How to Grind Cannabis With a Coin: Step-by-Step

Grinding cannabis with a coin means dropping a clean metal coin into the middle chamber of a three-piece grinder, on top of the mesh screen, and shaking. The coin rattles against the screen, knocks loose trichomes into the kief catch below, and scrapes sticky plant matter off the mesh. The method costs nothing and adds about thirty seconds to a session.

read more

What You Need

• A three-piece grinder with a mesh screen and a kief catch. A two-piece grinder has nowhere for the kief to land, so a coin does nothing useful.
• One clean coin. A quarter is the standard choice. A nickel also works in small grinders.
• Dried flower that snaps when you bend it. Moist bud clumps and defeats the purpose.
• Isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel for cleaning the coin and the screen.

Steps

1. Wash the coin with warm water and a drop of dish soap, then wipe it with isopropyl alcohol. You are about to run metal through your herb, so start with something free of grime, grease, and pocket lint.
2. Break the buds into pea-sized pieces with your fingers and pull out any stems or seeds.
3. Load the top chamber about two-thirds full. Leave room for the flower to move.
4. Grind for ten to fifteen turns, or until the flower falls through the holes into the middle chamber.
5. Open the lid and place the coin flat on the screen in the middle chamber. If the chamber is packed tight, pull out a pinch of flower first so the coin has room to travel.
6. Close the grinder and shake it side to side for thirty to sixty seconds. Keep it level so the coin slides across the mesh instead of sitting in one spot.
7. Tap the lid against your palm, then open the kief catch at the bottom and brush the collected powder into a small container.
8. Repeat the shake after each grind. The screen loads up over time, and the coin clears it as you go.

Why the Coin Works

Trichomes are the resin glands on the flower surface, and they hold most of the cannabinoids and terpenes. When the flower is dry, those glands turn brittle and break off with friction. Grinding gets some of them. The coin adds a second round of agitation, and its weight pushes material across the mesh so the powder drops through instead of clogging the holes. A coin also keeps the screen from sealing shut with resin, which is the main reason kief yield drops after a few weeks of use.

What Happens If You Grind Cannabis Too Fine? A Complete Guide

Which Coin to Use

A quarter is the usual pick because it is heavy enough to move material and smooth enough to avoid tearing the mesh. A nickel works in compact grinders. Skip pennies, since older ones contain zinc and every one of them carries more surface grime. Never use a coin that is rusty, bent, or coated in oil.

more on this topic

When to Skip the Coin

• Your flower is sticky and fresh. The coin just smears it across the screen.
• You have a fine 100-micron screen. Heavy coins can stretch the mesh.
• You want chunky flower for a dry herb vaporizer.
• Your grinder is a two-piece. There is no screen to work.

Keeping the Kief

Store collected kief in a small glass jar away from light and heat. It is concentrated, so a little goes a long way. Clean the coin and the screen with isopropyl alcohol every few weeks to keep the mesh clear and the flavor clean.