All Things Cultured

COMMENT WASTE and I’ll send you my free Zero-Waste Fermentation Class.

We drink around 2.3 billion cups of coffee every single day worldwide, creating millions of tonnes of spent coffee grounds every year. It’s almost impossible to imagine the scale of it.

And the moment that coffee is brewed, the grounds are automatically considered waste. Most end up in landfill, while only a very small amount finds another life through composting or other uses.

But this week, I wanted to look at coffee grounds through a fermentation lens.

Because brewing doesn’t mean there’s nothing left. Those grounds still hold flavour, nutrients and plenty of potential.

After a couple of years of experimenting, I finally landed on a coffee grounds garum I’m really happy with — a deeply savoury, umami-rich no-soy sauce.

And the best part? The process doesn’t give you just one product.

The liquid becomes the garum.

The fermented solids become a miso-like paste.

And some of those solids can be dehydrated into a coffee grounds seasoning.

Three completely different products, all from one ingredient that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Coffee’s Second Act, my newest newsletter exploring what happens to coffee after we drink it, is now on Substack.

And on Monday, I’ll share the recipes for all three products, plus coffee amazake, on my Substack, All Things Cultured.

Link in bio.