Wondering what to do with the abundant coffee waste cluttering your cups? The question is what are your options, especially if you are a coffee lover! But hold on just for a moment.
The coffee waste, in other words, coffee grounds, that pile up after coffee making can actually be a gold mine. They have plenty of uses and all by spending not a single cent! How? Keep on reading and we bet, you’ll be rushing to your kitchens to make most of the coffee clutter!
What Are Used Coffee Grounds?
Let’s get to the basics first. What actually are used coffee grounds? Notice the dark brownish deposits at the bottom of the cup after you have just finished brewing or the leftovers after using a coffee machine?
Yup, you guessed that right. That brownish junk obtained after the brewing process is actually coffee grounds. Now once you have relished your cup of coffee, those coffee grounds become ‘used coffee grounds’. Considering the fact that an average coffee drinker in Australia consumes about 3 cups of coffee in a day, the Australian kitchens must be jumbled with them every day!
Uses For Coffee Grounds
You have already used them once to make yourself a cup of scrumptious coffee, you must be thinking that they’re no better than waste. Well, actually here’s the twist. Those grounds can be used for a variety of purposes.
From garden uses such as natural fertilizers to beauty scrubs, the grounds have more benefits than you can think of! So without further ado, let’s dive right into the 7 most handy uses of used coffee grounds!
1. Natural Garden Fertilizer
The used coffee grounds that you’re thinking of throwing away in the garbage, how about try throwing them in your garden? Yes, you can use coffee grounds as fertilizer and you’ll be surprised at the results!
Used coffee grounds can work as an amazing natural fertilizer for your garden. The used coffee grounds are acidic and have essential nutrients such as Potassium, Calcium, Nitrogen, Iron, Phosphorus, and Chromium which highly stimulate the healthy growth of plants as well as flowers. They also escalate the growth of seedlings and saplings due to their nitrogen content.
Another perk of using used coffee grounds is that they are used as a natural insect repellent. They’ll keep those flower-eating insects away and will attract worms to boost the growth of your garden and decrease the metal content in your garden’s soil. Used coffee grounds can work like magic for the growth of radishes and carrots specifically, allowing you to have your very own vegetable garden in your backyard!
If you live in a crowded neighbourhood with loads of cats, then you must be tired of preventing cats from ruining your blossom heaven. Used coffee grounds can solve that too. Just mix some coffee grounds with chopped orange peels and they’ll keep cats away from your garden for days! By using used coffee grounds, your garden might just win the next neighbourhood garden championship!
2. Natural Exfoliator And Cellulite Preventer
You would be amazed at the effects used coffee grounds have on your body. You may have read that to keep your body skin fresh and tight, you need to exfoliate it. Exfoliating scrubs can be highly expensive. Fortunately, you can exfoliate your skin just as perfectly with just the cost of a coffee cup!
The coffee waste can act as an astounding exfoliator. They are acidic in nature and help to remove dead or dry skin cells from your body and boost blood circulation, which can you give you youthful glowing skin. Just mix up some used grounds with olive oil or coconut oil and some brown sugar, and massage it onto your body. Give it a little rinse and be surprised at the results!
Used coffee grounds have been suggested to act as Cellulite Preventer. Cellulite affects at least 80% of elder women. It makes the skin look lumpy and can even reduce blood flow.
Using them as a massaging scrub is said to help you to get rid of the cellulite crowding your body. Just drain your coffee cup and mix the used coffee grounds with coconut oil. Goodbye Cellulite!
3. Face and Lip Benefits
If you’re struggling with acne-prone skin, then used coffee grounds can be your best friend! We understand that not all scrubs and cleaners are suitable for sensitive skins, but used coffee grounds may just defy the odds.
DIY Coffee Scrub
You can use them to make a glowing facemask that is friendly to acne-prone skin. Just take some used coffee grounds and mix them with milk. Apply the paste to your face, rub it in a circular motion and allow it to dry.
This will help remove dead skin cells and you will observe an instant glow, brightness, and smoothness in your face. This used coffee grounds facemask will help to soothe your skin and give it an even texture.
The benefits of used coffee grounds are not only limited to the face, they can do wonders for your lips too! Dry lips are not only unattractive but also painful. Lip scrubs and lip masks can prove to be a little heavy on your pockets but your morning coffee certainly won’t.
Just take some used coffee grounds and mix them with honey. Scrub the mixture on your lips. It will get rid of all the dead skin cluttered on your lips and will give you the extra plump you must be craving!
4. Flowing Shiny Hair
According to research, used coffee grounds can be excellent for your hair. They can help to increase your hair’s healthy growth and give your hair that superstar shine.
Just scoop some used coffee grounds from your morning coffee cup and massage them into your scalp. They can be used to get rid of dead skin cells that are hindering your hair growth. Rinse off with your usual shampoo and repeat weekly and observe the results yourself!
If you’re a brunette or have dark-coloured hair then might want to avoid brassy hair at all costs. Well, no need to pay for multiple salon trips anymore because it’s said that the best hair toner lies in your coffee cup. Just make your morning coffee extra strong and after it cools, pour it on your hair along with used coffee grounds. It will help to tone your hair and enhance your dark hair! (Amazing what people do with used coffee grounds)!
5. Gets Rid Of Odours
Who doesn’t want to get rid of unpleasant stenches that occupy the drains and shoes? Used coffee grounds can help you with that.
Coffee is known to neutralize odours and absorb any smells that are present in its surrounding. This is the exact reason why perfume shops keep coffee beans near their fragrances. You can get rid of the stinking odour in your drains and shoes by just sprinkling some used coffee grounds in them. They will readily absorb any odour and leave your drains and shoes stink-free.
You can also keep a jar of used coffee grounds in your fridge to prevent it from getting smelly and for keeping it fresh. This simple hack of used coffee grounds can help you to keep your surroundings fresh and crisp!
6. Spotless Furniture And Pots
Having wooden furniture really lightens up the room but it also means the constant desire to keep it scratch-free. It’s hard to believe, but trials show that using coffee grounds can ease your mind with that.
To remove scratches from wooden furniture, you no longer need to rush to the carpenter to get it polished, in fact, you can just use some used coffee grounds. You will need to make a paste of used coffee grounds with water and dab it on the scratches with a cotton swab. It will magically remove the scratches from your furniture and will cover them up with a darker wooden shade, enhancing the look of your furniture.
You can also use used coffee grounds to get rid of food stains from pots. Stubborn food stains can easily be removed by just sprinkling some used coffee grounds onto the messy pot and scrubbing it off with a block of soap. Just rinse the pot thoroughly afterwards and you’ll have a squeaky clean dish set!
7. Natural Meat Tenderizer
If you want to give your meat steaks the chef-like smooth texture and flavour, then you need to consider tenderizing it with used coffee grounds. Marinating the raw meat with used coffee grounds helps to break the rough fibres on the meat, which are responsible for giving it a hard texture.
Once these fibres have been removed with the aid of used coffee beans, the meat will get a smooth scrumptious texture. Moreover, it will also deeply enrich the flavour of the meat. It will give the meat a dark texture, rich taste, crispy coasting, and a delicious mouth-watering aroma. Just sprinkles some used coffee grounds on the meat and marinate it for 2-3 hours, and you’ll have 5-star restaurant quality meat!
Conclusion – What can you do with used coffee grounds?
Used coffee grounds have more uses than you can possibly imagine! So before you think about throwing them away, do give this article a read and you will be surprised at the utilization of used coffee grounds!
