coffee roasting by-products
I got my hands on some hessian bags! I came across a local coffee roaster (called Rai) who was selling the excess bags he gets from his imported coffee beans. I ended up swapping with him some garlic chives and succulents, so another non-monetary exchange!
He also mentioned that he generates at least 3 big bags of coffee chaffs (the flaky part of the husk covering a coffee bean) and gave me a bag when I told him I'm composting.
After some research, it seems that as
- mulch: the chaffs aren't so good since they're very light (i.e., blows away easily) and absorbs a lot of water (so if the layer of mulch is too thick and also wet, it forms an impenetrable blanket).
- chicken bedding - could be good
- composting - should be good as a carbon-rich matter; improves water retention. Okay for worms too.
- to use a substrate for growing mushrooms...to be explored.
See book chapter about potential uses of coffee husks here.
