It's good for plants, although I'm not sure which ones. I've been having Kevin put it on my cherimoya tree, and it seems to like it, although during certain times of the year, it does not like phosphate. I would not put it on house plants, but then I only have orchids in the house, and they take special fertilizers. They might like coffee, but I do not know.

I was at a coffee taster's shop some time ago. I was surprised that i was told that coffee aroma is not very important when you smell the ground beans.

I think your "stale" coffee may still be OK to give you good brewed coffee.

dcarch

Put it around plants that are vulnerable to slugs. They won't cross the grounds as they are too abrasive.

Camellias and azaleas and that sort of thing enjoy coffee.

First, my friend Renee who owned a coffee shop and whose husband was a roaster told me to NEVER put coffee into the refrigerator, it's too humid and refrigerator odors can get into the coffee, as coffee beans are porous. It should only be frozen if you vacuum seal it, and then leave it sealed until you need to use it, freezing and thawing is also a bad thing. Let it come to room temperature before using. The best way to store it is in a cool place in a ceramic or glass container, as plastic and metal containers can also impart "off" flavors. Properly sealed it should stay OK for 2 or 3 weeks, although it's better ground right before brewing.

What to do with the stuff? Darned if I know, I put spent coffee grounds into the compost but have not had to dispose of ground coffee.

Annie

Try brewing some. You've got nothing to lose!

Based on what Dcarch and IC said, maybe I'll see if someone wants it before putting it in the bushes. :) That's a good second option--would it be good for roses? I have a lot of roses. No slugs that I'm aware of and I haven't seen a snail recently. Lots of butterflies--well maybe one or two a day but that's lots compared to other places I've lived--and sometimes hummingbirds come for the bougainvillea. Plenty of ants. Some ladybugs. More yellow jackets than bees, though not that many of either (too city-ish). Hornets occasionally but people have the nest removed. Lots of spiders. Do any of them mind coffee? I don't much care for snails, and tolerate ants if they stay outside of the house, but I like the rest of them. Not hornets. The other rest of them.

All I can tell you is that my neighbor put her old used coffee grounds on her roses and they were beautiful and bloomed like crazy.

Thanks for the coffee-storing tutorial Annie. I have mine stored wrong--in metal, in the freezer. I'm sure I can find a spare glass or ceramic container for it from now on. As for stale coffee, not sure how bad it would be, most pre-ground coffee seems to be pretty stale anyway. I would not use it as a heavy dose around plants, since it will have more of the oils left in it. This reminds me to start composting my grounds again. I never feel like taking anything out to the compost pile in the winter!

Spent coffee grinds i toss on the ground cover all winter and scatter various places, but mostly compost it. If not brewed it might be a bit acidic, but some plants like that. I found a lb of ground espresso in the back of the freezer from who know where....probably a gift.

I used it in cooking. Anything that has tomato and red wine like stews, i like to add a strong brewed cup. Good in chili. Does not add a 'coffee' flavor, just another richness. I just put a couple heaping spoonfuls in a pyrex. Pour over hot water and let it steep, then strain.

Don't care for recipes that use fine ground in dry rubs really. No mater how fine, it gives meats a graininess to the exterior rub. I do have instant expresso for certain recipes that call for it.

I should have taken it to the senior center but did not think of it at the time. So that's a thought.

Stale coffee is stale coffee. if it isn't good enough to drink, i would throw it out or put it in the garden. I wouldn't pass it off to someone else.

I would def. brew some to check - you could always flavour it w/ cinnamon or mint or something & make iced coffee drinks, etc...

Since you say coffee is only made for company, I would not hesitate to toss it around the roses. Spread it out so it is not too thick in any one spot (to prevent a crust from forming) and it will do fine. I am a person who stops at Starbucks in the hopes of getting as many used coffee ground as possible. The unused ones will be more acidic but if spread out, should not be a problem at all.

Thanks, Tishtosh! We don't drink coffee, or cook with it, and I wouldn't know the difference between good and bad. My guests say things like "Ummmm. Good coffee," when I give them Yuban (with distilled water) made in my (clean) $15 drip machine. (Dcarch explained that the cheapies are good for a short while before the something-engineering-speak goes off, but since mine gets used maybe five times per year, I have a ways to go before the gizmo goes haywire.) I do have dozens of rose bushes, however.. There's no reason I couldn't boil down the coffee in a saucepan and drain it if used grounds would be better than not.

