coffee grinder at grocery store

Do Grocery Stores Have Coffee Grinders? – Learn the Best Way to Use in Store Coffee Grinders

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One fine day, I visited my local grocery store and tried searching for the existence of any coffee grinder.

I wanted to grind some coffee beans on coarse setting for my regular French Press coffee.

And I did find a common coffee grinder at that grocery store.

But the experience of coffee grinding was not that good for me which I am going to explain in this article ahead.

In the meantime, I would like to first answer your main question.

Do grocery stores have coffee grinders?

The answer is “Yes”.

Most of the popular grocery store chains like Walmart, Costco, Whole Foods, World Market, Trader Joe’s etc. have installed a common coffee grinder at their stores which anyone can use.

But should you use it or not depends on what are your needs and requirements at that time.

Let us discuss how you can use these in store coffee grinders in the optimal way.

And then we will also discuss whether you should use these in-store coffee grinders or use your own coffee grinder at home.

Table of Contents

FAQ Related to Grinding Coffee Beans at Local Grocery Stores

Which Grocery Stores Have Their Own Coffee Grinder?

Many popular grocery stores have their own in store coffee grinder installed which can be used by anyone for free of cost.

You can find these free to use coffee grinders at big retail grocery stores such as Whole Foods, Costco, Kowalski, Walmart, Gelson’s Market, Dierbergs Market, Harvest Market, Philz Coffee, Trader Joe’s, and Starbucks, etc.

You might not find coffee grinders at some of your newly opened or smaller grocery markets in your locality.

So, always make sure to check the availability of these grinders by directly asking the salesman at the counter of these local stores.

Does Starbucks Grind Coffee for Free?

Yes, absolutely you can grind your unopened coffee beans at Starbucks without any extra fee.

But the coffee beans must be purchased from Starbucks shop only.

This means you can not grind any other coffee beans that has been purchased elsewhere other than the Starbucks store.

One more important thing to remember is you should clearly tell the person what grind settings you want before grinding the coffee beans.

There are mainly four grind settings available at Starbucks store such as Espresso, Turkish, French Press, Drip Coffee (Flat Bottom Filter and Cone Filter).

So, you should inform the person properly about the right grind settings depending on your actual requirements.

Can I Grind My Coffee at Whole Foods?

Yes, most Whole Foods local grocery stores have their own in store coffee grinder installed to be used by anyone.

The only condition to grind beans here is you must purchase the coffee beans from the same store.

If the beans are purchased from elsewhere, then you can not grind them at these stores.

These coffee grinders at Whole Foods market are usually of good quality and can grind your coffee at coarse, medium or fine grind settings without any issues.

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Does Publix have a Coffee Grinder?

No, as far as my knowledge is concerned, Publix has discontinued the use of coffee grinders at their local stores.

Due to the inability to maintain quality standards, the company has stopped the service of local coffee grinders.

So, you will not find any coffee grinders nowadays at their local grocery stores.

Does Trader Joe’s Have a Coffee Grinder?

The answer is “Yes”.

Yes, Trader Joe’s have their own coffee grinder installed at their local grocery stores.

However, you will need to buy coffee beans from the same store to use their coffee grinder from that local store.

Most of their local stores have GrindMaster coffee grinder installed which is of really good quality when it comes to its performance.

Can You Grind Coffee at Costco?

Yes, you can grind newly purchased coffee beans at Costco grocery stores.

They have installed their own coffee grinders where you can decide which level of grind settings you want for your coffee beans.

The available grind settings for these coffee grinders are French press, percolator, Turkish, Fine, Cone filter and basket filter.

The only issue I find with these locally installed coffee grinders is they can be used by anyone.

This means you can put anything you want inside the grinder and it is often unregulated or not monitored properly by the staff all the time.

Plus, you can not use these grinders to regrind your coffee beans as it could lead to clogging.

I find that there is lack of regular cleaning and possibility of mixing the fine coffee powder from previously grinding beans by several other folks.

These are two major downsides of using such self-serve coffee grinders at grocery stores.

Will a Coffee Shop Grind My Coffee Beans?

It depends on the business policy followed by the local coffee shop in your area or location.

Most coffee shop owners may co-operate with you if you are a regular customer over there.

You can ask the Barista at your local coffee shop as a favor or for some fee in return for grinding your coffee beans.

They will be happy to grind your whole beans in case you are their regular client and usually purchase coffee from them.

Starbucks is a popular coffee shop where you can get this service free of cost.

Whenever you buy any Starbucks whole coffee beans, you can ask them to grind the beans as well.

They will ask you about your preferred grind settings and will provide you the coffee grounds in few minutes after that.

How to Properly Grind Coffee Beans at the Grocery Store?

Different grocery stores have their own different models of coffee grinders.

However, using them to grind your whole coffee beans is not that hard.

You can get in touch with the local store staff and can ask them about the proper instructions.

Usually, you can see all the usage instructions right on the in-store coffee grinder itself.

To get the best coffee grind results, you will need to follow few tips carefully.

There is a cleaning lever available for every in-store coffee grinder.

Once you pour all the whole coffee beans in the grinder, you will first need to move this cleaning lever up and down to remove the previously grounded coffee powder particles.

Then you will need to decide which grind level you want for your beans.

There are different grind settings available on the machine itself which you can set yourself before grinding.

Usually you will find grind levels such as French Press, Percolator, Drip Coffee, Fine, and Turkish.

These are most common grind settings that you can adjust according to your own taste and preference.

These in-house self-serving coffee grinders are most often burr grinders by design.

This helps you to get pretty consistent grind at free of cost.

The only major issue that I find with such grinding is you are unable to maintain the freshness of your coffee.

Once you grind all the coffee beans at one time, you lose the fresh aroma and flavor within few days or in a week.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to get a new burr grinder at your home such as Baratza Encore Burr Coffee Grinder.

With this type of burr coffee grinder, you can grind your whole beans whenever you want and can use freshly ground coffee powder to brew your French Press coffee or Drip Coffee.

What Can You Use if You Don’t Have a Coffee Grinder at Home?

If you don’t own a coffee grinder at home, then the first best option is to either approach your friends or neighbors and ask for a favor.

If they don’t have grinder at home too then the next option is to visit the local coffee shop and ask the local barista for a favor or ask to grind your beans for a small fee.

If you still don’t find this help, then the next best method is to use a good quality food processor or a blender.

The best and the more affordable blender that I can recommend to grind your whole coffee beans is Nutribullet 900 W Blender.

Its 900w motor is sufficient to grind coffee beans properly and it is an affordable option as compared to buying expensive coffee grinder.

Final Thoughts

As far as grinding whole coffee beans is concerned, you can find several different types of coffee grinders at your local grocery stores.

These grinders are free to use and provide pretty fast grinding results.

The consistency in grinding is good when you use these in-store grinders.

But there are some drawbacks of using these grocery store grinders.

The lack of regular cleaning, low maintenance and possibility of mixing previously ground coffee in your own coffee during grinding process are some of important drawbacks.

If you are ok with these issues then you can definitely use these in-store coffee grinders.

Otherwise, getting your own burr coffee grinder is the best option for you.

References:

https://www.reddit.com/r/starbucks/comments/1bxdeh/does_starbucks_grind_coffee_beans_for_you/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/arl3wc/are_the_instore_coffee_bean_grinders_at_whole/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/pm4p2/trader_joes_coffee_and_grinder/

https://lifehacker.com/how-do-i-grind-coffee-without-a-coffee-grinder-5994552

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