Ninja Coffee and Spice Grinder: Dual-Purpose Grinding Done Right

I picked up the Ninja Coffee and Spice Grinder because I was tired of my coffee tasting faintly like cumin. I'd been using one blade grinder for both coffee and spices, and no amount of cleaning fully removed the crossover flavors. The Ninja solves this with two separate grinding cups, one for coffee and one for spices, and that simple feature alone makes it worth talking about.

Beyond the dual-cup design, the Ninja grinder packs some features you don't usually see at its price point. I'll walk you through performance, grind quality, the best techniques I've found, and where it fits compared to other grinders in the $30-50 range.

What Sets the Ninja Grinder Apart

The headline feature is the two-cup system. You get a dedicated coffee grinding cup and a separate spice grinding cup, each with its own blade and lid. The cups click onto a shared motor base. Swap between them in seconds.

This matters more than you might think. Coffee beans leave behind oils that absorb flavors aggressively. Spices like cinnamon, clove, and cumin have volatile oils that cling to stainless steel. Even with thorough cleaning, a single-cup grinder will carry flavor traces between uses. The Ninja's two-cup design eliminates this completely.

Each cup holds about 4 tablespoons of beans or spices. That's roughly 40-45 grams of coffee, enough for about 5-6 cups of drip coffee. Not the biggest capacity, but adequate for single-person daily use.

Build and Motor

The base unit is compact and feels solid for a plastic body. The motor runs at a decent speed, somewhere in the mid-range for blade grinders. It's not as aggressive as the Krups Fast Touch, but it gets the job done without overheating quickly.

The push-to-grind mechanism requires you to press the cup down onto the base. This is a safety feature, and it means the grinder won't activate unless everything is properly seated. I appreciate this, especially since the cups don't have locking lids.

Coffee Grinding Performance

Let me set expectations. This is a blade grinder. It won't match a burr grinder for consistency. But within the blade grinder category, the Ninja performs well.

I tested it against my Krups F203 using the same batch of medium roast beans. After 10 seconds of pulse grinding, the Ninja produced a slightly more even medium grind. The difference wasn't dramatic, but there were fewer large chunks mixed in with the finer particles.

Grind Timing Guide

Through trial and error, here's what I've found works:

Coarse (French press): 4-6 seconds, pulse in 2-second bursts
Medium (drip coffee): 8-12 seconds, pulse in 3-second bursts with shaking between
Medium-fine (pour-over): 12-15 seconds, continuous with occasional shake
Fine (Moka pot): 18-22 seconds, let it run but shake at the halfway point

The fine end gets tricky. Anything beyond 20 seconds and the motor starts generating noticeable heat. If you regularly need fine grinds, a burr grinder is a better investment. Our best coffee grinder roundup has several options starting around $50 that handle fine grinds much better.

Coffee Taste Results

For drip coffee, the results are good. Fresh-ground beans from the Ninja taste noticeably better than pre-ground coffee from a bag. I used it daily for about three weeks with my Mr. Coffee drip machine and was satisfied with every pot.

For French press, the results are acceptable but not ideal. The mix of fine and coarse particles means you'll get some sediment in the cup and slightly uneven extraction. It works, but a dedicated French press person would want better.

Spice Grinding Performance

Here's where the Ninja really earns its keep. The dedicated spice cup is genuinely useful.

I ground whole cumin seeds, peppercorns, coriander, cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces), and dried chili flakes. The Ninja handled all of them well. Peppercorns took about 10 seconds to reach a fine powder. Cumin and coriander ground down in 8 seconds. Cinnamon sticks needed about 15 seconds of pulsing.

The spice cup is slightly smaller than the coffee cup, which actually helps. Less volume means the spices stay closer to the blade, reducing the "boulder problem" where larger pieces fly to the edges and avoid the cutting surface.

What It Won't Grind

Don't try to grind anything with high moisture content. Fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, or anything sticky will gum up the blade and create a paste rather than a powder. Stick to dry spices, dried herbs, seeds, and nuts.

Also avoid very hard items like whole nutmeg. The blade isn't designed for that level of hardness and you risk chipping it or burning out the motor.

Cleaning Both Cups

Cleaning is straightforward for both cups:

Tap out loose grounds over a trash can
Wipe the interior with a dry paper towel
For deeper cleaning, add a tablespoon of dry rice and pulse for 5 seconds (this absorbs oils)
Wipe again with a slightly damp cloth
Let it air dry completely before storing

The beauty of the dual-cup system is that each cup stays dedicated. My coffee cup has never touched a spice, and my spice cup has never ground coffee. This means less intense cleaning is needed compared to a shared grinder.

The cups aren't dishwasher safe since the blade assembly is built in. Don't submerge them in water. The motor base should only be wiped down externally.

How It Compares to Other Options

Ninja vs. Krups Fast Touch

Similar performance, different features. The Krups has a larger capacity (85g vs 45g) and is about $5-10 cheaper. The Ninja wins on the dual-cup system and slightly better build quality. If you grind spices regularly, get the Ninja. If you only grind coffee and want the most beans per batch, get the Krups.

Ninja vs. Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind

The Hamilton Beach is another budget blade grinder that's been around forever. It has a larger bowl and costs a bit less. But it feels cheaper, the grind quality is slightly worse (more fines and boulders), and there's no dual-cup feature. The Ninja is the better buy.

Ninja vs. Entry-Level Burr Grinders

Once you cross the $50 mark, burr grinders like the Bodum Bistro or Oxo Brew outperform the Ninja significantly in grind consistency. If your budget allows it and you care about coffee quality, a burr grinder is always the better choice. Browse our top coffee grinder guide for recommendations at every price level.

FAQ

Can I buy extra grinding cups for the Ninja grinder?

Ninja sells replacement cups, though availability varies. Having a third cup is handy if you want to dedicate one to coffee, one to savory spices, and one to sweet spices (to avoid cinnamon-flavored cumin). Check the Ninja website or Amazon for replacement cup availability.

Is the Ninja coffee grinder loud?

It's about average for a blade grinder. Comparable to a small blender on low speed. The grind cycle is short (10-15 seconds typically), so the noise is brief. Not something I'd use at 5 AM with people sleeping in the next room, but not excessively loud either.

How fine can the Ninja grinder go?

With extended grinding (20+ seconds), you can get close to a fine powder. However, it won't be uniform. You'll have mostly fine particles with some medium pieces mixed in. For anything requiring true fine consistency (espresso, Turkish), you need a burr grinder.

Does the Ninja grinder work for grinding flax seeds or chia seeds?

Flax seeds grind well, just pulse for 8-10 seconds in the spice cup. Chia seeds are trickier due to their size and tendency to bounce away from the blade. You'll get a partial grind with chia. For best results with small seeds, grind them with a tablespoon of dry oats to give the blade something to catch on.

Worth Buying?

The Ninja Coffee and Spice Grinder fills a specific niche perfectly. If you want a budget blade grinder and you also grind spices, it's the obvious pick. The dual-cup system solves the flavor crossover problem that plagues single-chamber grinders. For pure coffee grinding, it performs well enough for drip but won't satisfy anyone who's particular about their brew method. At its price point, the Ninja delivers solid value for the kitchen multitasker.