What to Make from Your Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves
DIY Wednesdays - Food Scrap Series
How do you start your day? I know my morning isn’t complete without a strong cup of tea or an iced coffee, and I’m certainly not alone. But both coffee grounds and tea leaves are most often brewed once and discarded, eventually ending up in a pile of food waste.
If you haven’t already, take a look at my previous blog here to read more about the statistics of food waste in the U.S. In short, it’s a significant issue that creates a lot of greenhouse gases. But the good news is that individual households have a large impact on the amount of food waste created, meaning that individual action to reduce food waste will be significant!
To start, coffee and tea sustainability begins at the buying process. Buying loose leaf tea will ensure not only that you have higher quality tea, but also that your tea won’t be filled with microplastics like many brands of tea bags are! As far as coffee goes, buying from small roasters and preferably plastic free is best. There have been a lot of debates about how fair fair trade certified goods (like coffee) really are, but in general I do try to purchase fair trade coffee when I can.
Without further ado, here are a few ideas on how to give your coffee grounds and tea leaves a second life:
Brewed coffee grounds can be used to fertilize plants. I just sprinkle a few tablespoons into the potting soil of my house plants to give them a healthy dose of acidity and minerals like nitrogen and potassium.
Once brewed, dry your coffee grounds out in the oven or on a plate exposed to a sunny window. You can use a few tablespoons of FINELY GROUND (I say having made some truly awful, gritty brownies) coffee to add a subtle flavor to any baked goods! Some even incorporate coffee grounds into dry rubs.
Fine coffee grounds also make a great addition to a homemade body scrub. Just mix coffee grounds, sugar, and an oil of choice like sweet almond, coconut, or olive oil to your desired consistency.
Use your used, dried coffee grounds as deodorizers around the house. Coffee grounds are great at absorbing odors, so a dish of coffee grounds in the back of your fridge might make all the difference when combatting those weird smells.
Use coffee grounds to scrub off the day-old messes from your pots and pans.
This might be simple, but brewing your coffee grounds and tea leaves a second time is still a way to reduce your waste! I would suggest brewing a second batch close to the first one so the coffee/tea is fresh, but you can dry and reuse tea leaves a second time without too much fuss. Two things to note: one, the caffeine level will decrease upon brewing a second time. Two, you should also avoid leaving a puddle of wet grounds out for an extended period time because it could easily grow bacteria. So make haste or put it in the compost!
Sprinkle tea leaves onto your less-than-fresh carpets and let them sit for 20-60 minutes before vacuuming. Most sources I’ve read have recommended using slightly damp tea leaves on dark carpet (to avoid staining), but dried steeped leaves could also be used for lighter carpets. You can also sprinkle baking soda with your dried leaves to make a stronger deodorizer.
Add dried green tea leaves to cat litter to help combat the smell (I haven’t tried this yet, but with three cats in the house, it’s high time I do)
Add dried tea leaves to Epsom salt and make a pleasant bath soak.
Dry, used tea makes an excellent deodorizer for dresser drawers or questionable shoes. You can use dry, used tea bags or place used loose leaf tea in something breathable.
Happy Brewing!
Grace Kennedy