When I store the opened Yuban in the fridge in the can it came in, and use it a couple of months later, people still seem happy with the coffee. It also smells rich and moist. The coffee that's been hidden out of the direct light and heat, but not in the fridge, for a month smells dry and dessicated and deserty, rather than rich and desserty. So maybe the aroma doesn't mean much with fresh ground, but I think maybe it does with what I have here.

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions.

It is fine to use on the plants without boiling, straining, etc. We go to Starbucks for the used grounds because it is a waste product, that is a good organic amendment to the soil and keeps it out of the waste stream and it is free to add to the soil. On the rare occasion there is some coffee left in the pot, we pour that on the soil for the plants to so they love it all. For my soil, which is very alkaline, the unused grounds would be the absolute best but financially would not make sense.

I think your roses would love the fresh grounds, go with the path of least resistance. Just don't concentrate them too much all in one area. A little rain, and they will be spent grounds anyway!

LOL! That would be funny. :) Buying coffee specifically for the garden. Though, perhaps in the quantity that one would use for the whole garden, it wouldn't cost more than some other supplies. I'm not the one who tends the garden (you can probably tell). I know the roses sometimes get banana peels. :) We'll see how they like the coffee. :)

L, that little bit of rain is a no go. We've had a few sprinkles this late this year, but it generally doesn't rain between mid-April and mid-October, so I had a little giggle. :) Seven minutes of sprinkler is going to have to do. :)

I have a house plant. Abused for years in a warehouse setting...dragged by its 'post', never saw the light of day. Fed by a few non-plant lovers with a cup of coffee here and there. (and probably heavy on the milk-n-sugar). Very sentimental to me having saved it. Sent to a dumpster at one point. Tossed it in my jeep and it has thrived ever since. I give it some coffee grounds for ol' times sake. And let it suffer bone dry before any water....

Your roses will love your discard coffee. Many plants love it.

I think coffee is somewhat acid so keep that in mind - absolutely wonderful for Gardenias. Never had any luck with them until I tried coffee. Though I realise that unlike me you can probably grow them outside.

Sorry, Agmss. I laughed out loud. Until I read your post I didn't know that anyone grew gardenias inside. They're just bushes here. Smell nice bushes. My parents had one by the garden door until it died of old age. As a child, I'll pull off a flower and play with it. Of course, I was also startled when I first learned that there are parts where people pay lots of money for cut bird of paradise flowers. Here, the gardeners use electric hedge trimmers to slice them back away from the sidewalk.

Now plllog, that is just bragging. I absolutely adore gardenias but it is definitely one of the more complicated things to grow in my dry climate with alkaline water and alkaline soil. If I try to grow them again, it will require much effort on my part and here you are talking about hedge trimmers. Big sigh.

Lol!

Famously difficult houseplant. Frustrating because you will have a lovely green plant covered with buds - then the leaves yellow and worse the buds all fall off.

Enjoy your hedgeclippers and I will enjoy my very short lovely summer.

I'm sorry. :( I didn't mean it as bragging, just noting such a different "normal". We don't have lilacs or tulips or all kinds of other things that want cold, and it gets too hot for some of my herbs, and they croak. We have avocados and citrus but no cherries or all those lovely big apples. And we have no water. None. We used to have water, but people planted almond trees where there wasn't enough water for them, so they're irrigating them with diversion water and exporting a huge amount of our water to foreign lands in the shape of snacking nuts. Sigh.

OOOOOOh. Couldn't cope with no water. Brittany is very wet LOL so very green and lush.

Just chuck it in the bin, no need to agonise! We buy and grind beans and brew from there. But if you are tempted to grind your own do buy a 'burr' grinder rather than one of those whizzy things. You will get proper control of the bean grind to your liking. And we use the plunger method or cafetiere! :)

Always good coffee but it is nice to try different beans from different places in the world.

Thanks, Ruimi, but never going to happen. We don't drink coffee and our guests are fine with the Yuban.

IC, it's totally understandable. I think there is an innate feeling that lush and green is good. Probably a primordial sense that that's where food and shelter are. Are there even any deserts in Britain and Brittany?

Nope!!! I don't think you get anywhere really hot and dry before southern Spain, which is almost touching north Africa!