Most of us love coffee and enjoy our daily cups of fresh brewed coffee. The clean up afterwards can be a little bit frustrating when wondering what to do with the used grounds or old beans. Other than disposing them in your bin and giving it a coffee shop aroma, there are other ways you can use your old coffee beans and grounds from cleaning your house, garden, and so much more.
Here are some creative ways you could use those grounds or old beans rather than throwing them away.
Deter garden pests
Sprinkle grounds liberally around your plants, or the perimeter of your garden, to repel pests such as ants, slugs, and snails.
Boost your compost
Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, so they make excellent compost matter. Just add the coffee grounds directly to your compost pile. They will help enrich the soil.
Invite worms
Bury grounds deeper into your soil to attract worms into that garden area. Worms help to increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil.
Boost a harvest
When planting mix dried coffee grounds in with carrot and radish seeds before planting them to increase the yield.
Fertilise plants
The high nitrogen content helps to fertilise plants such as roses, camellias and hydrangeas.To make a coffee fertiliser, mix old grounds with dead grass clippings or brown leaves, then spread the mixture around acid-loving plants like azaleas, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and roses.
Control refrigerator odours
Place grounds in an uncovered jar at the back of the fridge to eliminate strong food odours . These can be composted too after use!
Eliminate odours
Rub grounds on your hands to eliminate odours after chopping onions or garlic.
Cellulite reducer
Coffee can reduce the appearance of cellulite, try mixing the coffee grounds in with a some coconut oil to rub on. The antioxidants in coffee grounds can increase your body’s production of collagen. By rubbing the coffee grounds on your skin the caffeine in coffee can stimulate dilation and circulation. The antioxidants in coffee grounds also increases your body’s production of collagen which will help to plump out your skin.
Clean pots and pans
Great for removing stuck on or dried on food on pots and pans. The coffee grounds will help to loosen and remove the mess leaving you with a clean pan. Simply sprinkle coffee grounds onto a scrub or brush and use them as an abrasive to remove stuck-on food from pots and pans.
Grow Mushrooms
As we are in more and more an interesting family activity to take up could involve growing your own mushroom. Use old coffee grounds to grow mushrooms at home. The simplest way to start will involve purchasing the type of mushroom spores you want to grow and place in a bucket full of coffee grounds which can be the perfect breeding ground. Shiitake is an excellent choice for growing this way. There are many online guides on how to go about doing so.
Who knew there were so many different ways to re-purpose your old coffee grounds? Let us know if you have any other creative ways to make the most of your used coffee. We love to her from our coffee community and share ideas.
Visit www.maracoffee.com for more coffee tips and guides as well as premium speciality coffee products.
Until next time, take it easy and enjoy great coffee!
Hass