What To Do With Your Leftover Coffee Grounds

More coffee drinking at home means more leftover coffee grounds. Rather than clogging up your sink or popping them in the bin, check out the short blog below to find other ways to use them in the garden or around the house.

COFFEE GROUNDS IN THE GARDEN

Deter the garden pests, encourage the garden helpers

Coffee grounds can both deter unwanted garden pests, whilst at the same time attracting garden helpers. Sprinkling your grounds around your plants and edge of your garden will deter ants, slugs and snails. You can also attract worms if you work the coffee grounds a little deeper, which help to increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil.

Provide nutrients to your soil

Coffee grounds can make nutrient-rich compost - just add the grounds to your pile. You can also mix old grounds with dead grass or brown leaves to make a coffee fertilizer for use on acid-loving plants like rhododendrons and roses. Tip: if you’re looking to increase the yield of root vegetables, mix dried coffee grounds with seeds (e.g. carrots or radishes) before you plant them.

COFFEE GROUNDS IN THE HOME

Coffee grounds for exfoliating and cleaning

Coffee grounds act as a great abrasive so are perfect to make an exfoliating coffee scrub bar or soap. Our friends, Tasha and Sammy, actually made the soap in the photo below (!) with olive oil, coconut oil, oats and coffee grounds. You can also clean food stains off cookware by sprinkling coffee grounds onto a scrub brush and use it as an abrasive to remove stuck-on food from pots and pans.

Eliminate odours

Coffee has a strong aroma so coffee grounds can be great at eliminating odours. Rub on your hands to elimiate strong odours, such as garlic or onions, or fill a jar with grounds and place it, uncovered, at the back of the fridge.

If anyone local needs any extra coffee grounds or coffee chaff (nutrient-rich by-product from roasting), please get in touch to arrange a collection from our roastery.