To celebrate Organic September, let me share with you one of my favourite body essentials ever: a fully organic coffee sugar scrub. It is honestly better than any scrub I have ever bought, and I have bought a lot of scrubs in my 37 years! If you package your scrub nicely, it will also make a really lovely, thoughtful homemade present.
Organic September is about to draw to a close and I’m quite happy to say I’ve made a few changes to support the Soil Association’s month-long campaign. For a start, whenever I have been shopping this month, I have tried to get one or two more organic products than I would normally buy. I was already buying some of my veg, Organix treats for the whole family and Rachel’s Organic Greek yoghurt. This month, I started buying more organic fruit and veg, eggs, Arla free range organic milk and coffee too.
My favourite discovery this month has been CRU Kafe’s high quality organic coffee. It’s available in pods that are fully recyclable and compatible with Nespresso. I have to admit that until I tried them, I had only ever bought capsules made by Nespresso. I love the Magimix coffee machine I bought for myself on Mother’s Day last year, and I was too scared to break it to try anything else. What CRU Kafe had to offer was different though, and so close to values I like to live by, so I decided to give them a shot. You’ll be happy to know my coffee machine was happy with the pods Not only are they eco-friendly and can be recycled with your other plastic containers at home, but CRU Kafe coffee is also Fairtrade & Organic and they pride themselves in the high quality of their blends.
How did CRU Kafe fare in my taste test? I have to say I immediately fell in love with their Dark Roast, with its notes of dark cacao, molasses and raisins. It is the perfect coffee to give me a bit of ‘oomph’ in the morning and I actually prefer it to Nespresso’s Roma, my favourite coffee until recently. I do love a latte and the strong, bittersweet Coorg Estate (India) has been a real treat for me. We had a party for Beanie’s 7th birthday a couple of weeks ago and I also received lots of compliments about CRU Kafe’s Light Roast and Decaf. I love CRU Kafe so much I’ve just ordered 96 pods for myself as well as a starter pack for my coffee-loving friend’s birthday.
The lovely people at CRU Kafe challenged me to reuse coffee grains after I’d enjoyed my morning caffeine fix, so I spent the past few weeks collecting my used pods. If you follow me on Instagram and watch our stories, you’ve probably noticed that in the past 3 weeks, I’ve been experimenting with a coffee sugar scrub recipe using my used coffee grounds. I’m pleased to say my recipe is ready to share.
I have always exfoliated, but now I’m in my late thirties (how on earth did that happen?), my skin is not as firm or soft as it used to be. Using a good scrub in the shower takes no time at all and it means getting rid of old skin cells that leave your skin looking dull, rough, and dry. Caffeine also helps tighten the skin, which could help reduce cellulite (yes please!). What’s not to love about my little coffee sugar scrub? It’s homemade, takes less than a minute to put together and it’s an eco-friendly way of reusing ground coffee and empty jars.
This coffee sugar scrub recipe is quick, easy, really ‘scrubby’ and it leaves my skin soft and beautifully moisturised. You probably have the three ingredients needed at home! If you just need a bit of scrub here and there, simply empty a couple of pods and rub together with a tablespoon of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of demerara sugar before using in the shower. That is it! It doesn’t look pretty if you mix it with your hands, but it does exactly the same job as when you follow the steps below.
My little Wriggly and I spent time together making a large batch of scrub (we have 5 jars of it now!), upcycling jars I’d been saving for a project like this one. She was so keen and helpful, bless her!
After I’d put a knife through every pod’s foil, Wriggly happily spent ages peeling every last bit of foil off.
She then emptied the wet grains into a large bowl, and I kept the used coffee at room temperature for day or so, until completely dry. I would give it a stir every few hours, to make sure it dried evenly.
Check her out as she’s showing off the three ingredients needed for the coffee sugar scrub.
First, coffee grains, of course,
then the same volume of coconut oil,
and finally demerara sugar (double the volume).
Here is a step-by-step description of what to do:
How to Make Organic Coffee Sugar Scrub
Makes 2 jam jars of scrub
Air dry used organic ground coffee for about 24 hours, stirring occasionally so it dries evenly.
