Reusing Coffee Grounds - Candle Making

Artisans 101: Using Leftover Coffee Grounds to Create Coffee Scented Candles

Drinking coffee is a great way to enjoy a moment of relaxation and also get rejuvenated, but did you know that the scent of coffee can also relieve stress and allow our minds to operate more efficiently and freely? In this next part of our Artisans 101 series, we will quickly unveil how we can reuse coffee grounds we would normally dump away, to create DIY candles that will also contribute to our wellbeing. The process is quite simple. It's a great way to reduce waste and also make benefits from them! 

What Do You Need?

1. An empty glass jar
2. Wick
3. Wax - this can either be brand new wax, recycled wax, or even natural soy wax
4. Dried coffee grounds - unused coffee grounds will produce a stronger scent, however leftover coffee grounds will work just fine
5. Saucepan - one that you are willing to designate just for melting wax
6. Wooden stick 

Step 1

Melt a small bit of wax and pour it into the empty glass jar. Put your wick at the very centre of the bottom of the jar with the wax. Let the wax cool down and solidify. You may also put the jar into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to speed up the cooling process.

Step 2

Once the wax is solidified and the end of the wick is held in place in the centre, tie the other end of the wick to a wooden stick and level the wooden stick on the top of the jar. This will ensure the wick be positioned in the centre as you pour wax to fill up the jar in the later steps. 

Step 3

Put wax in a sauce pan and begin to melt it on low heat. In this step, you may also add fragrance oils in the pan to add another layer of scent as you wish. However this is not necessary.

Step 4

Begin to pour wax into the jar. In this step, pour a layer of wax then sprinkle a layer of dried coffee grounds. Ensure that the coffee grounds are scattered more towards the edge of the jar and away from the wick. This is because as the wick burns, there may be an unpleasant burnt scent if the coffee grounds are right where the flame is. Continue to layer the candle: a thin layer of wax then a thin layer of coffee grounds, and so on. Do not fill the jar all the way to the edge. We recommended leaving at least half an inch of space from the edge. 

Step 5

Once the wax and coffee grounds layering is complete, let the wax cool off. Like Step 1, you may put it in the fridge to speed up the cooling. Once the wax is solidified, you may remove the wooden stick and trim the wick to your desired length.

Step 6

Light up the candle and enjoy the aroma!