It happens all the time: you brew some coffee at home or at work (for the gang!) only to find that you don’t drink all of the coffee this time.
The coffee’s turned cold. You figure you’ll just pour it down the sink.
Don’t.
Here are six smart ways you can use once-hot/now- cold coffee (and, no: none of them include making iced coffee. That’s too obvious.)
- Water your plants with it.
That’s right. After all, plants love used coffee grounds (it helps them thrive). So dilute the coffee with some water and either water your houseplants with it, or head outside and pour it over your azaleas, hydrangeas, etc. (any flowering plant that likes acidic soil). - Use it when cooking/eating.
Make brownies by swapping some of the milk you use with the coffee for mocha brownies. Make your cocoa taste more like coffee by replacing some of the liquid you use to make cocoa at home with the cold coffee.Does your morning bowl of oatmeal become too thick? Instead of milk, thin it with cold coffee. (Add dried apricots and/or some cinnamon for even more flavor). The same goes for cake or cupcake frosting: don’t use milk to thin the frosting, use the cold coffee. Doing so adds color as well as a bit of coffee flavor.Use it as a marinade (best for beef). Mix coffee with chili powder or soy sauce. Make mocha-flavored syrup for your pancakes.
- Clean your grill.
Chances are you’re going to soak the grill before scrubbing. Add the cold coffee to the water; the coffee’s acids will help break up the grease that’s built up on the grill. - Paint with it.
Take a small paintbrush, dip into the very last of the coffee pot (getting some grounds is OK), grab some white and paint away! - Die a t-shirt, scarf, etc.
Coffee makes a great tie-die medium for linens, t-shirts, even sheets (you’ll need a lot of cold coffee for sheets). Here’s a nifty and easy tutorial for dyeing fabric with coffee. - Make iced coffee popsicles.
Take three cups of cold coffee, three-quarters cup of half-and- half and a half-cup of sugar. Blend it all together until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture into frozen treat molds and freeze.(We said we wouldn’t include iced coffee, but this one was too yummy not to add!)Important note: It’s best not to use old coffee that’s been sitting on a hot burner all day. Even when cooled, the coffee has been “burned” and will not taste good at all!
How do you use cold coffee? Is there something we haven’t covered here? Write us and let us know: we’ll broadcast it on our Facebook and Twitter channels.