Wash and dry thoroughly a few empty jars (just a bit more upcycling!).
In a large bowl, mix together one cup used organic ground coffee, one cup organic coconut oil in its solid state and two cups organic demerara sugar.
Transfer to two clean jam jars (fill them as much as you can) and close the lid tightly.
Use in the shower.
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by CRU Kafe. As always, all opinions and photos are my own.
I would choose intense
You’re my kind of girl!
A decaf light roast sounds excellent for my nighttime coffee fix
That’s my best friend’s favourite 🙂
I’d love to try the Light Roast.
I would try the light roast
I’d want to try the intense blend first, but they all sound great 🙂
The intense blend is amazing in a latte!
I love lattes (in fact, I’m drinking one right now!) so that’s definitely how I’d have it
I’m overdue a latte today!!
Mmm nice
Thanks Keith!
Light Roast.
The light roast!
Intense sounds a wonderful flavour
It is gorgeous!
Intense sounds lush x
It is Angela! In a latte, it’s just like coffee shop coffee 🙂
Yum proper coffee!
It really is!
I would definitely start with the Light roast : )
I would try the Light Roast first, followed by the Intense.
The Light Roast
I would try sierra nevada to see how it compares to other columbian blends
Sierra Nevada is a really nice blend!
Dark roast
I would try the light roast
has to be decaf
Light roast 🙂
The light roast sounds nice
I’d try intense, sounds great!
Intense is” right up my street”
I would love to try the light roast
I would want to try the light roast
I’d like to try the light roast
I would like to try light roast please
I would try the Intense first
The decaf light roast! 🙂
I’d try the light roast first
I would go for the light roast
I would choose Light Roast – although Sierra Nevada sounds tempting too!
I would choose Light Roast – although Sierra Nevada sounds tempting too!
Whoops! managed to submit that comment twice!
That’s OK Suzie 🙂
I’d love to try the Intense flavour…I love my rich coffee.
The Light Roast.
Dark roast
The decaf light roast as I’m currently pregnant
Dark roast
The intense sound fab!
It is!
The intense
It would be the decaf light roast for me!
Intense – I do love a strong coffee
Me too!
Oooh Intense or decaf – I do love my coffee strong first thing in the morning & then i’m on the decaf for the rest of the day!
I do love a strong cup of coffee in the morning too 🙂 The intense is strong. Love it in a latte!
Oh definitely the intense!
The Intense for me sounds delicious
The light roast to get me through the afternoon
i think the light roast
I would try the light roast first.. ????
The light roast one!
The Light Roast x
The dark roast!
Light Roast sounds nice – the word Biscuits did it for me
I’d try Intense blend!
I would try the Intense first.
Intense
Dark Roast xx
Intense sounds really up my street!
Definitely the intense blend first
I would try the Mocha
many thanks, my choice…..Intense x
the intense would be the first thing i would love to try x
Would love INTENSE
The mocha x
I would try the Intense
Light Roast
I’d try the Dark Roast first.
Intense love strong coffee
I would try light roast first & work my way up!
Sounds like a great move!
Intense, thankyou for the competition x
dark roast xx
The Intense blend
light roast
The Intense Blend for me – sounds full of flavour
Light roast
I’d try the intense blend first as I love really strong coffee
I’d try the dark roast first
Light roast looks delicious
light roast sounds perfect for me x x
Ohh I love the sound of all of them but if I had to choose it would have to be intense!
I’d go with the Mocha flavour first – Coffee and Chocolate, what could be better?!
light rose sounds amaze!
the mocha sounds lovely
Mocha – Yes Please!
Intense – I love strong coffee
light roast
I would like to try Dark Roast first.
Light roast first
Light roast for me
Mocha
ligth roast
The Dark Roast
mocha for me x
the light roast sounds about right for me
mocha sounds divine x
the dark roast sounds perfect
I would try the light roast
The light roast looks perfect for me. Buttery biscuit, chocolate and lemon – sounds delicious.
