Can You Reuse Coffee Grounds?

If you are anything like us, you run through coffee grounds like nobody’s business. The coffee addiction is real. Yes, we are with ya. However, it may or may not have ever crossed your mind to reuse coffee grounds. There are loads of ways this can be a benefit: saving money, lowering your amount of waste, and fewer runs to the store. So can you reuse coffee grounds to make more coffee? We are going to answer all of your questions in this article, so let’s get to it!

First things first, to answer the question at hand, yes. You can reuse coffee grounds, but there are some guidelines to it. Here are the consequences and benefits of reusing coffee grounds: 

1. The flavor will dissipate. 

While it can be assumed, reusing coffee grounds is going to taste a tad different than the first go around. The flavor of the grounds does significantly dissipate. Just like anything, it is never as good the second time around. 

There are many reasons for this. When water hits the coffee, it forms a chemical reaction. This is where all the magic happens. Grounds turn into a liquid and result in the tasty beverage we all know and love. However, when you reuse grounds, the chemical reaction has already occurred, so it will happen little to none the second time through, resulting in a more bitter and underwhelming flavor. 

However, if you are looking for a second cup fix and are not willing to run to the store for some more, you can put your taste buds at ease with even a lessened version of your coffee. Coffee is still coffee after all. 

2. The amount of decaffeination decreases. 

Along the same lines, the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee significantly decreases. The reason for this is similar. Caffeine comes from the grounds and gets depleted almost completely when it is brewed. There is a bit of caffeine left to spare, but if your caffeine needs are crazy high like most of us coffee drinkers, one cup of reused coffee grounds won’t cut it. 

However, if you are reusing coffee grounds, you can spare an extra cup to equal out your caffeine fix needs. There is always a bright side.

3. The coffee will be watered down.

Visually, you can see the lack of flavor and caffeine when you pour the second batch of coffee and the color is much lighter and much more watery. So don’t be alarmed. This is normal when you are reusing ground. If you like to add milk and sugar to your coffee, then you will really see the dramatic difference in color between the first and second use of grounds. 

4. The way you brew the coffee grounds has a major impact. 

Both of the points above are true regardless of the way you brew your coffee. However, there are brew methods that have more dramatic effects than others. Brewing reused coffee grounds hot versus cold will have a significant impact on the extremity. 

If you are looking for the best way to brew in order to prepare for reusing the grounds, you should opt for cold brew or french press. These two methods have had the best results in flavor and caffeine from our personal experience as well as others. The brewing methods in terms of heat and overall process have the best outcome for reusing coffee grounds. 

Another big tip is to steer away from waiting an entire day to reuse the coffee grounds. That gives the grounds time to accumulate bacteria and even mold from sitting in the filter wet. We are wanting to save money, but not with coffee that isn’t edible. 

This is why cold brew is a great option since you can drink cold brew for quite some time after the fact. I even like to add the second batch of cold brew into the first. This might water down the first batch a tad, but it really helps the second batches’ flavor. 

Espresso grounds are the worst option for reusing coffee grounds. Unfortunately, an espresso shot’s entire identity is rooted in a strong kick of flavor and caffeine, so the difference is too dramatic of a shift to be considered drinkable by most. 

However, some go into it knowing this and consider all of their reused coffee grounds to be treated as a “post-coffee drink” rather than seeing it as the original kick into gear for the morning. 

Conclusion

Yes. Coffee grounds can be reused, but you lose a lot in the process. Give this a shot yourself and see if you are willing to make this part of your routine!