When you think of coffee, you think of taste, appearance, and of course the boost you need, not coffee grounds. After all, for many of us, the first thing we reach for right after waking up is coffee. It’s not just in the morning – this dark elixir powers us throughout the day and keeps us alert and productive at work too. In fact, did you know the amount of coffee consumed by Malaysians in 2021 and 2022, which was 800,000 60kg bags? That’s a lot of coffee grounds!
Bolstered by the Malaysian coffee culture and the large-scale consumption of coffee in the country, the coffee grounds have to be going somewhere. And it’s most likely in the bins. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Before you discard your grounded coffee again, consider some clever ways to bring them into use.
In today’s blog, we will be exploring six ways of bringing coffee grounds into use:
- Use coffee grounds as compost
- To eliminate odour
- Use coffee for hair treatment
- Repairing furniture scuff marks
- Use coffee grounds as a body exfoliant
Use Coffee Grounds As Compost
Not many people are familiar with this fact, but coffee grounds are excellent for creating your compost. Instead of throwing them in the bin, just add them to the soil to create a phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, copper and magnesium-rich compost. This acts as an excellent natural fertiliser for your garden, helping it grow and bloom beautifully. In fact, it has been found that throwing coffee grounds on plants and vegetables like carrots and radishes helps in promoting healthier plant growth.
To Eliminate Odour
If you’re tired of dealing with problems of unpleasant odours in the house, you can use the old coffee substance as a natural deodorizer. Spread the used coffee grounds on a baking sheet and let them dry. After they’ve dried, you can transfer them to a bowl to keep them wherever required. They can be kept in your refrigerator or even your closet to keep it smelling nutty fresh.
Make sure to keep it in a shallow dish to allow the aromas to disperse better. Also, watch out for mould, which can develop if your coffee grounds were still damp when you transferred them. In such a situation, it would be best to replace it properly and immediately.
Use Coffee For Hair Treatment
You might be buying expensive hair care products, all the while throwing away your used coffee grounds in the bin. What if we told you the used coffee substance could’ve been used to make your hair healthier, shinier and darker?
Coffee grounds are great for exfoliating the scalp, which helps in promoting hair growth and making hair healthier. For making this hair scrub, all you have to do is let the it soak in hot water. Drain the liquid and apply the grounds to your hair (only after cooling).
It is also excellent for dyeing your hair darker naturally. Brew another cup with the used leftovers and let it cool. Apply this cool coffee mixture to your hair and let it sit for 60 mins. The result will be hair that is shinier, healthier and darker.
Repairing Furniture Scuff Marks
Would you believe that coffee grounds can be used to fix your furniture too? Coffee is great for disguising small scuff marks on your chairs, tables or any other wooden furniture. To use it for scratch marks, all you have to do is mix one teaspoon of olive oil with a tablespoon of coffee grounds. Use a small cotton ball or cotton swab to apply this mixture to the furniture. Make sure to wipe it dry at the end. Like it is with most other DIY techniques, it is best to test this coffee ground mixture in an area that wouldn’t be prominently visible at first.
Use Coffee Grounds As A Body Exfoliant
If coffee grounds can be used to scrub your scalp, they are certainly great as a body exfoliant too. Just mix it with any carrier oil, like olive, coconut, jojoba and almond oil. Spread this mixture on your body (and even your face), but make sure that the skin is wet. Work it into the skin and rinse as usual. Coffee grounds are excellent for combating cellulite and moisturising the skin. When applied to the face, they can also help with dark circles and wrinkles.
It’s amply evident that coffee provides more than just a caffeine kick. Next time you think about throwing it, use any of these ingenious tips to repurpose them in a useful way.
The next time you’re brewing coffee, why not try out the freshly roasted coffee blends from Corporate Coffee Solutions? Check out some great coffee options or contact us today to know more!
