Experiment gone bad. Wanted to try 8 O'clock coffee perked, compared to McD's. Picked up whole beans, instead of ground, by mistake. Remembered an old inherited meat grinder, stored in a box in the pantry, exactly like this one. It worked! Possibly coarser ground, but not much, and not a good comparison now. By the time I get done with all the experiments, I'll be used to the caffeine.
@Nancy Hart 4 Ways to Grind Coffee Beans Use a Blender: just toss those beans in there (grind about a tablespoon per cup of coffee you’d like to make) and blend them on the pulse setting. Use a Mortar and Pestle: this method may take a while, but it should work. Start with just a few beans at a time and add more as you go. Hammer Your Beans: put beans in a high-quality plastic freezer bag, then put that package between towels. The use a meat-tenderizing mallet or regular old hammer to crush the beans. Unless you have a remarkably steady hand, the crushed grounds will not be of consistent size. They may not result in the finest cuppa joe you’ve ever made, but you can still use them and they’ll be fine. Roll Your Beans: preparing the beans the same way you would for a hammer, use a rolling pin (or any sturdy bottle or food can) to roll over the plastic bag full of beans until they’re crushed.
Thanks, Joe. Last night I actually thought of a mortar and pestle. There have been many times it would have come in handy. Tried the roller method first, but didn't think a plastic bag would be strong enough. Result was beans shooting across the kitchen. Coffee beans are much more fragile than I thought. No blender. My guess is, this is just a passing phase, so I won't invest in fancy gadgets just yet. Maybe an M&P if I find one.
5. Use a coffee grinder I use a manual one, and I found that a coarse grind produces the best coffee, to my tastes anyhow.