You shouldn’t throw away the coffee grounds: its use is not limited to fortune telling. The grounds can be used to prepare cosmetics, feed home and garden plants, remove unpleasant odors, and even protect against insects.
Cosmetologists specializing in folk recipes prepare various compositions from this ecological product. And these are not all the ways to use sleeping coffee in everyday life.
Chemical composition of coffee beans
The properties of coffee as a drink are influenced by the following compounds, which were isolated during chemical analysis of the beans:
- Caffeine is an alkaloid with an stimulating effect.
- Carbohydrates are monosaccharides - fructose, glucose, sucrose, lactose, which give a sweet taste. During heat treatment - frying - they become caramelized.
- Trigonelline is an alkaloid. When heated, it collapses, forming nicotinic acid and releasing ester compounds. The more of them, the more persistent the drink’s aroma.
- Fats. Because of them, if stored incorrectly or after the expiration date, the beans develop an unpleasant odor.
- Organic acids - tartaric, oxalic, malic, acetic, etc. Provide sourness to the drink.
- Tannins and chlorogenic acid give coffee a bitterness, for which it is valued by connoisseurs.
But these are not all the substances in the chemical composition. Raw grains contain vitamins and minerals. Most of all they contain niacin, B vitamins - B1, B2, B9, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper. Beans also contain amino acids – essential and non-essential.
The compounds are slightly transformed after roasting and are partially preserved after the final heat treatment - preparation of the drink. Sleeping coffee retains minerals, chlorogenic and some organic acids, tannins and monosaccharides.
Can coffee grounds be eaten?
The cake that remains at the bottom of a cup of freshly brewed drink has beneficial properties:
- Gently increases the tone of the body without causing emotional excitement or insomnia and without increasing blood pressure.
- It has an antioxidant effect, isolates free radicals circulating in the intestinal lumen.
- Relieves constipation.
- Helps restore the reserve of nutrients - mineral compounds and amino acids.
Eating leftover coffee brew is not recommended for diseases of the organs responsible for digesting food.
They pass through the intestines like a brush, removing toxins and waste, and can cause irritation of the mucous membrane lining the digestive tract, causing an exacerbation of appendicitis. But if you take into account contraindications and eat a small amount of grounds from the bottom of a coffee cup, there is no danger to health.
When cleaning a coffee machine, it is allowed to use used coffee for food, which was removed from the horn (holder), and the chamber through which steam passes under pressure. Plaque on other parts of the unit must be removed and disposed of. In addition to tea leaves drops, it contains metal oxides and scale.
Coffee is an effective soil loosener
On the one hand, yes, coffee grounds add looseness. However, at the same time, its toxic properties continue to work, which means that the active use of such an additive will destroy the gardener’s main friends - worms. Many Internet sources write that worms like coffee, but in reality such a feast will have an extremely negative impact on their health. Well, then it’s easy to calculate: no worms - no natural “leavening powder”.
Methods for using coffee grounds from a coffee machine
Eating to normalize metabolic processes is not the only option to use the sediment remaining after preparing a tonic drink.
It replaces cleaning products, absorbs unpleasant odors, and is used to feed plants. These are not all the options for using coffee grounds.
Garden pest repellent
Parasites that destroy plants that are afraid of the aroma of coffee include ants, aphids, bronze beetles and slugs. To scare them away, you need to prepare a working solution: pour 200 g of coffee machine waste with 500 ml of hot water.
The infusion is left for 4 hours at room temperature under the lid and then filtered. Spray the plantings with a spray bottle or with a broom.
To protect against slugs, coffee grounds are poured in a layer of 3–5 mm directly onto the garden bed, and from ants, they are laid out along paths made by insects and around the anthill.
To get rid of dogs and cats
Stray cats and dogs in the garden are a disaster. They crap on the beds, dig up the soil, destroying seedlings, and trample down plantings. To repel them, you can make a special mixture.