Definitely dark roast! They all sound delicious though!
They really are! Just had a light roast and surprisingly, I really liked it (I’m more of a strong coffee kind of girl normally!).
would have to be the mocha first for me
The Mocha
The Light Roast
Decaf
I’d try the intense espresso, it sounds great!
I would try the light roast first
Intense espresso
I only drink strong coffee so would got for their Intense.
I would try the light roast first 🙂
intense expresso
my cup of coffee
Dark roast
I would love to try the light roast first, sounds lovely
I would like to try the intense one
I’d definitely go for Intense. It sounds positively lovely!
The decaf one, I enjoy coffee but the caffeine gives me a headache
I would try Light roast first
I would try Light roast first, i don’t really drink strong coffee
Great move!
I’d try light roast first, I’m still a pretty new coffee drinker so I’m not quite up to dark roast yet.
Quite surprisingly, I love the light roast (I’m normally a strong coffee kind of girl!).
The light roast coffee
The light roast
I’d try the Dark Roast first
I would try the Dark Roast first
Id try THR intense espresso first
light roast
Decaf
I’d start with the intense – I think this would be hubby’s favourite xx
It’s intense! I have mine in lattes 🙂
I think i’d like to try the Light Roast pods first 🙂 then I will happily give the rest a try of course!
Well, this would be for my husband and I know he would love to try the Dark Roast.
Intense Espresso
I would try the Dark Roast first.
The intense blend
Interesting – well worth a try!
It really is a lovely scrub! I’ve been using it every two days. So good yes so cheap!
the light roast
Dark roast sounds good to me
Intense Espresso
I would go for the Intense Espresso
how rather nice
Intense
Ooooo it would have to be the intense expresso yummy!
Intense Espresso
Intense espresso sounds fab ☕
The espresso one 🙂
espresso
intense expresso
Light Roast for me!
The Decaf one – it’s right up my street! 🙂
Intense Espresso
I’d love to try the Dark Roast, I like my coffee strong.
It’s my fave!
Dark roast
Light Roast
The Light Roast.
The light roast
Intensive Espresso.Xxx
Definitely the light roast
intense blend
i would love to try the dark roast as that sound just my type
Dark roast for me
The Intense sounds delicious
I think I would ease myself into it with the light roast.
Dark roast!
Dark roast
Dark Roast
i’d start with the light roast.
I’d choose the intense blend! Hazelnut & cherry… mmmmm!
Light roast for me.
It would def have to be intense 😀🤞
I would try the intense blend
Intense sounds lovely
I’d try the intense blend xx
I think I would try the dark roast
I would try light roast.
Dark Roast!
I’d love the light scrub first 🙂 thanks for chance x
Light scrub?
Wow, the INTENSE sounds delicious. What a lovely combination.
It is 🙂
Light Roast
Dark roast
dark roast
i’d like to try the light roast first
Instant blend
The light one first.
Intense
Intense
Intense 🙂 x
Light roast as a first try!
Intense blend for me ♡
I would try the Light Roast first, but they all look delicioua as family & friends all have different preferences
The Dark Roast
The dark roast
I would try dark roast first .
Dark Roast
Light roast or decaf
Light roast for me!
The intense
Still not a great fan of coffee but occasionally really enjoy it!
The Intense for me
The light roast for me!
INTENSE
Intense. My, that sounds so great with Cherry. I love your coffee scrub idea, I have wondered what to do with the grounds. Sometimes in the summer I throw them on the plants as the caffeine helps them grow! I am definitely going to try the scrub, but heaven knows what my husband will say when I leave coffee grounds to dry out in the kitchen!
Mine thinks I’m mad hahaha! You know what though? It’s the best scrub I’ve ever used. Just a few minutes to make a huge batch (I made 3 or 4 jars) and I’m only now finishing my last jar (I use it twice or 3 times a week). Used my coffee grounds on the plants last week 🙂
Intense blend for me
Light Roast
intense
I’d try the intense blend
light roast
the light roast
The light roast