# Making a second pot of coffee -- do you reuse the grounds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [August 16, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748 "2019-08-16T15:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/1 "2019-08-16T15:56:20Z")
On those occasions when you make a second pot (or half pot) of coffee, do you dump fresh grounds on top of the ones from the first pot, or do you start fresh? If I’m making a full pot, it’s probably 50-50. But if I’m only making a half pot, I will almost always dump more on top of the grounds from the previous pot. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/2 "2019-08-16T16:10:38Z")
Start fresh. The very thought of reusing grounds makes me :eek: ---
**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:** [August 16, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/3 "2019-08-16T16:20:14Z")
[2007 thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417702), for reference. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/4 "2019-08-16T16:20:22Z")
Sounds disgusting. Admittedly, I rarely put shit in my coffee, so how it tastes on its own is very important to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/5 "2019-08-16T16:23:58Z")
Gross, no. Always start fresh. Coffee grounds are used up the first time 🙂 For one thing I use about 3/4 of the basked with fresh, so there would not be room for used. I have a Tassimo at work, and everyone once in awhile an old pod gets mixed in. What comes out is slightly yellow non-coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/6 "2019-08-16T16:26:57Z")
What’s wrong with leaving the old grounds in the filter? It’s not like the addition of hot water _spoiled_ them or anything. Of course you add fresh grounds, but re-using the old grounds adds a little extra ooomph. I am not a fusspot about my coffee. Or a coffeepot about my fuss. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/7 "2019-08-16T16:58:46Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > On those occasions when you make a second pot (or half pot) of coffee, do you dump fresh grounds on top of the ones from the first pot, or do you start fresh? > … Never. Coffee gets new grounds every time. If I need to stretch my supply, I’ll just make less. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/8 "2019-08-16T17:18:13Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/9 "2019-08-16T17:24:40Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What’s wrong with leaving the old grounds in the filter? It’s not like the addition of hot water _spoiled_ them or anything. Of course you add fresh grounds, but re-using the old grounds adds a little extra ooomph. The different characteristics of coffee come out at different points of the extraction process. The quickest to come out are acids and sugars, then oils, and last the more bitter tannins. By leaving the old grounds in there, you aren’t adding more ooomph, you are adding more of the unpleasant bitter flavors without anything else to balance them. ---
**Author:** ![neutro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@neutro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutro)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/10 "2019-08-16T17:35:56Z")
What is this communism? Hell no we don’t re-use grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/11 "2019-08-16T17:49:12Z")
No, I don’t reuse the grounds. I like coffee to taste like coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/12 "2019-08-16T17:53:52Z")
I don’t reuse grounds. My ancestors didn’t spend a million years evolving from the apes for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/13 "2019-08-16T17:59:50Z")
If I want to make another full pot of coffee, and only have enough grounds for a 1/2 pot, then I just keep the old grounds in there and dump the new on top. Otherwise, I don’t reuse the old grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/14 "2019-08-16T18:07:25Z")
Grind the beans, put in cold, purified water, make the coffee, dump the grounds, drink the coffee. Repeat as needed. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/15 "2019-08-16T18:35:04Z")
If I am making a second pot right after the first, I add 50% new to the old and brew away. If we’re talking the next day I start all fresh. I do the same basic thing making tea in my Mr Coffee. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/16 "2019-08-16T18:56:48Z")
Assuming coffee’s like tea, most of the caffeine is going to be extracted in the initial brewing. So reusing them doesn’t really accomplish much- you can’t get a good pot of coffee out of the leftover grounds, and what you do end up with is going to be distinctly low octane. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/17 "2019-08-16T19:04:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Start fresh. The very thought of reusing grounds makes me :eek: This was my immediate thought. Really sounds nasty to me. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/18 "2019-08-16T19:33:06Z")
My friend does this. It’s ok. Her coffee’s not good to start with. She drinks so much black coffee I think she’s burned off all her taste buds. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/19 "2019-08-16T19:36:26Z")
I dump out the old grounds and put fresh grounds in the basket. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748/20 "2019-08-16T19:42:10Z")
On the 2nd pot right after the first, I DO throw the new grounds on top and reuse the filter, but I use the normal amount. It always tastes fine to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-a-second-pot-of-coffee-do-you-reuse-the-grounds/838748.md?page=2)