A dignified end of life for those terrible coffee beans

Bad Beans?

Your aunt knows you love coffee and gave you a pack of Folgers because they are red and cute, the Classic Decaf, of all options. "Thanks, auntie Rosa, I really appreciate it" because mamma gave you manners. 

Night comes and that pack is haunting your dreams, messing with your sleep, "Google, what should I do with all this peculiar coffee???". You are heard and seen, my friend. 

It's the tricky part of enjoying coffee, you become a coffee snob and then suddenly you're difficult to please when it comes to your daily brew. Not all beans are the same, we know that but not every coffee drinking soul is aware of this sensitive subject. So, you've got some dodgy beans and how to dispose of them can be a tough decision, we care about sustainability, after all. It's important to dispose of the beans properly so that they don't go to waste or are picked from their bush for no reason than to be trashed. We have 6 options you can choose from:

Donate or give them away

Consider donating them to a local food bank or shelter. Alternatively, you can give them to a friend or family member who enjoys coffee and may appreciate it. Bribe them so they won't tell auntie Rosa.

Cold brew those beans away

If your bad coffee is not ground yet, coarsely grind it and make an amazing cold brew. Here at Espresso Gear, we sell some options - professional and home consuming -. Take a look: 
 

Home System by Toddy	Capsule Carafe (needs no capsule) by Kinto

Season your new grinders burrs

Usually, people use rice to season their new coffee grinders burrs but you can use coffee beans as well, it's not the cheapest option but since you already have those poor babies with you, might as well use them. Some brands say 300gr of rice is enough but researchers indicate 5kg of coffee beans to let the burr be seasoned. Ouch.

Use them after grinding cleaning tablets

You should clean your coffee grinder every two weeks depending on how much you use it. After you clean your coffee grinder, use those bad beans to flush it all out. Don't know about cleaning tablets? No problemo: Caffeto have coffee grinder cleaning pellets and you can get them right here. 

Cook and bake that coffee

Even if you don't enjoy the taste of the beans on their own, they can still be used in cooking and baking recipes. For example, you can use coffee beans to make a rub for meat, add them to chocolate desserts for a mocha flavor, or use them to make coffee-infused syrups or sauces. Or you can do tiramisu and deliver some to us here in Sweden. Note to self: out the cooking option first. 

Compost them

Coffee beans can be added to a compost pile or bin, where they'll decompose and add nutrients to the soil. However, it's important to note that coffee beans are acidic, so it's best to balance them out with other organic matter, such as leaves, grass clippings, or fruit and vegetable scraps.

Dispose of them - sometimes it is what it is

If none of the above options are feasible, you can dispose of the coffee beans in the compost or grind them up and sprinkle on your plants to keep slugs at bay. It could be a gardening myth but legend has it those pesky suckers don't enjoy coffee as much as we do. 

You have a whole lot of options, see? Nothing is lost in oblivion just do so responsibly and with consideration for the environment.