allows you to adjust the amount of time the grinder runs for. Generally speaking you’ll want this set all the way to 1 (meaning the least amount of time) because letting a grinder run continuously will probably mince your weed up way too much.
Once processed, your grind will fall through to the large container on the bottom of the grinder. It falls through pretty easily and you won’t have any problems with a big mess from a grinder that dispenses inaccurately.
Finally, there’s the price. Yea, this is definitely a bit more on the expensive side but you really get what you pay for with grinders. You’ll have a tough time finding a burr grinder that works this well anywhere near this price bracket. The KRUPS GX5000 really is a great piece of equipment.
My #2 Pick: Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Electric Coffee Grinder
For those of you who aren’t looking to spend much on an electric grinder, I’d suggest the Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Grinder. This is quite a bit cheaper than most other grinders I’ve got on this list, but with that you won’t get as many features.
The biggest downgrade with this grinder is the fact that it’s a standard blade grinder instead of a burr grinder. I know, earlier I said that burr grinders work the best. I still feel that way but you can still get good results from a standard blade grinder and going with one will help you save money.
With this grinder you’ve only got 3 grind settings – course, medium and fine. I’d suggest trying out either the course or medium settings – fine will probably chop too much for the purposes of weed.
Another thing I like about this grinder is that it doesn’t take up much counter space at all. It’s pretty compact and although it’s tall, you should be able to store it away pretty easily.
This definitely isn’t the #1 grinder on the market, but it still works really well for those who are looking to pick up a cheap coffee grinder to process their weed. Sometimes something that’s simple and cheap can work just fine.
My #3 Pick: JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder
If a bit of manual labor isn’t out of the question then I’d take a look at the JavaPress Manual Coffee Grinder. This simple grinder includes the dual-blade burr technology but it’s not electronic.
What that means is you can still get an extremely precise grind at a significantly lower price. Electric coffee grinders are significantly more expensive because of all the extra design and circuitry that needs to be included. Without that though, you can get an excellent grinder for a lot less.
The JavaPresse has 18 different grind settings, meaning you’ll be able to fine tune things perfects to get the grind you’re looking for. It’s also extremely easy to operate. I was worried that the crank arm would be really hard to turn but the machine does 90% of the work for you, which is great.
It’s also got a small container that your grind will fall into after it’s done being processed. It’s sealed extremely well so you’ll have no issues with any sort of mess.
I was pretty impressed with this little grinder and think it’s a pretty great device for someone who doesn’t need something that’s electric or automated. It’s cheap, it’s effective and it doesn’t take up too much space.
My #4 Pick: Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
If money is no object then the Baratza Encore is pretty much one of the best burr grinders you can find. It really is fantastic.
The name of the game with the Baratza is adjustability. It’s got over 40 different grind settings for you to play around with, meaning you’ll be able to fine tune it to get pricesily the gind you want. Sure, it’ll take a few batches to get things nailed down but I guess that measn you’ll just have to buy more weed to experiment with. Oh darn. That’s gonna be rough.
Really though, this is a fantastically well-made piece of machinery that’s at a way lower price point than it should be. Most other top-notch burr grinders will cost hundreds of dollars whereas this is just under $150. Yea, that’s still a lot of money but you get what you pay for. And with the Baratza, you’ll get a great grind.
FAQ
Q: Can you use a coffee grinder for coffee and weed interchangeably?
A: While yes, you technically can, I wouldn’t advise it. You’ll have some pretty serious issues with cross contamination and you’ll probably end up wasting a bit of weed. The idea situation would be to have two grinders, each with a specific purpose. This will make things a lot easier, however if you don’t have the money for two then you’d be able to make it work with one.
Q: How do I use a coffee grinder to grind up weed?
A: It’s pretty simple really – you’ll do everything you normally do except you’ll need to be a lot more careful if you’re processing weed/herbs. The main thing to keep in mind is to pulse your grinder when using weed as opposed to turning it on 100% full. This’ll give you more control and keep things from getting ground up too fine. Also, you’ll likely want to keep your grind settings towards the courser end instead of fine.
Q: Will there be issues with the weed sticking to the blade?
A: This will only be a problem if you’ve got really moist weed. If your weed is fairly dry then you should have any problems with it sticking to the blade. If you do end up having this problem, a small paintbrush works wonders for cleaning thing down and keeping your fingers out of the fray.
Q: How much weed do I need to use?
A: Obviously, the more you use the more effective this will be but coffee grinders can still work just fine with only a few grams. Just make sure to pulse the machine really quickly for smaller amounts or you’ll chop it up too much.
Wrap Up
There we are – the best coffee grinders if you’re looking to chop up your weed. Lots of people don’t think these things are too great at grinding weed but my opinion is the opposite of that. If you pick a grinder with the right settings you’ll have no problem chopping your weed up with no manual labor at all. And for some people, that can be a pretty big deal.