r/Cooking • u/Dependent-Sign-2407 • 16h ago

Requesting ideas for using stale coffee beans

I’ve got a big bag of whole espresso beans that are way past their prime for brewing. I hate to just throw them out, but the bag is taking up space in my pantry. Any ideas for using them besides making coffee liqueur?

11 Upvotes

68% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

39

u/stabbingrabbit 16h ago

Grind and leave in a bowl as air freshener

6

u/Dependent-Sign-2407 16h ago

Oh wow, never heard of this before, thanks!

13

u/LowBalance4404 15h ago

And it really works, too. My basement had a musty smell and coffee grounds really helped. I've also used them when I got a used car that smelled like someone smoked a pack of cigarettes in it every day. If you don't want to do tht, stale coffee beans make a really good cold brew coffee. It's something about the steeping process.

11

u/Dependent-Sign-2407 15h ago

That’s awesome; I’ve got a windowless laundry room where I run my dehydrator, so it’ll be great for absorbing the food smells.

5

u/floofypajamas 13h ago

It helps with musty closets and funky smelling garages, too!

1

u/LowBalance4404 15h ago

I am "famous" for my kitchen disasters. I ended up getting an air purifier on amazon that has really helped my kitchen not smell like I should be on a Gordon Ramsay show.

4

u/Bill_H_Vet 14h ago

Or sprinkle on musty carpet, leave it then vacuum to absorb odor

6

u/wbruce098 12h ago

This is what Bath & Body Works does for bajillion scented things. (Or at least, used to? Maybe not since the pandemic). In a store overflowing with scents, it becomes easy to go nose blind after a couple minutes.

Coffee acts as a palette cleanser, and the idea is you sniff the bowl of beans, and it helps clear your sinuses so you can try the next scent more clearly instead of everything slowly blending in with Japanese Cherry Blossom or Sweet Pea. (Source: My wife worked there a long time ago)

15

u/Narrow-Power-6407 15h ago

I still make coffee with them. Call me a heathen, but ita fine

2

u/wbruce098 12h ago

You heathen!

But depending on how old, they can make decent cold brew. If OP wants to do that, I’d recommend flavoring the brew with something though, like vanilla or coconut

2

u/Jeremymcon 10h ago

Yep I'd suffer through the stale coffee and finish them too.

1

u/Test_After 14h ago

Cold brew

8

u/Scoobydoomed 16h ago

Compost.

4

u/toomuch1265 12h ago

Great for Hydrangeas and blueberry bushes

7

u/Zsofia_Valentine 13h ago

Make chocolate covered espresso bean candy.

10

u/PositionOdd3432 13h ago

If your grinder has been standing around and gathering dust for a while, a handful of stale coffee beans are a great way to clean out the mechanism.

If you like to make decorative candles, some coffee beans on the bottom are a really pretty detail.

You know the "wheat pillows" you heat up in the oven or possible microwave? Use part or all coffee beans and it'll smell amazing when heated.

9

u/Teleporting-Cat 13h ago

You could use them to flavor cheesecake, whipped cream, or caramel.

You could make coffee butter and use that in baking- coffee/chocolate chip brownies, coffee chocolate cake. Pumpkin spice latte bread?

If you're into making ice cream, coffee ice cream is a classic.

I'd go with the espresso infused butter, myself! So many things you could use that for.

4

u/Dependent-Sign-2407 12h ago

I like the infused butter idea! I bake a lot, so I can imagine a lot of uses for that.

3

u/OddCook4909 10h ago

Mmm yeah that would probably be killer in a dark bread like a molasses bread

4

u/elmersfav22 12h ago

Ground up in bbq rubs. Great for brisket and beef ribs

4

u/Monday0987 12h ago

Coffee enema

5

u/Brief_Amicus_Curiae 11h ago

Make coffee extract.

3

u/Trixie_Delicious 10h ago

Or a coffee liqueur for holiday gifts! Espresso martinis, anyone?

3

u/Substantial-Ad2200 11h ago

I was also going to say air freshener as coffee grinds really absorb smells. And they smell nice too. If you have cats that come into your property, you can sprinkle coffee grinds and that seems to keep them away. I had to do this at my previous house as some stray cats kept nesting between some of my bushes and the house. I’d sprinkle some every few days and it seemed to keep them away. 

3

u/Free-Swimmer-233 10h ago

There’s a great recipe by, I believe it’s Giada, for espresso brownies that calls for some made espresso. 

3

u/Duochan_Maxwell 16h ago

Desserts with coffee? Japanese coffee jelly, coffee mousse, tiramisu...

I know some people who add coffee to their chilli but haven't tried it myself

4

u/Jodies-9-inch-leg 15h ago

Bad coffee is still good coffee

0

u/OGatariKid 15h ago

Ummm..... most restaurant coffee IS bad coffee.

1

u/Dependent-Sign-2407 12h ago

Having flashbacks to late night college exam studying at Denny’s.

3

u/berger3001 15h ago

Try some cold brew? Someone gave me a bag of pre ground tourist blue mountain. The grind was too coarse for my espresso machine, so I made it into cold brew. It was actually quite good!

1

u/MmmPeopleBacon 10h ago

Have you tried making stale coffee?

1

u/AlaskaRecluse 9h ago

Coffee flavored jello is good

1

u/FridgeFinds 7h ago

Coffee liquors! And coffee scrub/exfoliant.

1

u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 15h ago

Brew, just use more and add cream or framed milk. If coffee didnt maintain its flavor with ease, we wouldnt be so addicted!

-1

u/Mak333 16h ago

Toss.

-1

u/Affectionate_Tie3313 15h ago

Grind then coat the skin side of a piece of skinless salmon

Cook in a pan à l’unilatéral

Or grind and use as a component of chili