23 Coffee Hacks That Will Change Your Life (#6 is Pure Genius)

If you are a life hacker (i.e. like to get shit done using unorthodox/smarter methods) and enjoy craft coffee, do we have a list for you! Imagine taking your DIY experience to the next level with fun, innovative, and creative ways to make and use coffee.

To start your adventures in craft coffee DIY, we have rounded up a slew of coffee hacks, tips, and tricks that will help you get creative with your brew.

Coffee Drink Hacks

Don’t become another victim of routine – if you drink the same cup of coffee every day, you are not living, my friend! The following coffee related hacks will spice up your life..

1. Roast Coffee in a Popcorn Maker

One of the best ways to get to know the craft coffee experience better is to try roasting coffee at home. There is nothing more exciting than watching green coffee pop and crackle during the roasting process. Popcorn makers are designed and work on similar principles as large batch coffee roasters by rotating the beans and heating them completely through to develop rich flavours.

2. Suck on an Iced Coffee Popsicle

The adult version of a favourite summertime treat, coffee popsicles are an easy and fun way to drink iced coffee. By combining cream and iced coffee or cold brew coffee, you can create a refreshing and rich treat for those warm and sunny afternoons.

3. Coffee Ice Cubes

One of the worst things about making cold coffee with ice is that when the ice melts, your coffee becomes watery and weak. Instead of having the coffee lose its flavour, why not keep it strong by adding coffee ice cubes? As the coffee cubes melt, they will ensure that your coffee tastes rich and full-flavoured the whole way through.

4. Make an Espresso Shot in a French Press

Want the smooth, rich, and concentrated taste of espresso but can’t afford an expensive espresso machine? Look no further than your trusty French Press. By grinding espresso beans super fine and only pouring enough hot water to submerge the grounds, you can create a fairly good espresso facsimile.

5. Make a Latte with a French Press

Now that you have made espresso with your French Press, why don’t you take the next step and have it do double duty to make frothed milk for a latte!

Simply take warm milk either heated on the stove or in the microwave, and pour it into the French press. After moving the plunger up and down quickly a few times, you will create a rich, frothy texture in the milk that will pair perfectly with the French Press espresso.

6. Make Cold Brew in an AeroPress

Want to make cold brew coffee but don’t have a fancy cold brewer like a Toddy or Cold Brew Tower? Fear not, because your AeroPress is coming to your rescue.

By combining some extra pieces of equipment, like a water bottle, in unconventional ways, you can make a DIY worthy cold brew coffee maker easily – here’s how.

7. Get High on Bulletproof Coffee

Bulletproof coffee is a new trend of coffee that is purported to help physical and mental development and productivity (​1​​​). By combining quality coffee with grass fed cow’s butter and coconut oil, you can create a metabolism and energy boosting morning drink.

The coconut oil helps to provide large amounts of energy without the crash, and the grass fed butter gives your body (and brain) essential nutrients and vitamins for peak performance.

8. Whip up some Cold Brew in your Blender

Let’s say you are at your parents’ house and want to make cold brew coffee but don’t have anything to brew with. Well, there is no need for any fancy equipment when you have a trusty blender and a little patience.

A blender can be used both as a grinder and brewing vessel and produce a strong and delicious cold brew in 8-12 hours.

9. Get Higher on Bulletproof Coffee Gummies

Sometimes we all need a little boost in the day but don’t want to take the time to pull out the blender, the butter, and the oil to make bulletproof coffee.

So why not make it ahead of time? Bulletproof coffee gummies combine all the energy and benefits of bulletproof coffee in a convenient and portable package. Just pop one of these little bad guys when you’re feeling low.

10. Kill Bitter Coffee with a Pinch of Salt

Becoming popular during the United State’s great depression when only bad coffee was available, salt was used to help improve the overall quality and taste of the coffee itself (​2​​​).

The sodium helps to improve the taste of bad coffee by masking some of the bitter components on your tongue. The resulting flavours become more mild and tolerable (3).

Watch our fun video and see it for yourself if you should put salt in your coffee:

11. DIY Pour Over Flavouring

Want to spice up your standard pour over brew? Simply add spices like nutmeg or cinnamon to your grounds before brewing to infuse the coffee. It will add a complexity to your coffee as well as give your cup a great aroma. Plus, cinnamon adds a sense of sweetness, so if you’re looking to reduce sugar in your coffee, cinnamon can help!

