The smell of a freshly brewed pot of coffee fills the air during in the morning, dumping the filter of grinds into the overflowing compost becomes robotic at this point. Looking again at the heaping pile of coffee grounds, thoughts begin crossing the mind… “there must be a way to use these?”. Fortunately, we at Mochaberry have 3 ways to reuse coffee grinds!
1. Garden Fertilizer
It may not be planting season at the moment but your garden and especially your house plants still need fertilizer! Coffee grinds have the ability to act as a slow release fertilizer because it contains the necessary elements of high nitrogen levels and some levels of potassium and phosphorous. Coffee grounds can be used as grounds themselves or turned into what is called a ‘tea’.
Using grinds: Spread the coffee grinds very thinly around the roots of the plants and rake them in.
Making a tea: Put 5 gallons of water with 2 cups of used coffee grounds into a container to steep overnight. This will make a liquid fertilizer that can be water into the plants and garden or can be used to mist your tropical plants.
2. Body Scrub
1 cup coffee grounds
2 cups brown sugar
¼ melted coconut oil
1-2 drops of essential oils if desired (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)
Caffeine is not only a wonderful morning pick-me-up; it can also provide benefits for the skin. Caffeine is chalk full of antioxidants meaning it can aid with the appearance of dark circles, swelling and inflammation. It is also a fantastic exfoliator to remove all of those pesky dead skin cells. Make sure the homemade coffee body scrub is stored in an airtight container!
3. Neutralize Odor
A quick science lesson coming your way! Nitrogen, when combined with carbon will aid in eliminating the terrible smell of sulfur gas in the air. Where can this nifty nitrogen be found? Why, in coffee grounds of course! Yes, in the most simplistic way, coffee grounds can help reduce bad scents.
Have fragrant food in the fridge that doesn’t quite hit the nose the right way? What about foods that have spoiled but the scent is still lingering? Place a small bowl of coffee grounds in the fridge.
Frequent gym goer and no amount of Febreeze is making a difference with the gym bag? Take an old sock or pantyhose, fill it with coffee grounds, tie it off and place it in the bag!
Spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking with onions or garlic? Keep some coffee grounds beside the sink to wash your hands, it will remove the strong smell easily!
References:
https://www.windygardens.com/use-coffee-grounds-in-the-garden/
https://parentingchaos.com/diy-brown-sugar-coffee-body-scrub/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/uses-for-coffee-grounds#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6