8 Ingenious Ways to Repurpose Used Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds impart a rich, smoky flavor when rubbed onto meats such as ribs and brisket. Their acids alsotenderize meatand amplify its flavor. While many recipes call for combining fresh grounds with other seasonings to create dry rubs, you can do the same withused grounds.

When it comes to beverages, porter and stout beers often incorporate coffee to add more depth to their flavors, typically using brewed coffee. But home brewers can do the same using coffee grounds.One possibility:place coffee grounds in a muslin sack and steep in cold water for 24 hours or so. Then remove the grounds and add the cold brew you've just created to your beer.

咖啡渣是粗and gritty. And grittiness is important when it comes to body scrubs, which exfoliate your skin by removing dirt and dead cells.Make your ownbody or facial scrub by combining 3 tablespoons of coffee grounds, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of a natural oil, such as coconut, olive or almond. Mix well, then transfer into a lidded jar. To use, gently work into your wet skin, then rinse. You can also create an exfoliating lip scrub by mixing coffee grounds with a little honey.

It's important to make sure you're using caffeinated grounds in your body scrub, as caffeine helps protect your skin from sun damage, thanks to itsstrong antioxidant properties. Caffeine may also result in increased blood flow to the area, which is great for skin health.

If you love the scent of coffee, use your old grounds to makecoffee-scented candles. Homemade coffee candles tend to smell better than commercial versions, as homemade candles use real grounds. And if you carefully layer the grounds in the candle, they're also quite attractive. One other perk: When the coffee grounds become exposed as the candle burns down, the heat will release even more of that soothing coffee aroma.

If you've ever spilled coffee, you know how easily it stains. Use that to your advantage bydying various itemswith those old grounds. Use grounds to stain your chic ripped jeans, for example or your torn sweatshirt. You can also rewet your grounds and rub them onto craft paper or Easter eggs, which will imbue them with the sepia tones popular in the Victorian era. You can even mix those grounds with some water and use it as a wood stain. Coffee grounds may also be used to deepen the color of dark hair.

Those who live in colder climes know how slippery snow and ice can be. For years, people have been deicing withsalt, which lowers the freezing point of water and prevents ice from forming. It also has a gritty texture that aids in traction. Butdeicing saltscan kill plants and aquatic species, plus pollute the groundwater. So more recently, people have been switching to sand.

Sand is a natural substance, which is a huge plus. But while sand increases traction, it doesn't melt ice. And it's messy if you track it into the house. Enter coffee grounds, which carry the best qualities of salt and sand. Like sand, coffee grounds are a natural product that doesn't harm the environment. They also have the gritty texture found in sand and salt that's important for traction. But coffee grounds also containnitrogen, which helps melt ice. (Note:one TV station tried thishack and determined you might need a lot more coffee grounds to break up the ice than you would rock salt. Still, it worked.)

Ladies, this one's for you. An incredible80 to 90 percent of adult womenhavecellulite, a skin condition that causes lumpy, dimpled flesh on the thighs, hips, abdomen and buttocks. There are many treatments for this unsightly condition, including pricy laser therapy and liposuction. But an inexpensive and natural treatment is a coffee-ground scrub.

Take your old, caffeinated coffee grounds,mix with water or coconut oil, and rub all over your cellulite. How does it work? Caffeinedehydrates cells, so using this scrub may make them less visible. You'll need to do this daily, though, to be most effective. Also, be aware that most cellulite treatments — even the priciest — don't typically result in dramatic changes.

You probably love the smell of coffee (or you wouldn't be reading this article). But coffee,thanks to the nitrogenit contains, can also canabsorbsmells in the home. This can be bad before you've used the grounds (which is one reason you need to keep the coffee can or bag locked tight) but it's a plus afterward.

To get rid of funky smells in your kitchen or fridge, leave some dried used grounds in a bowl on the kitchen counter or at the back of your fridge. You can alsosprinkle dried used coffee grounds地毯来去除地毯上的气味(leave overnight and vacuum in the morning). Or tie some up in an old sock or pantyhose to freshen up your car or gym bag.

Perhaps the most popular reuse of old coffee grounds is in the garden, as you can use them in numerous ways. First, a lot of insects find coffee toxic, so sprinkle the grounds liberally around plants that are being attacked by ants, slugs or snails. You can also toss grounds around youroutdoor seating areas(or place them in containers) to help repel mosquitoes and fruit flies. Finally, you can mix the nitrogen-rich groundsinto your compost, or use as a fertilizer for acid-loving plants (like azaleas and hydrangeas) by lightly working them into the soil.