Ah, black coffee. The beautiful brew that sees you through early mornings, late nights, and lazy Sunday brunches. Is there anything more satisfying? Well, finishing a cup would be infintately more satisfying than only managing two thirds, but at this stage of my life, that’s a pipedream.
If, like me, you have small children who cunningly choose their moments to demand a snack, potty, or to jab their brother in the eye with a crayon, you’ll understand my pain. Or perhaps you aren’t weighed down with tiny terrors, but use a french press and always end up with tepid leftovers?
Whatever your situation, seeing black coffee go to waste is a crying shame, and one which often seems inevitable. But fear not! Here are my top tips for using leftover coffee (and grounds) in and around the home.
Iced coffee
It may be one of the more obvious uses for leftover black coffee, but sometimes simplicity is best. OK, now technically reusing your cold coffee isn’t going to create the best iced coffee, but it’s certainly cheaper than buying one from your local cafe. It couldn’t be easier either:
- Throw a few ice cubes into a tall glass.
- Pour your leftover coffee over the ice.
- Top up with milk or a dairy-free alternative (almond milk is a personal favourite), or cold water if you’d prefer.
- Add a sweetener of choice if needed.
- Voila! One iced coffee, perfect for sipping on a warm afternoon.
While black coffee is absolutely delicious in its unadulterated version drunken hot, you may find that when drinking it cold, the bitterness and acidity come through stronger. If you’re trying this for the first time I would recommend playing around with steps 3 and 4 to find the right blend for you.
Body scrub
You can pay an obscene amount for body scrubs that contain coffee as an active ingredients. It’s thought that caffeine stimulates the cells, resulting in a reduction in the appearance of cellulite, but we’ll leave that one for you to decide. What we do know, is that coffee body scrub smells great, exfoliates your skin, and is a fantastic way to get rid of used coffee grounds.
The standard recipe that we suggest for a DIY body scrub is:
1 part coffee grounds
1 part sugar (white, cane, palm, anything granular)
½ part coconut oil
Optional extras you could consider adding: oats, cinnamon, honey, hazelnut extract, sweet almond oil.
It’s worth taking note that if you use this scrub in the shower, the ingredients are either going to go down your drain, or you’ll need to use a plug and scoop everything out at the end. This depends largely on how confident you are in your plumbing system!
For your locks
Whether your hair is dull from product buildup, or just needs an added boost of shine, coffee is a great way to give yourself a DIY hair treatment. This option requires enough black coffee to wet your hair thoroughly, so is best for when you’re left with a substantial amount in your jug.
Position yourself with your head over a sink or tub, then pour the leftover black coffee over your hair from root to tip. Wrap your hair in plastic to allow the coffee to soak for 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water. This is a perfect pick-me-up for combining with a bath, why not soak while you wait?
Compost
Coffee is a great source of nitrogen, a compound that is great for plants and encourages strong growth. Worms are drawn to soil that is rich in nitrogen, so if used outdoors, you’ll have the added benefit of happy worms churning your soil. You can use both coffee grounds and leftover black coffee to support your plant’s health, depending on what best suits your garden.
Coffee grounds in your garden
For a slow-release or to improve the quality of soil, throw the grounds straight into your compost bin and let them get to work. Alternatively, if you don’t have a compost bin or don’t want to wait 12 months for your nitrogen-rich compost, scatter the grounds around the garden or rake it directly into the desired area.
As an added bonus, garden pests such as snails, slugs avoid coffee grounds, so sprinkle some around your marigolds and other at-risk plants to give them a layer of defence.
Remember though that coffee is acidic, so use sparingly around plants which prefer alkaline soil.
Using diluted coffee on your plants
My personal favourite, leftover black coffee is great to water your plants with. Don’t believe me? The calcium, magnesium and nitrogen are fantastic nutrients for plants, particularly those grown indoors which don’t benefit from diverse soil.
If you drink your coffee strong, it’s best to dilute it down to a 1:3 ratio with water, which will make the amount of acid that your plant is exposed to much more manageable (though if your pot plant is averse to acidic soil, give it a miss completely).
You can do this weekly for most plants, with iris, caladium, nasturtium and marigolds being the plants that will appreciate it the most.
Keep pests at bay
We’ve discussed the repellent powers of coffee on snails and slugs, but those aren’t the only pests that don’t enjoy a taste of Americano. Whether due to the aroma, or the acidity, a variety of pests prefer to avoid coffee, so use this to your advantage if you have any unwelcome insects in your home.
Giving your pet a wet scrub with coffee grounds is a great way to chase off any pesky fleas. The fleas will run a mile, although keep in mind that this one is best done outdoors if you don’t want the fleas to scatter around your home!
Ants are also averse to trampling over coffee grounds, so if you have any areas that ants are using as an entrance point, cordon it off with a 1-2 inch think rim of coffee grounds. For best results, replace the grounds weekly as they begin to lose their potency.
And there we have it, could you have guessed there would be so many great uses for leftover coffee and used grounds? Do you already use any of these suggestions in your home? Or perhaps you’ve found your own use that we haven’t listed? Share your tips with other readers, let us know!