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Coffee machines grow mushrooms? New directions for coffee grounds reuse

Published: 2026-02-27 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/02/27, Professional barista communication, please pay attention to coffee workshop (Weixin Official Accounts cafe_style ) you love coffee, do you also take coffee grounds? Even if they know a few small steps, like pouring into a potted plant or using it as refrigerator deodorant, some people are lazy enough to end up throwing coffee grounds in the trash. Online design magazine Yanko Design reports on International Coffee

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If you like to drink coffee, do you also have trouble with coffee grounds? Even if you know some small steps, such as pouring it into a pot or using it as a refrigerator deodorant, some people are still lazy to practice and end up throwing coffee grounds into the dustbin.

According to the statistics of the International Coffee Organization (International Coffee Organization, ICO), the annual global coffee consumption amounts to 150 million bags of 130lb each, according to the online design magazine Yanko Design. However, each cup of coffee contains less than 1% of coffee grounds, and wouldn't it be a pity if 99% of the nutritious coffee grounds were eventually discarded?

To this end, Colombian designers Adri á n P é rez and Mauricio Carvajal combined the French filter kettle (French Press) and the shady and wet space needed for mushroom growth to design a solution to food waste-a coffee machine HIFA that can grow mushrooms.

The transparent double-layer structure above the coffee machine can slow down the cooling rate of coffee. At the same time, the coffee grounds produced by brewing coffee are left at the bottom. Because the pH value is similar to that of ordinary soil, it can not only provide nutrients for mycelial growth, but also allow oxygen and moisture to flow through the gaps between coffee grounds. When the hyphae begin to spread, mushrooms can grow after a few days as long as they are watered.

As for the mushrooms that grow, will they taste like coffee? Or will eating make people feel high? The answer is no. But because coffee grounds contain caffeine, mushrooms do grow faster than mushrooms in ordinary soil.

Besides making coffee, you can also use coffee grounds to grow mushrooms. If this coffee machine comes on the market in the future, would you like to join the environmental protection of the recycling of this ingredient?