# Is there a use for used coffee grounds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507 "2006-10-30T23:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/1 "2006-10-30T23:29:33Z")
Can anything be done with used coffee grounds besides throwing them out? Alternative energy source, maybe? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/2 "2006-10-30T23:32:00Z")
That great god of all things coffee known as Starbucks has taken to packaging their used grounds for home gardeners to use as a nutritious mulch. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/3 "2006-10-30T23:35:58Z")
I’m told that sprinkling coffee grounds on rose beds makes them grow quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/4 "2006-10-30T23:38:02Z")
I saw them used as ashtray “sand” once. At least I hope that was an ashtray… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/5 "2006-10-30T23:39:46Z")
I compost mine, too. Don’t know if they’re any better as a mulch than anything else, because they go into the compost bin with everything else and just disappear, thanks to the triple miracles of of bacteria, worms, and flies. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/6 "2006-10-30T23:45:09Z")
[Here](http://frugalliving.about.com/od/uncommonuses/a/coffeegrounds.htm) is some great info on using used coffee grounds. ---
**Author:** ![PoorTom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@PoorTom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorTom)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/7 "2006-10-30T23:55:09Z")
A worm farm! Get a box, line it with a plastic bag and fill it with dirt and earthworms, and you’ll have a convenient source of bait when fishing season rolls around. Just toss the old coffee grounds (maybe even the filter, depending on what kind you use) in the box every day after brewing a pot and mix it up a bit every now and then. I don’t have enough time to make it worthwhile anymore, but I was never without at least two or three worm farms as a kid. It was so much easier to come home from school, reach into the box and pull out a handful of worms to go fishing than it was to dig around in the hard earth with a shovel and no guarantee of getting many worms. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/8 "2006-10-31T00:36:35Z")
Mushroom growin’! I have a coworker who’s into mycology, and for a while there he was taking the used grounds from the work coffeemakers home to use for his mushroom colonies. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/9 "2006-10-31T18:28:26Z")
It makes great imitation blood for vomit and feces, simulating someone with internal bleeding injuries. This may not be a use everyone has a high demand for. Otherwise, I would go with the compost idea. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/10 "2006-10-31T18:40:16Z")
[QUOTE=wevets] It makes great imitation blood for vomit and feces, simulating someone with internal bleeding injuries. [/QUOTE] Well, that’s… special. Can I ask how you came up with that? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/11 "2006-10-31T18:42:36Z")
[QUOTE=wevets] It makes great imitation blood for vomit and feces, simulating someone with internal bleeding injuries. [/QUOTE] … that vomited. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/12 "2006-10-31T19:21:05Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] … that vomited. [/QUOTE] …_who_ vomited. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/13 "2006-10-31T19:36:07Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] …_who_ vomited. [/QUOTE] Not me. I haven’t thrown up since June 29th, 1980. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/14 "2006-10-31T19:40:17Z")
[QUOTE=Plynck] Not me. I haven’t thrown up since June 29th, 1980. 😃 [/QUOTE] Ok. I’ll bite. Give. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/15 "2006-10-31T19:47:58Z")
[QUOTE=Plynck] Not me. I haven’t thrown up since June 29th, 1980. 😃 [/QUOTE] Sure it’s not 1994? 14 years down the drain. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/16 "2006-10-31T20:37:11Z")
One summer I kept throwing them on a philodendron which started to grow monstrously fast. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/17 "2006-10-31T21:20:32Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] Well, that’s… special. Can I ask how you came up with that? [/QUOTE] I recently certified as a wilderness EMT. Actually, internal bleeding is now the first thing I think of when I hear the words “coffee grounds.” This is probably because I’m also more of a tea drinker. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/18 "2006-10-31T22:28:48Z")
[QUOTE=Dragwyr] [Here](http://frugalliving.about.com/od/uncommonuses/a/coffeegrounds.htm) is some great info on using used coffee grounds. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the link! ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/19 "2006-11-01T00:43:21Z")
When my mothers ulcerations went nuts, she had me call the hospital she worked at, and tell them she had “coffee ground emesis”. I was taking Nurses Aide classes, so I knew what emesis was (puke). Later, I found out that coffee ground emesis is called that because it looks astonishinly like wet coffee grounds. In case anyone was wondering. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507/20 "2006-11-01T03:03:19Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] …_who_ vomited. [/QUOTE] Hard to say - they can’t actually dust for vomit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-use-for-used-coffee-grounds/378507.md?page=2)