12. Make Your Own Coffee Syrups

Purchasing syrups for your coffee is so boring. Why not try making your own flavouring syrup at home.

Health and Wellness

We use coffee as a tool for enjoyment, and we use it as a tool for giving us a kickstart in the morning. You’ll be pleased to know that this tool has a few other secret functions – the following of which are health related:

13. Take a Coffee Nap

Some people think that 8 hours of sleep is ideal, while some other people believe that short naps every few hours is perfect for productivity (​4​​​). But getting either one is hard. So what is a normal person to do? Have a coffee nap.

The list of coffee related health benefits goes on, here.

14. Make a Coffee Skin Exfoliator

Surprisingly, coffee offers much more to a person than a delicious caffeine pick me up. It can also be used as a health and beauty product! Coffee grounds can be used as a skin exfoliator and nourish the skin and reduce wrinkles or stretch marks. Mix them with coconut or almond oil for a wonderful exfoliating massage oil.

15. Detox Your Liver

Coffee enemas take lukewarm to warm coffee and insert it into your backend to flush toxins and waste out of your colon.

Alternative medicine practitioners claim it has a rejuvenating and anti-cancer properties. Although the research is sketchy, there is an argument that coffee enemas can help improve liver functions and ultimately make you feel extremely healthy and clean (​5​​​).

Home and Lifestyle

So you’ve just discovered a few creative ways to consume coffee, and how it can be used to hack your health. Now let’s move into the home improvement category – yes, we can use coffee to hack our lives around the home:

16. Reusing Your Coffee Grounds

For many, coffee grounds are nothing but another piece of trash to be thrown out after your coffee is brewed. But after today, you won’t be throwing out your grounds anymore.

Used coffee grounds can serve a variety of duties in the house including removing odours from refrigerators, cleaning clogged drains, and helping reduce acne on your face. The possibilities are endless.

17. Feed Your Garden with Old Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, potassium, and other minerals that plants crave. Adding coffee grounds to your plants, especially highly acidic plants like tomatoes, can result in a much larger yield and larger fruit. It also works well with root vegetables like carrots and beets.

18. Get Creative with Your Coffee Filters

Need to spruce up your house but can’t afford new amenities or wall furnishings? Well, look no further than your coffee brewer.

Paper coffee filters can be used for tons of different craft projects. You will be surprised by how many different ways there are to use coffee filters other than making coffee.

19. Keep Your Coffee at the Perfect Temp with Joulies

Sometimes, when you’re drinking your coffee you want to savour it for as long as you can at the perfect temperature.

Joulies are a unique little device that can make that possible. By using a unique design and technology, Joulies look like little stainless steel coffee beans that you throw in your coffee cup. They help keep the coffee from cooling to room temperature so you can enjoy your coffee longer.

20. Travel Light with a Collapsible Coffee Cup

When travelling, you have to be very conscious about what your packing and how much room it takes up.

Coffee cups are usually a low priority on the packing list. Well, not anymore. A collapsible cup takes up less than a quarter of its full size and fits nicely into even the smallest carry-on.

21. Make a Beautiful DIY Pourover Stand

Sure, having a pour over coffee brewer is nice and convenient, but it looks kind of weird just sitting out on the counter. Why not make a beautiful countertop accessory by building a beautiful wooden stand? These quick and easy DIY pour over stands will add a little flair and individuality to your favourite brew method.

22. Never Lose a Drop

If you don’t have a lid on your coffee, you may have experienced the coffee cup wobble. No matter how much you try to control the coffee cup, you seem to spill coffee everywhere. The science behind coffee spills is very complex, involving torque, oscillation, and fluid dynamics (3) .

To reduce your chances of spilling coffee everywhere, try walking slower and look directly in front of you instead of staring directly down at your coffee. 

23. Wake Up to the Greatest Smell on Earth

There is a reason why Folgers tag line is “the best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup.”

This coffee alarm clock will brew you coffee in the morning so when you wake up, you have an amazing freshly brewed cup of coffee right at your hands. Think about how much happier you will be waking up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee instead of the incessant beeping of the snooze alarm.

Final Thoughts

These coffee hacks are simply a tip of the iceberg of what can be done.

What’s cool about life hacking and the DIY phenomenon is that there are a multitude of ideas out there to try. Hopefully we have whetted your appetite a bit, and inspired you to get creative and try some new recipes or even use coffee in new and unique ways.

What was your favourite hack? Did we miss one? Let us know below.