What is chaff? And how it can help your garden grow…

So, what is chaff?

When we roast coffee beans, we are left with a waste product called chaff. This is light and fluffy in texture and looks a little like sawdust, but is made up of the bean’s protective layer, that is shed during the roasting process. It can be a bit of a pain for roasters as it can get absolutely everywhere, but throwing it in the bin just wouldn’t feel right!

Why?

Well Chaff is rich in nitrogen, which means it enriches the soil and boosts fertility and growth. It mixes perfectly with compostables and is particularly good for tomatoes! It also helps ward off pesky slugs and snails, as they actually hate the smell of coffee!

Not only great for compost and soil enrichment, chaff is ideal bedding for animals such as chickens and rabbits! It’s free, smells great and is super soft and fluffy for them to snuggle down into.

Our roaster is designed to increase the amount of chaff collected during each roast, so water is sprayed over the chaff to compress it. This means our chaff is damp rather than light and fluffy but still very much usable, for all of the above!

If you’re a grower, gardener, farmer or anything in between, and think our chaff would come in handy somewhere in your home or business, just drop us a message and pop by the roastery to pick up your goody bag of chaff!

We would love to see how you use your chaff too, so be sure to send us pictures of your snail free, tomato plants or your snuggly chicks!

When your waste product is bursting full of natural goodness, it’d be a crime not to share it…

Get in touch via roastery@grindsmith.co.uk

or DM us on Instagram 

grindsmithcoffee