You need to dry the coffee grounds and sprinkle them with essential oil - orange, lemon or rosemary, then mix well and spread in piles around the beds. After each rain, the treatment will have to be repeated: the smell quickly disappears.
Essential oils can be replaced with dried citrus peels. Just first you need to crush or grind them in a food processor.
From insect infestation
Fumigation with coffee cake will protect the room from flies and wasps. Tin cans are placed on the windowsills, dried grounds are laid out on them and set on fire so that they smolder. Fumigation duration is 2 hours.
If wasps are bothering you in your garden, then it is advisable to add saltpeter to the coffee grounds - at a rate of 1:20 by weight. Banks are placed around the perimeter of the dacha, on paths and near the garden house. In dry weather, 1 treatment is enough for 1.5–2 weeks.
Before fumigating a room, it is necessary to exclude the possibility of allergic reactions to combustion products in the home. The smell is absorbed into upholstered furniture and fabrics and persists for several weeks.
Dish cleaner
Dried coffee can be used to remove grease from metal pots, ladles, pans and sinks. This soft abrasive does not leave scratches on coatings - Teflon, enamel, polytetrafluoroethylene. First, a detergent in the form of a gel is applied to a soft washcloth, and the cake is applied on top. There is no need to pre-dry the dishes.
Fertilizer
Coffee residues can only be used to feed plants that prefer highly acidic soil, such as roses, azaleas, camellias, rhododendrons or berry bushes - blueberries or lingonberries. You can add them during digging along with green manure, or first make an infusion and then water them.
0.5 kg of cake is poured into 10 liters of settled water and left for a day. It is not necessary to strain the infusion before use.
Spent grounds contain a high amount of nitrogen and magnesium, but not enough potassium and phosphorus. Therefore, to stimulate fruiting, these substances must be added separately.
Compost
The sediment after drinking a tonic drink can be poured into a compost pit, but you should not abuse the additive. The permissible amount in relation to other components by volume is 1:40.
With the correct ratio of components, rotted plant matter becomes green. If it is brown, you need to add wood ash when digging so as not to increase the acidity of the soil.
Flea remedy
Coffee grounds will help rid dogs of intrusive parasites.
Application algorithm:
- The animal is bathed with insecticidal shampoo.
- Sprinkle it with dried cake from a coffee machine or grounds from a coffee maker.
- Massage your pet's skin.
- Comb it out with a fine comb.
This product is not used for cats. If a few grains remain and they get into the animal’s stomach, intestinal upset will occur.
For masking chips and scratches
If you want to get rid of minor defects, then you need to leave a little strong coffee at the bottom of the cup. Then soak a cotton pad or cotton napkin in it and wipe the problem area.
After drying, the scratch on dark furniture becomes almost invisible. Adjacent areas need to be blotted so that the varnish does not swell on them.
To absorb unpleasant odors
This is the most common use for tonic drink sediment. It is dried by spreading it on a paper napkin, and then placed in food-grade plastic containers, glass jars, ceramic or earthenware plates. The containers are placed in the freezer, at the back wall of the refrigerator, or in the car under the seat.
In the latter case, it will not only absorb the unpleasant odor, but also help get rid of high humidity in the cabin. Replace the filler once every 7–12 days.
Deodorizing properties are also used to freshen shoes. In this case, the cake is poured into an old sock and left overnight in your “favorite” sneakers or boots.
As a natural dye
Getting dye for fabric or Easter eggs is easy. To do this, pour boiling water over the dried coffee grounds and leave to steep for 3–5 hours. Then pour the liquid of a rich brown or reddish color into light-colored items or already boiled eggs with a white shell. After the procedure is completed, the fabric is dried and ironed to fix the shade, and the eggs are wiped with a soft cloth.
This environmentally friendly dye can even tint gray hair. Using a cotton swab, apply the liquid to the strands at the roots and leave for 40–60 minutes. Rinse them with acidified water - 0.5 tbsp. vinegar or 1 tbsp. lemon juice per 1 liter of water. An additional effect of the paint is toning the hair growth area.
