Aside from drinking, what are the different ways to use and consume coffee?
While most of us know coffee as a delicious drink, it has a surprising number of other uses. And you don’t have to be a coffee lover to enjoy the benefits of this multi-faceted brew. Continue reading to see what coffee connoisseurs the world over agree are some of the lesser-known, yet just as awesome, qualities of their favorite drink.
Katie Woodburn-Simmonds
Katie Woodburn-Simmonds, runs the website Home Coffee Expert, where we share information on all things coffee gained through a lifetime in hospitality.
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Coffee Popsicles and Coffee Ice Cream
With summer fast approaching, two of our favorite summer coffee treats are coffee popsicles and coffee ice cream. Both are very easy to make at home and are a delicious alternative way to enjoy your coffee.
I’m also a huge fan of coffee buttercream frosting on a chocolate cake or any cake for that matter. The acidity, rich flavors, and bitterness of coffee lend themselves really well to sweet things so you can really go nuts with cake and doughnuts and the like.
We love to make use of all our coffee grounds too, we use them in the garden and I occasionally make an exfoliating facemask from them, too.
Best for Fertilizer, Air Freshener, and Watercolor Paintings
Do you know those coffee grounds are the best fertilizer? The Coffee grounds contain good content of calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen. Use this ingredient as the natural fertilizer and enrich the soil effectively. This chemical-free fertilizer is odorless and comfortable to use for indoor plants.
The Coffee grounds work as an air freshener. Pack the coffee grounds in a breathable fabric container and place them in your refrigerator to absorb the odd odors.
Remove the scratches on your wooden furniture using the coffee grounds. You can get the best results in the darker woods. It is enough if you rub a small number of coffee grounds on the scratched wooden surface using a cotton ball for expected outcomes.
Use coffee grounds in watercolor paintings. Based on its blend and brew property, you can employ coffee grounds in your artist works effectively.
Coffee grounds act as the base ingredient in skin scrub products. You can get glowing skin on regular use of a coffee-based skin scrubber. The caffeine content in the coffee grounds energizes your skin cells and increases the blood flow to ensure a shiny skin tone.
Eden Cheng
Eden Cheng, marketing director and co-founder of WeInvoice, a software company.
Sherry Morgan
Sherry Morgan is an animal lover and the founder of Petsolino. A website devoted to producing expert content on animals and covers everything related to your pets, including care, guides, tips, and product reviews.
Coffee Jelly
This is kind of unfamiliar food for us here in the US, but a friend of mine brought this dessert once during Thanksgiving and I definitely love it. This is the kind of dessert every coffee lover would want to taste. After making my morning coffee, I tend to set a few cups aside so I can make coffee jelly. Using gelatin powder in a bowl, pour over water so it’s bloomed and you have to do these steps or otherwise the jelly won’t set. You have to make sure to pour the water and mix really well then set it aside for around 5 minutes.
Then, put the coffee you set aside in a small pot and heat it up. You can add a tablespoon of sugar for a bit of sweet taste in it since coffee jelly is more of a dessert. Or not. It depends on you. Then add the bloomed gelatin because you have to activate and melt it in the coffee and then stir. Keep on stirring to avoid having burnt sugar on the bottom. Right before it boils, take it off from the heat and pour it into a container/ glass cup. I use a mesh sieve in pouring because I don’t want any unmelted gelatin bits in my coffee jelly. Let it chill to have this soft and jiggly coffee gelatin.
Whenever I’m ready to eat it, I add some vanilla ice cream or milk cream to it then mix it. It’s very delicious and a must-try for every coffee lover out there.
Coffee as a Flea Remover
This is probably the weirdest thing I’ve used coffee for, and when my sister told me I could do this, I didn’t believe her at first. But coffee is a coarse substance, so if you run it through your pet’s fur after you wash them with shampoo, it kills a fair amount of the fleas on their body.
I’m by no means a veterinarian, so I can’t say that this is the most effective way to get rid of fleas, but it’s worked for me every time I’ve had to do it!
Coffee as Fertilizer
As an organic material, coffee breaks down over time. And when things break down, they create nitrogen, which is necessary for growing plants. Plus, ants dislike coffee, so it keeps them away from your plants.
The only thing to keep in mind here is that coffee is acidic, so you should only put it into soil where you’re growing plants that like acidic soil. This includes blueberries, strawberries, rhododendrons, and azaleas.
Coffee as a Garbage Disposal Deodorizer
Ground coffee — whether it’s fresh or used — absorbs odors. I like to put it into my garbage disposal after I put onions, garlic, or other stinky things down there. It absorbs the smell so the odor of decomposing vegetables doesn’t emanate from the sink.
If there’s an unpleasant scent seeping out of your garbage disposal, ground coffee is the perfect solution. Drop a half-cup into the drain, let it sit for a few minutes, then run the disposal, turn on the sink to rinse everything out, and watch how quickly your problem is fixed.
Lorie Anderson
Lorie Anderson is the founder and head writer at MomInformed, a parenting blog.
Leah Buehler
Leah Buehler is the founder of buttercreamparties.com where she teaches people how to decorate buttercream sugar cookies for their parties. She has over 150 free buttercream sugar cookie tutorials plus tips & tricks for the beginner cookie decorator.
Vanilla Cold Brew Buttercream Frosting
Vanilla cold brew buttercream is a delicious topping for sugar cookies. The balance of bitter coffee with sweet All-American vanilla buttercream is the perfect pair for your tastebuds. Place it on top of a sugar cookie and you have a delectable treat. Simply replace the liquid, typically cream or water, in your favorite buttercream recipe with room temperature cold-brewed coffee. Then, top your baked sugar cookies with the flavored buttercream. You can use a knife to spread it on or get fancy with a piping bag. No matter what, the vanilla cold brew buttercream sugar cookies will be a hit for a mid-day treat or your next event.
Vanilla Cold Brew Buttercream Recipe
1/2 cup unsalted room temperature butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1.5 lbs powdered sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp room temperature cold brew coffee
Cream together the butter and shortening. Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix. Add in the cold brew coffee, vanilla extract, and the remainder of the powdered sugar. Mix until well combined.
Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup salted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup of granulated white sugar
1 egg
3 cups of all -purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together. In an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter together using the paddle attachment. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour one cup at a time, making sure to scrape the sides of the mixer bowl between each cup of flour. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick and cut out the dough using your preferred cookie cutters. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 8 minutes. The sugar cookies are done when the edges are slightly golden. Allow cooling on the counter before frosting.
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