WITH UK Coffee Week brewing up today, April 10, Bolton-based online electricals retailer AO.com have hand crafted 12 life hacks on how to squeeze the most out of your cup of joe.

From beans to milk we’re all familiar with it as a hot drink, but did you know coffee has lots of other benefits, many of which you can easily be recreated at home?

Take a look at these 12 unique ways you can use coffee:

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Coffee Ice Cubes – Iced coffee tastes great until the ice cubes melt and make watery mess. To solve this problem, pour some brewed coffee (that’s cooled) into an ice cube tray. Add the coffee ice cubes to your favourite iced coffee to ensure the flavour stays strong from start to finish.

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Bitter Coffee – Made yourself a bitter coffee? Add a pinch of salt! It helps mask the bad taste and makes the coffee more mild.

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Old Coffee Grounds – Grow your own potted plants or veg? Mix in your old coffee grounds with the soil to help your plants get the essential nutrients they need to grow, such as potassium and nitrogen. It also helps with the environment, recycling coffees natural properties directly back into the earth.

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Keep Pests At Bay – Sprinkle used coffee grounds on the soil of flower beds and vegetable patches to keep pests away from your prized plants! It also helps your plants with essential nutrients too.

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Sugar Substitute – If you’re on a health kick but can’t deal with giving up the coffee, use cinnamon instead of sugar to sweeten your brew. It gives it a unique, warm flavour but cuts the calories.

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Grapefruit in Coffee – Adding a splash of grapefruit juice to your coffee will help reduce the absorption rate of the caffeine, which will give you that wide awake feeling for longer.

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Frothy Milk – You want frothy milk but don’t have a milk frother to do it? No problem, simply heat some milk in the microwave, stir and add to your coffee to give it the froth you find on a cappuccino.

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Protein Coffee – If you’re into the gym and love your coffee as much as your protein shakes, simply add a small scoop to your coffee in the morning instead of milk. This will give you more energy as well as some extra flavour to your brew.

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Grind Coffee – Want fresh ground coffee? Simply throw some beans into your blender and blitz for a couple of seconds. Alternatively, use a Pestle and Mortar to manually grind the beans.

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Absorbs Food Odours – Once you’ve used your coffee grounds in your machine, tip it into a container and place at the back of your fridge. It will absorb any nasty smells that could potentially build up over time. Replace regularly and compost once used.

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Exfoliate Skin – Add used coffee grounds to a natural oil such as coconut oil to create an exfoliator. Just use it with some warm water and it works a treat.

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Coffee Stains – How do you get rid of coffee stains on a mug? Baking soda plus water and the course side of a sponge. Scrub until it disappears.