The call for eco-friendly products to burn on wood burners and multi-fuel stoves could not be answered more emphatically than by a product that is truly recyclable from another that we enjoy every day. What could be more sustainable than 'Coffee Logs' made from recycled coffee grounds, we ask?
These little logs which smell only faintly of the hot drink are a great idea and are so kind to the environment. They burn well and for their small size seem to last longer than logs, possibly due to their lower moisture content and even higher calorific value compared to logs.
The UK consumes 95 million cups of coffee every day, creating hundreds of thousands of tonnes of spent coffee grounds every year. Much of this discarded resource ends up in landfill emitting harmful greenhouse gases, including methane. The company that produces coffee logs called Biobean based in Cambridgeshire works with the biggest companies in the UK to transform these spent coffee grounds into value at an industrial scale, giving new life to a material previously considered waste.
Each bag of coffee logs contains 16 logs and each log is made from the grounds of around 25 cups of coffee, or 400 cups per bag!
They are ideal for wood burners which is how we tested them. We used two logs to start the fire (together with kindling) and soon were treated to a lovely warm fire - the logs retain about 20% more energy than wood, which means they burn much faster, so you're not waiting very long for the fire to start. Once the fire got going, we were treated to a lovely warm fire. After about half an hour, we added another log.
They seemed to be a relatively clean product which was quick to light and lasted. The only downside was the cost at £8.99 per bag which would only last around four days if burning them only every evening. We would recommend coffee logs particularly as an accompaniment to your usual logs, rather than relying on them solely. They are also a fantastic way to get your fire started.
Coffee Logs are available from a full list of stockists on the Biobean website or else via Amazon where they are currently discounted.
Main image: Image by debbie7245 from Pixabay