# Coffee faux pas: is it wrong to mix old and new grounds? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [April 21, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100 "2007-04-21T20:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2007, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/21 "2007-04-21T23:27:18Z")
I’ve seen coffee grounds mold by evening here in Kansas myself. Yes, the grounds basket and the part that holds it both got a good washing after seeing that! ---
**Author:** ![GrrlGenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@GrrlGenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrrlGenius)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/22 "2007-04-21T23:39:48Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] Yes, the grounds basket and the part that holds it both got a good washing after seeing that! [/QUOTE] Heck yes. I keep jugs of vinegar on hand for such things. I wont bleach the coffee pot, too much chance of getting residue in the coffee, but THOROUGH cleaning with vinegar in the water area for sure. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/23 "2007-04-22T00:15:32Z")
Grounds that have been heated in any way get a sort of bitter taste. I notice this if I leave fresh grounds in my espresso machine for too long, even though they’re not wet. Replace them every time or your coffee will have a note of mank in its taste. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/24 "2007-04-22T00:20:07Z")
My BIL mixes grounds. :eek: It’s pretty gross to me, but he’s the only one that drinks it. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/25 "2007-04-22T00:25:55Z")
Well, now I empty the basket and wash the parts once I’m done with coffee for the day, to avoid the whole fermentation/molding problem. It’s much nicer that way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/26 "2007-04-22T00:27:50Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] Well, now I empty the basket and wash the parts once **I’m done with coffee for the day** , to avoid the whole fermentation/molding problem. It’s much nicer that way. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I’m sorry, the bolded sequence of words is all in English, but it doesn’t seem to make sense. How can one be “done” with “coffee”? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/27 "2007-04-22T00:33:20Z")
Er, I’ve cut back on my coffee consumption. I found it’s “stimulant” effects worked rather too well for me, and really weren’t needed. :o ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/28 "2007-04-22T00:50:55Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] New filter, new grounds. If work is that cheap, I"m probably going to resign or bring my own coffee. . [/QUOTE] I brew my own coffee every morning and take a thermos to work. I usually use boutique quality whole-bean coffee, but often I just use grocery store Yuban from the can, and even that is far, far better than any office coffee I’ve ever had. I get to drink good coffee in my office, and I don’t have to partipate in the ritual of obligations that surround office coffeepots, like having to make a new pot when you take the last cup (which is always bleahh anyway). In the beginning of my IT career I worked on VMS machines and thought it would be great if the coffeepot could somehow be wired to the cluster so one could do a show dev dev$coffee to see how full it was, and know when to go for your next cup. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/29 "2007-04-22T01:01:38Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Grounds that have been heated in any way get a sort of bitter taste. I notice this if I leave fresh grounds in my espresso machine for too long, even though they’re not wet. [/QUOTE] I’m told by experts that espresso should be brewed within 45 minutes of grinding it. I spare myself that risk by grinding it only just before brewing it. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/30 "2007-04-22T02:49:40Z")
If we do a second pot at work, it’s two scoops over the three scoops that were the mornings’ pot. fill with water to about the 8 cup mark. Then we dump half of that out at 5pm. If we did a whole fresh pot, we’d be wasting most of it. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/31 "2007-04-22T13:34:05Z")
[QUOTE=The Sonoran Lizard King] If we do a second pot at work, it’s two scoops over the three scoops that were the mornings’ pot. [/QUOTE] Looks like you and I are both in for a beating. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/32 "2007-04-22T14:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=The Sonoran Lizard King] If we do a second pot at work, it’s two scoops over the three scoops that were the mornings’ pot. fill with water to about the 8 cup mark. Then we dump half of that out at 5pm. If we did a whole fresh pot, we’d be wasting most of it. [/QUOTE] Then why not just use half the measure of water and fresh coffee and not re-use anything? ---
**Author:** ![AngryIrishLass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bbce88/32.png) [@AngryIrishLass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngryIrishLass)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/33 "2007-04-22T19:10:42Z")
This subject gave me the willies. Mold in the coffee? EWW! Coffee is sacred. New filter, fresh coffee every time. Someone in our office brews two pots of decaf with the same filter/coffee to make a weak pot because our coffee is too strong for her. She at leasts labels it. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/34 "2007-04-22T19:27:30Z")
My little coffeemaker was used and then packed immediately the last time I moved. Unbeknownst to me the grounds weren’t dumped out. I unpacked it about 5 months later and OHBOY was that a moldy stench. Explained where the funk in my kitchen was coming from, so I gave up daily countertop bleaching. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/35 "2007-04-23T05:14:37Z")
[QUOTE=The Sonoran Lizard King] If we do a second pot at work, it’s two scoops over the three scoops that were the mornings’ pot. fill with water to about the 8 cup mark. [/QUOTE] Yeah, yeah, me too. At work, at home, where _EVAH_. I can’t tell the difference, and only one person has ever complained. Note that I’d been doing this for years and she’d been drinking her afternoon cuppa with nary a grimace. Then one day she saw me making the PM coffee that way and went all YUKK! on me. So from that day forward, instead of me being a good boss and making the coffee myself, I’d just yell out: “Jackie! Time for coffee!” and she got to make it any which-a-way she wanted to. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/36 "2007-04-24T01:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=AngryIrishLass] This subject gave me the willies. Mold in the coffee? EWW! Coffee is sacred. New filter, fresh coffee every time. Someone in our office brews two pots of decaf with the same filter/coffee to make a weak pot because our coffee is too strong for her. She at leasts labels it. [/QUOTE] :eek: Too… strong? Two pots of decaf with the same lot of grounds? Brain… cannot… compute! (To be fair, I’ve been banned from making group coffee because I make it strong enough to not just stand a spoon up in it, but dissolve it. 😃 ) Er, and to keep this on topic, hell yes I chuck the old grounds and run the parts through the dishwasher in between. If it’s a second daily pot, I’ll rinse things out. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/37 "2007-04-24T03:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=The Sonoran Lizard King] If we do a second pot at work, it’s two scoops over the three scoops that were the mornings’ pot. fill with water to about the 8 cup mark. Then we dump half of that out at 5pm. If we did a whole fresh pot, we’d be wasting most of it. [/QUOTE] So you would be okay with your favorite fried food being fried with yesterdays oil, mixed with a little bit of todays new oil? Count me in for gross on this subject… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/38 "2007-04-24T04:20:39Z")
Coffee is dirty anyway…after all it was recently ground. My old Scotch grangmother did s similar thing with tea. She used a tea bag and kept it. Then when she made another cup she saved it. Then made a third with the 2 used bags. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/39 "2007-04-24T20:19:03Z")
Beatings would be too good for 'ya. Burning would be too good for 'ya. You’ll have to drink the swill coffee instead. If the apocalypse comes, then I _might_ consider what you say… otherwise, I’d rather go without the coffee. I only drink good coffee though, and even that, not very often. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100/40 "2007-04-24T20:52:15Z")
[QUOTE=ParentalAdvisory] So you would be okay with your favorite fried food being fried with yesterdays oil, mixed with a little bit of todays new oil? [/QUOTE] You’ve never worked in a restaurant, have you? 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-faux-pas-is-it-wrong-to-mix-old-and-new-grounds/401100.md?page=3)