About Time: 10 Ingenious Uses For Leftover CoffeeBy amelia richards
Now that we’re all drinking coffee at home, it’s time we figured out how to use up those leftover grounds.
One of the greatest tragedies of coffee is having to pour the leftover down the drain. Perhaps you thought you were going to drink more than you did, or maybe you were preoccupied with work and now your hot, freshly brewed cup is cold and undrinkable. But what if we told you that you don’t have to waste your coffee? What is we told you there were clever ways to use up coffee grounds? A little leftover can be used to create delicious recipes, revive your hair and even water your plants. Here, we share 10 creative uses for leftover coffee, so you will never have to waste your carefully brewed cuppa again.
1. Wood Stain
As well as being a natural, non-flammable alternative to store-bought wood stains, staining with coffee will give the wood a beautiful, caramel tone. Coffee reacts with the tannins in wood to help reduce blotchiness and give the wood a uniform colour. Simply wait for your brewed coffee to cool, sand down your surface and use a rag to evenly coat the wood. The darker you want the stain, the more coffee you use!
2. Plant Fertiliser
Diluted coffee can be extremely beneficial to plant health. As brewed, black coffee contains potassium and magnesium, it acts as a nutrient to plants allowing for stronger stems and a vibrant, green growth. To use this as fertiliser, dilute your brewed black coffee so that it is a 1: 4 ratio (coffee: water) and feed your plants once a week with this solution. Make sure there is no sweetener that could attract pests, and that your coffee is not too strong when ‘watering’ your plants, as it could be too acidic for the soil.
3. Coffee Syrup
Why not use your leftover coffee to upgrade your next coffee? Use coffee syrup to drizzle over your next coffee frappé! Simply boil brewed, black coffee with an equal amount of sugar until it becomes reduced and thick in texture. This syrup can last in the fridge for two weeks, so you can also use this to upgrade desserts such as ice-cream and pancakes too.
4. Leave- In Conditioner
Caffeine in coffee is great for hair. Not only does it encourage the hair roots to grow, but it stimulates the roots and improves scalp health too. After shampooing your hair, simply pour cold coffee over your head and scalp. So that the coffee doesn’t stain your bathtub, make sure you do this over a bucket. Put your hair in a shower cap and leave the coffee in for half an hour before rinsing off with warm water. Do this once a week, and you will notice an improvement in the thickness and texture of your hair.
5. Indoor Décor
Old or leftover coffee beans make rustic and beautiful vase fillers for the home. Gather light and dark variations of coffee beans in clear glass vases, checking if they have a nice scent when combined. Arrange your flowers in the vases, and you will find that the coffee beans hold the stem upright. If you do not have enough coffee beans to fill the vase, you could try layering them with other small stones, dried petals or glass beads for visual interest.
6. Marinade
Few people know that with the right spices, brewed coffee can provide a pleasant and delicate taste to steak, pork or fish. Sauté 1 medium onion and 4 minced garlic gloves and add it to a bowl. To this, add 240ml strong coffee, 60ml balsamic vinegar, 55g of brown sugar, 60ml Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp olive oil, pepper and salt to taste. Cover your fish or meat in the marinade and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking.
7. Natural Pest Repellent
The smell of coffee is great for repelling common household pests such as mosquitos, ants, slugs, cockroaches and more. All you have to do is set bowls of coffee grounds out, and this should keep the pests away. We recommend freshly ground coffee for this, as the aromas will linger longer. You can also put some of these coffee grounds in your pet shampoo to help naturally prevent fleas.
8. DIY Air Freshener
Coffee is fantastic for neutralising other odours, which is why it makes a great DIY air freshener. Simply place some coffee beans in a mesh bag and stash it away under the passenger seat. The coffee’s natural scent will be released slowly, and the beans will absorb any unpleasant, overpowering odours.
9. Ice Cubes
If you don’t want to water down your iced coffee, pour your leftover brew into an ice cube tray. Freeze the cubes, and then pop them out whenever you need to make your iced drink extra cold and flavourful. Depending on your coffee flavour, you can also add or adjust the ingredients in your ice cubes to upgrade your drink. For example, you can whisk together sweetened condensed milk and leftover coffee for a Vietnamese coffee variation, or add some caramel to your leftover coffee before freezing for a Macchiato variation.
10. Eliminate Bad Breath
While those old coffee beans may not be good enough to make coffee with, they may still be edible. Some may attribute their bad breath to drinking coffee, but it is actually the caffeine to blame – not the bean. Believe it or not, sucking on a coffee bean can help eliminate bad breath. As well as being much cheaper than a breath mint, it also tastes great and neutralises even the strongest scents such as garlic.
This piece was brought to you by the experts at Coffee Direct.
