The Best (and Worst) Ways to Use Coffee Grounds
Johan R @ 2025-01-16
Coffee grounds: the magical byproduct of your morning brew. Don't toss them in the trash! These spent grounds are a treasure trove of possibilities, brimming with natural goodness. Over time, people naturally found ways to put coffee grounds to use. Some may be more useful to you than others, but be careful! Two of the mentions on this list may not be the best idea, with one being outright dangerous. Can you figure out which ones they are? Let’s put your guesses to the test:
Garden Gold:
Coffee grounds are a fantastic addition to your garden. They're rich in nitrogen, which is essential for plant growth. Always use coffee grounds in moderation and avoid overusing them in your garden, as they can make the soil too acidic.
Compost Boost: Add coffee grounds to your compost pile to accelerate the decomposition process. The nitrogen content helps break down other organic matter.
Acid-Loving Plant Food: Coffee grounds are slightly acidic, making them ideal for acid-loving plants like blueberries, rhododendrons, and azaleas. Sprinkle them around the base of these plants to improve soil quality.
Pest Deterrent: The strong aroma of coffee grounds can deter slugs, snails, and ants from feasting on your precious plants. Simply sprinkle a ring of grounds around the base of your plants to create a natural barrier.
Beauty Benefits:
Coffee grounds can do wonders for your skin and hair.
Exfoliating Scrub: Combine coffee grounds with a bit of coconut oil or olive oil for a gentle exfoliating scrub. Massage it gently onto your skin to remove dead skin cells and reveal smoother, softer skin.
Hair Treatment: While some people say you should try adding coffee grounds to your hair products… it doesn’t always turn out well! The idea is to add a tablespoon of coffee grounds to your shampoo or conditioner for a natural hair color enhancer, especially for brunettes. Coffee could help add subtle depth and shine to your hair. However, be careful, as there are some pretty bad horror stories of coffee ground hair products going wrong and getting stuck in hair. It can be very difficult to get out of your hair, and it could be especially tricky depending on what type of hair you have.
Culinary Creativity:
Get creative in the kitchen with coffee grounds.
Coffee-Infused Desserts: Experiment with adding coffee grounds to cakes, brownies, and cookies for a unique flavor twist.
Marinades and Rubs: Coffee grounds can add a subtle smokiness and depth of flavor to marinades for meats and vegetables. Try going for a very fine powder, to help the absorption process. The final result will be something very earthy that will compliment spice very well.
Home Fragrances:
Coffee grounds can be used for a variety of household tasks.
Natural Deodorizer: Place a bowl of used coffee grounds in your refrigerator to absorb odors. You can also use them to freshen up your trash can.
Homemade Candles: Just like the hair product idea, this is another one to be careful of! The idea is that you can combine coffee grounds with wax and essential oils to create unique and fragrant candles. But, coffee doesn’t always burn that well, and can just end up making a lot of smoke and clogging the wick. In the worst case, it could even start a fire! Surely there’s a coffee ground candle expert out there who knows how to do it right, but you should be careful with this one at home. As much as we wish we had a candle that smelled like El Salvadoran Apple Pie Coffee, it's unfortunately not that simple!
Were your guesses right about which uses for coffee grounds were good or not? There are a lot of creative ways to reuse coffee grounds, and all of them at the very least help reduce waste and minimize your environmental footprint. As you can see, not all of them are exactly equal, with coffee ground hair treatments and candles as special stand outs for all the wrong reasons.
