Whether you are a coffee drinker or a tea drinker (or both) you will agree they are important to your daily life and routine. Right from the quick morning coffee to wake you up, work coffees to keep you functioning through the day, right through to afternoon cuppa tea and chilled evening green teas. They all serve a purpose. But are you getting the full use from your tea and coffee? Here we look at what else used tea and coffee can do before they are chucked into the compost bin.

Used coffee grounds

Let’s have a look at coffee ground first, not that we’re picking favourites of course! Coffee grounds not only give us the tasty beverage we have grown to love, but has some great other uses once it’s done brewing.

Skin Care: The ground serve as great exfoliation tool. Combine with some coconut oil and small amount of brown sugar and you have a homemade exfoliator.  Use gently in the shower and rinse for softer skin.

Cleaning: Coffee grounds are naturally abrasive, but not so much as to cause damage. They can be used for scrubbing particularly difficult pots and pans or kitchen surfaces. Another could be to help fireplace cleaning. Spreading dampened grounds weighs down the ash in the fireplace and stops the clouds of smokey dust taking over your house. 

Flowers: Some flowers such are roses, azaleas and evergreens (among others) are acid-loving plants. Using coffee ground as mulch is great due to its natural acidity and add nutrients to the soil too.

Protecting gardens: Sprinkling coffee grounds around areas of your garden is known to repel snails and slugs from problem areas. Ant infestation? Coffee will deter them away too!

Also by using a combination of coffee ground and some orange peels you can also keep the cats away from your plants as well.

Carrots: Keen carrot grower at home? But your coffee ground to use by mixing with seeds before sowing. Easier to manage the seeds, nourishes soil and help keep the pests away!

Used tea

Tea bags and tea leafs have their fair share of secondary uses too. Here are a few to try out for yourself.

Soothing: Using cool tea bags can help relieve pain form irritated skin, from the likes of bug bits and mild sunburn. Use as cold compress add spent tea leave to a bath. Tea contains tannins which has anti-inflammatory effects, cooled tea bags can be helpful for puffy eyes and reduces swelling.

Gardening: Green tea is high in nitrogen so great for garden plants and houseplants. Tea leaves also act as a deterrent for pests and insects too. Another great tip, add some used tea bags plant pots before adding the soil. Its helps to retain water and add some nutrients too.

Freshen up: Use dried tea leaves on spots in the house with pet smells; beds, pillows, dog houses etc, to eliminate the smells. Crushing up dried tea leaves and leaving to sit on the carpet for ten minutes or so before hoovering will help deodorise the carpet (and hoover).

In Southeast Asia it’s common to use water with teas added to clean sleeping mats. This theory can be used to clean the likes of yoga mats and air mattresses too.

Washing hands: Struggle to get the smell of garlic and onion off your hands? Rub them wet green tea leaves to banish the odour.

So, before you through away your next basket of coffee grounds or round of tea bags, give these a try. Do you have a favourite? Maybe another use we have mentioned? Let us know.