For sprinkling paths in icy conditions
Owners of private houses do not like to sprinkle the paths near the building with sand. Once the snow melts, it is difficult to get rid of it. Salt or special reagents are not the solution: they oxidize the soil in the garden, have a detrimental effect on earthworms and destroy beneficial microorganisms.
The solution is to use dried coffee cake to sprinkle paths in icy conditions. It does not spoil shoes, and in the spring, after the snow melts, it will enrich the soil with an additional portion of nitrogen.
Tenderizing meat
For those who love juicy steaks, you can offer the following recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 pieces of tenderloin, 200 g each;
- 2–3 tbsp. dried grounds after espresso or Americano;
- to taste - salt, pepper;
- for frying - refined vegetable oil.
Step by step recipe:
- The meat is beaten and rubbed with salt and pepper.
- Dip it in vegetable oil, and then roll it in sleeping coffee.
- Fry the steaks on a well-heated grill.
For those who like medium, it is recommended to rest the meat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the crispy crust before use.
Remedy for dark circles under eyes
If your eyelids swell in the morning and spots appear on them that look like bruises, cosmetologists recommend making masks from coffee grounds. It needs to be further crushed so as not to scratch the delicate skin.
Add a little warm water to the powder to make a paste and apply it to cotton pads. Then they lie on their back and apply them to problem areas on the face. After 20–30 minutes, the lotions are removed, and when the liquid is completely dry, a softening cream is applied to the eyelids.
Exfoliating scrub for body or face
Coffee peeling gently exfoliates dead skin particles. The procedure stimulates metabolic processes in the superficial epidermis, restores tone and helps get rid of pigmentation.
Mode of application:
- Additionally, the grounds are crushed.
- If the skin is oily, mix it with low-fat cream or sour milk. If dry - with olive or sunflower oil, sour cream.
- Apply the mass to the face along the massage lines, leave for a few minutes, and on the body using a sponge. Massage enhances the effect.
- Wash everything off after 5–10 minutes. It is better to use a contrast effect - alternate warm and cold water.
When preparing a scrub to remove cellulite, add essential oils to the composition - 1-2 drops per 1.5 tbsp. (for increased sebum production - lemon juice). It is not applied to the eyelids.
Product for restoring skin tone
With age-related changes or after sudden weight loss, the turgor of the surface epithelium decreases. To restore it, you can add crushed coffee grounds to massage oil or cream. Apply it for 10 minutes, rinse with warm water.
Another way to increase tone:
- Fill the grounds with warm water.
- Rub it into problem areas for 3-5 minutes.
Duration of exposure – 2 months, frequency – 2-3 times a week. The effect can be noticed after 10–14 days.
Hair rinse
Products with coffee tone the skin, restore shine to hair and prevent breakage. To prepare the rinse aid, 1.5 tbsp. pour the grounds of the freshly brewed drink into 0.5 liters of water and leave for 30 minutes.
Then the liquid is filtered and the strands are generously moistened with it, and the hair is rinsed with acidified water. The method is not suitable for natural and dyed blondes, because... has a coloring effect.
Coffee pulp is added to masks for the following purposes:
- to stimulate hair growth (with castor oil, egg and cognac);
- against fragility and split ends (with honey and cream);
- to strengthen hair follicles (with onion gruel and olive oil).
You can only use the grounds left over from making drinks from natural beans. Instant coffee sediment has no beneficial properties. In addition, it cannot be used as an abrasive, since the grains are too fine due to the fine grinding.
Preparation and storage rules
Waste from a coffee machine, grounds remaining in the Turk after brewing, and spent coffee are suitable as fertilizer. The grounds need to be rinsed with water to remove any remaining sugar or milk, which can cause them to become moldy, and simply pour them under the plants if you need to use them immediately.
If you need to prepare it for future use, then it must be washed, squeezed and dried, then put into glass jars and placed in a dark and dry place in which they will be stored.
