If you’re a coffee lover like myself, you’ve probably thought of ways to cut down your coffee expenses. Those delicious coffee blends don’t come for free, after all.
You’ve probably had the idea to reuse coffee grounds before. I mean, why not? If you reuse your coffee grounds at least twice, it can cut your costs in half.
Can you do that, though? Can you reuse coffee grounds?
That’s what we’re here to talk about, so stick around.
Table of Contents
Is It Okay to Reuse Coffee Grounds?
No, we wouldn’t recommend reusing coffee grounds. After your first brew, the oils and flavor of the coffee all go down into your first cup. Repeating the process will only result in much weaker and bitter coffee that doesn’t have enough caffeine in it.
It can also be prone to bacteria because coffee grounds are exposed to air and can be an ideal place for bacteria formation.
What Happens If You Reuse Coffee Grounds?
After you make that delicious cup of coffee in the morning, you’ll notice that there’s leftover coffee in your cup or coffee maker, and it looks like a gooey liquid.
These are used coffee grounds, and they’re the result of brewing your coffee blends. Most people just throw them away after usage, whereas others find ways to recycle them.
But can you reuse them to make more coffee?
Even though it may seem like a good idea, the result won’t be very pleasant. Reusing your grounds will only result in much weaker and bitter coffee.
When you make your first cup of coffee in the morning and it has that perfect texture, taste, and smell, it’s because the hot water in your brew has extracted the oils and flavors from your blend.
Reusing the coffee grounds means that you’ll extract from a blend that barely has any flavor or oils left. As a result, your coffee’s texture will be extremely light, and the taste will be very bitter and unpleasant.
Does Coffee Made From Reused Grounds Have Caffeine?
Coffee made from reused coffee grounds won’t have enough caffeine to pump you up.
The reason is that caffeine is highly soluble in water, and that’s why the majority of it is extracted with the first cup you make.
Sure, the result of reusing coffee grounds can differ depending on the coffee blend you’re using, the brewing method, and a few other factors, but the result is relatively the same.
Most of the caffeine leaves the blend and goes into your first cup, and whatever remains in the coffee grounds won’t be enough to give you the same effect your usual cup of joe would.
Is Coffee Made From Reused Grounds Safe to Drink?
In most cases, it wouldn’t be safe to drink a cup of joe made from reused grounds because used grounds have a high temperature and are most likely exposed to air.
This combination makes used coffee grounds prone to bacteria formation.
That being said, reusing coffee grounds isn’t ideal, and the coffee won’t taste to your liking at all. Luckily, though, however, there are other ways to recycle them so they’re not a complete waste!
How to Recycle Used Coffee Grounds?
Here are a couple of things you can do to recycle (and therefore reuse) your used coffee grounds:
Gardening
Did you know that coffee grounds can make an excellent fertilizer for your soil?
As time passes the soil in your garden can get depleted, and coffee grounds can be a great catalyst to restore its health.
Coffee grounds contain a lot of beneficial nutrients and minerals for your garden, such as iron, magnesium, and calcium, among others.
Another fact about coffee grounds is that they’re quite acidic, which can be quite helpful for some (not all) flowers and vegetables.
It’s also important to note that coffee grounds are a great insect repellent. Many insects and garden predators can’t stand coffee, so if you distribute your coffee grounds around your garden, you’ll be able to keep them at bay.
And if you don’t need to use the coffee grounds in your garden right away, you can always compost and save them for later. They’ll make great mulch for your garden later on.
Exfoliating Scrub
It may come as a surprise, but coffee grounds are a great ingredient to make your very own exfoliating body/face scrub.
Coffee is a great exfoliant for the skin, as it removes dead cells and helps make your skin smoother and more vibrant.
Creating the scrub isn’t hard or time-consuming at all. All you have to do is add coconut oil and sea salt to your coffee grounds and you’re good to go!
You can store the scrub in a jar for future use.
Conclusion
While it might be disappointing that your brilliant idea to reuse coffee grounds to make more coffee isn’t the best plan, you don’t have to waste them, either.
So, instead of throwing them away, recycle them to your best-suited needs! You can use them in your garden or you can make an exfoliating scrub with them.