A true coffee lover will find it hard to drink only one cup of coffee per day due to caffeine addiction. However, this routine can be quite costly. So can you reuse coffee grounds for a new brew to save some money? And, how can you get a fine flavor if using old coffee grounds for a cold brew? This article reveals the method.
Can You Reuse Coffee Grounds For Cold Brew Twice?
The answer is Yes, you can. However, its flavor and caffeine rate will not be as perfect as the first cup. The truth is a single-use coffee grounds are the best choice for a quality beverage. Keep in mind that most of the goodness has been taken out from these grounds for your first cup.
But you can still make use of the same grounds to make a cup of cold brew if there is no freshly-made ground around. Rest assured to make a second cold brew easily.
We believe reusing coffee grounds for a cold brew is better than many other brewing techniques. Although it cannot be like the first time, you would still have the chance to enjoy a satisfying beverage.
An important rule of thumb is not to reuse the coffee beans for more than two cups of coffee since there will be no taste left to enjoy.
As you make a cold brew coffee with old grounds, leaving your coffee for a longer steep will enhance its flavor. Add ice or milk as you like. You will notice that a cold brew does not make much of a difference in flavor.
Read more: Can you put coffee grounds in the garbage disposal
What Happens To The Coffee Flavor And Caffeine Rate?
Flavor
Making coffee is an art of science with a perfectly balanced ratio of coffee, water, temperature, steeping time, and brewing technique. Its extraction amount needs to be optimal to give an attractively intense flavor.
Reusing the coffee grounds tends to drain water from your coffee and leave a bitter taste that you will never want to drink again.
Suppose you are desperate to get a cup of coffee and there is no sign of fresh grounds around; consider using its grounds for a second brew. A little sugar and milk are beneficial to balance that watered-down flavor.
In a necessary situation that requires reusing your coffee grounds, make sure they are cooled down grounds to avoid the burning risk.
Moreover, during your waiting time to let these grounds cool down, it is best to put them in a closed jar or something similar. This is one of the simplest ways for you to preserve the flavor from leaving the grounds.
Caffeine
Many people love drinking coffee for its outstanding taste. But what if you are fixed on caffeine and cannot live a day without a dose of coffee? Should you reuse old grounds to brew another coffee cup?
Your coffee grounds will extract about 25 to 30% as you make coffee; plus, the rest of them is not water-soluble. Most caffeine is already in your first cup with new grounds; that is why it has such an intense flavor.
Therefore, if you try to reuse coffee grounds to get more caffeine, it would become a huge disappointment.
Can You Reheat Coffee?
You can reheat your coffee, but we will not advise you to do so often. The only acceptable scenario is when you are craving a cup, but there are no fresh grounds available for use.
The reason why you should not reheat your coffee is that all of the flavors, oils, and aromas will be removed after reheating. In case you are dying to have a cup of coffee, put the grounds in a pan to heat on a stove.
Top 8 Ways To Reuse Coffee Grounds
What if you do not want to brew another cup of coffee but, at the same time, are concerned about your single-use grounds going to waste? Take a look at these amazing alternatives to reuse the ground at its best.
Fertilizing & Composting
A fantastic alternative for the reuse of coffee grounds is to return them to the ground. There are plenty of beneficial nutrients inside coffee grounds, so feeding your houseplants with them is a brilliant idea. Bury them into the soil or mix them with water to act as a plant spray.
If you want to make some compost, coffee grounds will enable food particles to break down into compost faster. Simply toss these old grounds into the compost bin and wait for them to work their magic.
Every time you place something in the compost bin, you can toss some extra coffee grounds inside to see even better effects. The even ground distribution will boost the food to break down much quicker.
In terms of worm farming, also known as vermiculture, your worms will not mind consuming used coffee grounds; they love these!
Odor & Smell Removal
Not only do coffee grounds smell good, but they also do a stunning job of absorbing different types of odors. Use them to prevent food odors in the fridge, the smell from a trash can, or a moldy-smelling closet.
Take a cheesecloth, an old pantyhose, or maybe an old handkerchief and tie up the coffee grounds in such a porous fabric piece. Let them dry completely before hanging the bag inside the fridge or dumpster.
Moreover, coffee grounds help remove heavy odors from your hands after cutting garlic and onions. Dampen your hands with water and use coffee grounds for scrubbing to leave behind a decent smell.
The good news is coffee grounds can easily deal with smelly shoes as well. Get some dry coffee grounds and sprinkle them into the smelly shoes. Leave them there throughout the night and shake them out later.
Skin/Body Care Applications
Many people desire to smell like fresh coffee all day long, so this is an amazing opportunity to reuse coffee grounds for your skin and body care routine.
Mix the coffee grounds into some soap so you can use them as a full-body scrub exfoliator. Plus, apply them to your face and hands for a fresh scrubbing session with a concoction to get that coffee smell.
It is best to wash the coffee exfoliator off your body with cool and not hot water. Still, keep in mind that it is not ideal for daily use since it can cause over-exfoliating. Only use it once or twice a week when you need some serious scrubbing to eliminate dead skin cells.
Homemade Soap
It is currently trending to make your soaps at home with a simple DIY kit; therefore, this alternative is easy to take. Having some extra grounds create a gritty texture in your soap to help with body care.
Wooden Surfaces Retouching
If your old coffee grounds have a similar color tone to some wooden furniture, we suggest masking scratches on that surface with them. They help stain the exposed wooden interior and make it look nicer.
Only take a small number of damp grounds and add them onto your targeted wooden spot to retouch. Next, use a Q-tip or soft paper towel to gently rub the excess content off. The stain may need several passes to transfer.
Craft Projects
Repurposing coffee grounds for school and craft projects is another neat method. They are fantastic to simulate dirt so that they would look nice for a diorama. Not to mention being relatively clean for this dirt effect.
DIY Air Freshener
It is undeniable that coffee smells amazing. Take an empty jar of air freshener, put coffee grounds inside, and let it sit anywhere in your room. You can find the jars with holes on the lids to release the coffee scent slower.
Pest Control
If you want to create a secure barrier to protect your houseplant from certain insects (such as bugs and ants), try sprinkling some coffee grounds nearby. You will not want to dump all of them out.
Also, sprinkling dried coffee grounds in your ant-prone cabinet is a brilliant way to keep these animals away from the internal content.
Final Thoughts
In general, to answer the question of “Can you reuse coffee grounds?“, it is possible for certain emergencies but not recommended. Expect your second cup will never be as good unless you make a cold brew.
Remember to use the mentioned creative methods above that are also environmentally friendly to reuse coffee grounds in the finest way. Enjoy your grounds wisely, and thank you for reading.
Almost 20 years already spent committed to coffee and more than 3 years of experience as a barista at Starbucks. Madelyn Doyle graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutritional Science from the University of California and finished the Coffee Skills Program at the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).