Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Philadelphia’s Café Don Pedro Seeks to Build Up Small Businesses

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Torr Launches the Hive Cafe Countertop Coffee Concentrate System

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The Color of Coffee Collective Symposium Returns for Its Second Year

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Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Out Now: The February + March 2023 Issue

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Unique Collection in Switzerland Offers a Look at Coffee’s Rich History

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4 Cool Cafés to Try Out in Kuala Lumpur

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A Recap of The Barista League’s Mystery Coffee Vacation in Colombia

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Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Coffee News Recap, 20 Jan: Last chance to apply for PRF El Salvador Mayorga Scholarship and volunteer positions, World of Coffee Dubai attracts more than 12,000 visitors & other stories

Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week. Here are this week’s stories. Mon, 16 Jan World of Coffee Dubai 2023 attracts more than 12,000 visitors from 48 countries. The event, which was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, also included over 180 exhibitors and 36 […]


Three Questions with IWCA Executive Director Blanca Castro

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María Andrée Is Honing Olfactory Skills in Antigua 

A sensorial class in Guatemala at Artista de Café teaches how to use your nose for the ultimate coffee experience. BY JORDAN BUCHANANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of Arista de Café Walking into a specialty café in Guatemala, your nostrils are infused with aromas from the best coffees in the country. Your nose recollects the […]


Is the World Barista Championship too exclusive & expensive for competitors?

There are a number of competitions in specialty coffee designed to test the skills and knowledge of industry professionals. However, many consider the World Barista Championship (WBC) to be one of the most esteemed and highly regarded events, acting as a platform to showcase excellence in the barista profession. There are many reasons to celebrate […]

Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Spring is here and it’s time to get that garden started again. You might have heard that coffee grounds can be used to help plants grow and be utilized in mulch and fertilizer. But coffee is slightly acidic so you want to be careful how you utilize it and which plants you use it on. Make sure you use The World’s Strongest Coffee for the best results.

YOU SHOULD BE USING COFFEE GROUNDS FOR ONLY THESE PLANTS

Plants that prefer a higher acidity in the soil are those that usually can grow in any light. You can pick up a cheap soil pH meter on Amazon and test your soil before adding coffee grounds to it. Also, a lot of store-bought potting soil will tell you the pH on the packaging. Acidic soil is under 7.0 on the pH scale, and unless you have very acidic soil you can grow most fruits and vegetables, some flowers and shrubs too.

Take used coffee grounds and mix them with your soil about six inches into it, or mix them with your compost or mulch. Only use about one half an inch of coffee grounds per four inches of mulch or fertilizer. Make sure they are cooled down before you start to mix them. Coffee grounds are considered a ‘green’ organic material, so as a rule of thumb, you want to make sure to add enough ‘brown’ material to the mix – dried leaves or wood shavings work great.

PLANTS:

  • Lily of the Valley – loves acidic soil and can grow in any light
  • Azalea Bush –  also likes a more acidic soil but prefers some shade 

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:

  • Wild Strawberries and Blueberries – thrive in acidic soil
  • Radishes
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Parsley
  • Peppers
  • Gooseberries

You can play around with different growing methods, soil and mulch compositions to really dial in the powers of coffee grounds! The great thing about coffee grounds is they are rich in nitrogen, as well as some potassium and phosphorus, all of which plants crave.

Remember again to mix the coffee grounds you use well especially if you own a dog. The smell of coffee might be enticing to your four-legged friend and you don’t want them to get sick eating all that dirt and coffee.

RELATED: How to Grow a Coffee Plant at Home

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Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

Use coffee grounds when growing plants, but which ones?

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