Moliendo

Moliendo is the gerund form of the Spanish verb moler, meaning to grind, crush, or mill. It denotes the ongoing action of reducing a substance by friction or impact to particles or powder. The verb moler is used for coffee, grains, spices, cacao, and other bulk materials, and the gerund appears in phrases such as “moliendo café” or “está moliendo trigo.” The related noun “molienda” refers to the act or process of grinding, and the past participle “molido” describes something that has been ground.

In everyday usage, moliendo appears in verbal tenses (están moliendo, está moliendo) and can function in adjective-like phrases describing a process, or in titles and slogans that evoke the act of grinding. In industrial contexts, milling can refer to a range of processes and equipment and may be described as dry or wet milling depending on the material and method.

Industrial milling involves various devices such as molinos de mano (handmills), molinos de rodillos (roller mills), or molinos de martillos (hammer mills). The goal is to produce flour, ground coffee, powdered spices, or other derived products, with specific techniques chosen to achieve the desired texture and particle size.

The phrase also appears in culture, notably in the title of the well-known song “Moliendo Café,” a Venezuelan tune from the mid-20th century, whose lyrics evoke the daily routine of grinding coffee. Moliendo, as a linguistic item, illustrates how a simple verb forms a common participial form used across culinary, agricultural, and cultural contexts.