11 Ways To Put Your Used Ground Coffee To Good Use

The entire experience of Ground Coffee begins from the farm and culminates in a cup of brewed goodness. But it doesn’t end there.

Before we go into that, we will cover what Ground Coffee is, how it is brewed, what are the leftover coffee grounds, and how to use them.

All you need to know about Ground Coffee: A Brief Introduction

Drinking coffee is a significant part of people’s morning routine across the world.

Just like tea, coffee comes in a variety of types, each with its own unique taste and aroma. Be it a connoisseur or an average coffee drinker, one brushes a path with Ground Coffee a couple of times before they decide it is to their liking or not.

Ground Coffee is created from whole coffee beans that are roasted, ground, and packed to be sold commercially. Unlike instant coffee that dissolves in water, Ground Coffee needs brewing equipment or a high-quality percolator to brew it. The equipment is usually decided based on the grind size of the coffee. A good example of grind size and percolators is– Course Grind coffee is best suited for French Press, Medium-Coarse Grind goes well with automatic drip brewers, for a filter cone brewing equipment you need Medium Grind coffee, and espresso machines are for Fine Grinds.

Pro Tip: An excellent tasting cup of coffee might depend on the bean quality and how much you use at once, but the key is temperature and volume of water, alongside extraction time.

Used Ground Coffee; Multiple Lifestyle Benefits

Now once you’ve made your coffee and enjoyed a delicious cup of caffeinated goodness, what happens to the leftover coffee grounds? Below are a few ways you can use even the leftover grounds to your benefit:

Garden Fertilizer
Since coffee grounds contain a number of key nutrients, it makes for a perfect fertilizer for plant growth. All you have to do is sprinkle the grounds onto the soil, this also helps decrease the content of heavy metals in the soil.

Compost It
Composting is the process that pivots organic items such as food wastes and junk into a dark, rich concentrate called compost or humus. Compost, when added to a garden, helps the soil retain more nutrients and water, thereby aiding in the upkeep of plants. Coffee helps increase nutrient levels and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of compost.

Insects/Pests Repellent
To keep mosquitos, fruit flies, beetles, and other pests away, just utilise used ground coffee as an insect and pest repellent. The coffee grounds have substances that are toxic to many insects, hence you can also use them to create a barrier around your plants that slugs and crawlers don’t like to wriggle over.

Pets, Say Goodbye To Fleas
And just like insects, fleas too can’t stand coffee. So a simple solution for your flea-bothered pet would be to bathe them in used coffee grounds. So if you’re looking for a chemical-free, flea-removal outcome then it is sitting right on your kitchen counter. Lightly massage the coffee on your pet’s fur after shampooing and rinse it off.

It goes without saying that using coffee grounds is a longer and less effective process than a prescription product. Additionally, coffee grounds should only be used externally considering they can be toxic for pets if consumed.

Offset Odours
The grounds essentially contain nitrogen that eradicates foul-smelling sulfur gas from the air when it’s combined with carbon. In layman’s language, it absorbs and eliminates odours. To expel the odour of spoiled or fragrant foods in your fridge, just place a bowl of coffee grounds in. Similarly, you can place coffee grounds in used socks or handkerchiefs and place them in gym bags, or smelly shoes or wardrobes, or use them as a hand scrub to remove lingering smells from onion or garlic.

Natural Cleaning Scrub
Coffee grounds are course and help remove hard buildup on surfaces. This helps sanitize and clear buildup from sinks, cookware, grills, and other surfaces around the house.

Skin Exfoliator
The abrasive particles in ground coffee double up as an exfoliating agent to help remove dirt and dead cells from the skin. To soften the mixture and make it less harsh for your skin, mix the grounds with a bit of coconut oil or honey. Store it in an airtight container and use it as a body scrub.

Natural Dye
Ground Coffee is an effective natural choice as compared to the harsh chemical pigments. Not only is it inexpensive and all-natural at the same time, but this dye can also be used to colour cotton, rayon, cellophane, linen, paper, and more. All you have to do is rewet the used coffee grounds and use them as a dye. Fun fact: it can also be used to darken brunette hair.

Make Meat Tender
The grounds contain natural acids and enzymes which tenderize the tough muscle fibres of the meat, and its acidic nature enhances the flavour of it. Add used grounds to your dry-rub mixture and apply it to your meat several hours before cooking. This makes the meat tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Scalp Exfoliator To Stimulate Hair Growth
Using ground coffee as a scalp exfoliator before shampooing clears the scalp of dead skin cells and product buildup, and is even said to stimulate hair growth.

Treat Under-Eye Circles
Since coffee has high levels of antioxidants and caffeine contents, it prevents the appearance of ageing and visibly decreases under-eye circles and puffiness. Add a few drops of coconut oil to your used coffee grounds to form a paste. Gently rub it into the skin around your eyes, and make sure to avoid direct contact with your eyes. Considering the skin near the eyes is extremely sensitive so make sure to not rub in the exfoliant too harshly. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes and since it.