• Breaking upwardly or grinding cannabis bloom is necessary for airflow and a pleasant smoking feel.
  • If yous don't have a grinder, in that location are several DIY methods using common household items.
  • Ripping blossom by manus is fastest, just other methods with tools tin be more constructive.

At some point or another, every cannabis smoker has found themselves ready to light up simply without a weed grinder at the ready. Though you lot don't necessarily need to use a grinder, finding some way to suspension up your cannabis is crucial.

"A grinder is non necessary," says Julian Webb, a senior lead at Nectar Cannabis in Gresham, Oregon. "It just makes everything so much more than convenient and less messy."

"Grinding or shredding your flower into smaller pieces allows your bloom to burn down more evenly," he explains. No affair your preferred smoking method, it's not feasible to smoke an intact bud. Sticking a whole nug inside your rolling paper causes the airflow to be blocked and the joint to burn unevenly. Using unground blossom in a bell can work, but Webb says it would still probable obstruct airflow and event in a less satisfying hitting.

At that place are several DIY grinding methods that tin can work in a pinch, many of which utilise common household objects that you're likely to have laying around.

Method ane: Break information technology upwards with your hands

This method is the easiest when you're strapped for resources. "It's convenient and doesn't require annihilation actress." Webb says. "You might non be able to achieve a super fine consistency, merely it will go the job done."

Only wash your hands, and so dissever the flower from its stems, loading them into your smoking vessel equally you go. Exist as item-oriented as you lot'd like to become the smallest possible pieces — the finer your flower is, the easier it is to roll it smoothly into a joint.

Method 2: Use a coffee grinder

Your morning brew grinder can also work for weed — especially if you lot have a large quantity on hand. "A coffee grinder or any electric grinder shreds flower much too fine for my taste personally, but these are great options if yous need to grind a larger corporeality of bloom," says Webb.

Using a larger amount of flower will assistance prevent the blades of the coffee grinder from quickly shredding it to dust, so it's easier to have control over the size of your footing flower. In that location'southward no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the coarseness of your ground cannabis — it'south more of a preference than anything else. A finer grind will allow you to pack more flower into the aforementioned size articulation or bowl piece, so some may prefer this grinding method if they want to smoke more in a unmarried session.

After cleaning your grinder, separate the flower from its stems and load information technology into the grinding chamber. If your coffee grinder has unlike coarseness settings, experiment with small amounts of flower to find your preferred consistency. Close the lid, and run the grinder until you get evenly sized, smokable pieces of cannabis. If you plan to use your coffee grinder for coffee, make sure to clean information technology thoroughly afterwards, equally weed can leave sticky residue.

Method 3: Employ a cheese grater

Webb says that using a cheese grater tin can work well in place of a grinder — there are even particularly-made cannabis graters on the market. If you're using a box grater with multiple options, go for the smallest size bract bachelor.

Working over a clean surface, agree each bud against the grater and rub it back and forth against the blades to break information technology up. This method can be especially effective for folks with dexterity challenges or arthritis, simply exist sure to work carefully to avoid cutting yourself.

Method iv: Mortar and pestle

Person getting ready to grind weed in a mortar and pestle.

While a mortar and pestle isn't a common tool, it grinds the trichomes in cannabis well.
CasarsaGuru/Getty Images

When all else fails, boot it one-time schoolhouse and use a mortar and pestle. This tool is equanimous of a bowl (mortar) and a blunt, order-like object (pestle), and is used to crush food and herbs into a pulverisation or paste.

A mortar and pestle isn't a super common tool, so this grinding method isn't the most accessible on the list, and it tends to work best on drier flower, Webb notes. Though in that location are some drawbacks, a mortar and pestle is highly effective at breaking upwardly the trichomes in cannabis blossom.

Trichomes are the part of the constitute that incorporate cannabinoids and terpenes, responsible for the flavor, aroma, and psychoactive furnishings of weed. You may recognize it as the powdery kief that collects in the bottom-nearly compartment of a standard weed grinder. Using this method results in a consistency similar to kief, compared to your typical small pieces of footing flower. Depending on your preferences, that might be a skilful thing, but keep in mind that you're likely to lose some weed in the crevices of the tool.

If you have a mortar and pestle laying effectually and you're willing to make these compromises, information technology'due south worth giving it a shot. Afterward loading your flower into the mortar, apply gentle pressure to it with the pestle until information technology reaches a fine consistency.

Cascade as much of the ground flower as possible onto a clean surface or directly into your smoking vessel. Make clean out the mortar and pestle afterwards — since they can be made from stone, woods, ceramic, and other materials, follow all-time practices for your particular tool to remove as much of the residue every bit you tin.

Method v: Shake it upward in pill bottle with a coin

Another way to grind cannabis without using your easily is placing bloom in an empty pill canteen along with a coin. The coin ricochets off of the walls of the pill bottle as you shake it, separating the bud equally it goes.

Although it'due south not as effective as other methods, Webb notes that this is the but DIY solution that helps carve up kief from flower akin to a traditional weed grinder. "[Information technology] can really assist carve up some of the trichomes from the flower. Due to the static charge, the kief will collect around the walls of the bottle," he says.

Earlier starting, cleaning the money to remove build-upward or bacteria is a must. Some have also noted that this method causes their weed to diminish in flavor or take on a metal taste or smell, but cleaning the coin in accelerate may assistance mitigate this.

Though a dime or penny will do, nickels or quarters work best because they're heavier. Unscrew the lid of an empty pill canteen and identify a coin at the bottom. Load a pocket-sized amount of unground flower on superlative of the money, leaving space for the contents to bounciness around in the bottle. Screw the lid dorsum on, then shake the bottle vigorously to pause up your cannabis.

Once information technology'due south ground, use your finger or a pocket-size castor to outset remove the kief from the walls of the bottle, then dump the flower into your smoking vessel. Annotation that storing weed in a plastic container isn't optimal, and so you lot should plan to apply all the ground weed correct away.

Insider's takeaway

Smoking unground cannabis flower simply doesn't work, so if you find yourself grinder-less, try i of these DIY methods. Ripping it apart with your easily is the simplest way, but you can also use a java grinder, a cheese grater, or an empty pill bottle with a coin inside. A mortar and pestle may besides work if your flower is on the dry side.

Olivia is a freelance writer for Insider's domicile and kitchen reference department. Her piece of work has also been featured in Bustle, Apartment Therapy, and Forbes Vetted, among other publications, and she covers everything from bedding to beauty. She is a proud University of Oregon alumni and firmly believes that iced oat milk lattes are part of a balanced diet.