A Waggish Pitch for Spent Grounds

By Larisa Stephenson

Fresh ground coffee from NVCRC, an inverted mountain of potential as it lies in the cone to be washed over with scalding water to create black magic that lures us from the supine depths of dreams towards upright serene apricity. Upon completion of its primary purpose, the dumped frowzy pile of grounds lies unknowingly by the visitor’s feet as the continued pull from the urn fills mugs. From acidity to a neutral pH, a new step in its life. Gardeners are pulled in for a warm-up, and a pail is hauled to their composts, a spent black “green” matter added to the “brown” matter for the worms to digest and cast aside to be used to aide plant life. A 360 degree return...

Ah screw it…

What we’re trying to say here is, at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company (NVCRC), if you bring in an empty 5-gallon bucket at the start of the day to either of our locations, we will fill it with used coffee grounds that you can walk away with at the end of the night. This is a free composting material for you, which is good for our earth! It’s a way to add nutrients to your soil, your compost pile, your worm bin, etc., and it helps us decrease what goes into our garbage. It’s a win-win!!

So please! Bring in your buckets. Help us compost these used coffee grounds that will, in return, help YOUR garden grow! And, just to show how much we’re on your side with this, we offer a free small cup of coffee to anyone who brings in a 5-gallon bucket for used coffee grounds (first-come first-served) AND picks it up at the end of the day to take home. Until you bring in your bucket, check out the pic of Doug holding a bucket half-filled with used coffee grounds…and  a couple of pieces of fruit that can also be composted!

If you don’t have a worm composting bin at home, and you are interested in starting one, I highly recommend contacting Debbie at Worm Endings Unlimited in Napa for all your worm needs (http://www.wormendingsunlimited.com). Or talk to her in-person at the Napa Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings!