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messy dodos!

just wipe them up with a wet sponge. nothing to stress over.

coffee. yum.

Not to be a jackass but, it's coffee grounds, not coffee grinds. Might want to fix that before everybody and there mother dogpiles in here to correct you.

I play with my coffee grounds in the sink so I don't have to wipe them up.

extra points to me for using the wrong there/ their in my grammar correction!

I have a removable IKEA laminated cardboard tray underneath the coffee maker and grinder...so if they do spill ( wet or dry ) it is an easy cleanup that doesn't stain, and if it does it was 3.99.

Thanks, vjm!

I dump them on a paper towel, then trash 'em.

If any of you are doing worm composting, worms love coffee grounds

i just vaccuum them up if there's big mess, sponge them otherwise.

p.s. i get bluebottle coffee delivered to my apt in madison, wi and it's still cheaper than buying a daily latte!

@vjm thanks so much for the correction! I fixed it :)

Put your coffee grinder on a cutting board?

Just be careful with the french press....mmmm....

Never ever even consider tiling your kitchen counter? That area is nothing but clean-ups and, as you point out - grout just doesn't clean up well.

pick it up with a piece of semi-wet bread.

We handle them over the sink and place them in water with a little soap. They go on the cruciferous veggies in the garden after that.

I have white counters, and the same early morning inability to handle a coffee grinder without getting grounds everywhere. I also use the tray method for my coffee-prep area, but I use a bamboo storage tray (probably meant for organizing drawers). It's small, which works for me since I have limited counter space. And it has the added advantage of being vaguely coffee colored, so if you skip dusting it one day (okay, for a week) it's not very noticeable.

We keep our grinder in a shallow square tupperware bottom that's missing its lid, we never take it out of the dish even when grinding and removing the lid. The grounds stay in the dish and it can be placed in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

I was reading this post thinking "oh my god...i've gone my entire life thinking it was coffee GROUNDS!". Then I read vjm's post (well, posts) and had to laugh to myself.

Anyway. Since my morning routine consists of making coffee and then doing the dishes, I've never really considered it much of a big deal. BUT on the days I don't do the dishes (wiping all the counters down after dishes is part of the "dishes" chore for me) until the evening, they seem to get everywhere during the shuffling of things throughout the day. I think I'm just going to move my grinder to an area near the sink...seems a lot easier that way!

I used to grind my coffee grounds over a viva paper towel, which seemed to minimize the mess. Any overflow I would clean up by wetting the towel slightly and just running it over the counters. Granted, I never have experienced tile countertops and so can only imagine the JOYS of working with grout coffee grounds.

I now do a lot of things over the sink, because it's easy peasy cleanup.

I don't tend to get them "everywhere" though a few do sprinkle around while turning the grinder over to get them into the cap. The way I avoid most of the spread is to place the coffee basket and filter on the counter, turn the grinder upside down and tap it to get the ground coffee into the top, take off the top over the filter (where random bits fall into the filter) then empty the cap into the filter (giving it a little shake). I finish by taking a plastic scoop and loosening the remaining ground coffee around the blade into the filter.

Mainly, I make sure any of the messy stuff occurs over the filter and falls in there. If things do sprinkle around, I just wipe them up with a dish cloth because I'd prefer not to waste a paper towel every time I make coffee.

I make espresso every morning (using Barefoot Coffee from Santa Clara, http://www.barefootcoffeeroasters.com !!) and it tends to be pretty messy. It's virtually impossible to fill the portafilter or tamp without getting some grounds on the counter, and by the end of the week it's in need of cleaning. However, I've found that a quick vacuum and wipe with my hand towel leaves the counter perfectly clean.

If they are freshly ground "dry" coffee , I just use a soft ,thick, watercolor paint brush to brush them off the edge of the counter into my hand .
I also use the paintbrush to brush off the coffee pot and to get the last of the grounds from the grinder .

I'm so confused. How much coffee are we talking, here? Because the little bits of coffee that get everywhere are easy to clean up with a wet sponge.

If you're spilling loads of coffee everywhere, you probably just want to invest in a little brush that you only use on your counter and just sweep them off and then sponge.

And then maybe you should start opening your coffee grinder over you coffee filter. Like cracking an egg over a bowl.

Or get yourself a different coffee grinder that just drops all the grounds into a container. They're a lot less messy and you don't need to guess how finely you've ground your coffee. What you spend on the grinder you'll save in wasted coffee.

I'll have to thank my better half for his fastidious grinding. Our counters are ground-free. He also puts an oven mitt over the grinder to mute the sound while grinding. Our cat has sensitive ears.

I worked in a coffee shop for years and worked out all the tricks for cleaning the grounds out of the annoying little bits. A soft brush works a dream for getting them out of tight spots, but make sure the grounds and brush are dry first or they won't flick out properly. for general counter mess a wet (very wet) cloth with some dishwash followed by a dry tea towel gets rid of the gunky stuff. Also, try and save your used grounds and put them in the compost or use them to fertilize your leafy plants - coffee has heaps of nitrogen in it which is what you need for good healthy leaves.

ha. my daily morning struggle. i just wipe with a wet sponge.

another use for coffee grounds post-percolate that our office den mother / cleaner showed me - odor absorber. she leaves a small bowl of coffee grounds dumped from our office espresso machine in the fridge. i started doing it at home, and it works great. you need to dump the grinds every few days, at which point they can go into the compost.

i live abroad, and baking soda is not easily identifiable or found, so that tip worked for me.

if you're using a grinder before you put them into the coffee maker... try putting a wet paper towel under the grinder. bits that fall out stick to the damp towel and don't have the chance to travel...also, i used to turn the grinder upside down and tap it - then open it (still upside down) and use the lid to transport the grounds to the maker. but to solve this completely ... i love my cuisinart grind & brew more than anything EVER!

Coffe grounds make your soil acidic, so add them around any acid loving plants you may have like Miracle Fruit or Azaleas.

re-groute with a black/volcanic groute. Coffee grounds blend right in. Problem solved.

Oh- and I updated to a coffeemaker that grinds before it brews, and was able to get rid of my alarm clock.
I hear the coffeemaker grind the beans then just when I'm about to fall back asleep the scent of coffee perks me up.

I got rid of this problem by buying a coffeemaker with a grinder built in. Now I only see whole beans and then wet grounds, which go straight into the trash (I feel guilty for not composting them though). This is my savior: http://www.surlatable.com/product/brands/cuisinart/cuisinart grind %26 brew coffeemaker.do

Ah, white tiles with "white" grout. Someday there will be No grout, no coffee stains. someday. . .

I do my coffee stuff at night cause I can't function well enough in the a.m. without it. Coordination is much better then.

And YAY! for composting. Between that and recycling I have hardly anything to put out on trash day.

I think the static electricity from the grinder causes it to go all over the place. I have a burr grinder and a coffee/spice grinder and they both do that. I've gone to having Peet's grind it in small batches so they get to clean up. I just use the scoop over the filter basket and have less mess. I drink a lotta decaf so the beans aren't getting too stale, I tell myself. I'm foolin' myself but I have white tile.... I love that the guy puts oven mits to soften the noise for the kitty! And I really like the grinder waking you up in the distance....

If the grounds are still dry a swiffer (or other similar device) should be able to get most of it. Assuming we're not talking about large piles of coffee. Once it gets wet there's risk of staining the grout.

Did you actually steal this story idea seeing how many diggs another like it got on another web site?

You guys are shameless plagiarizers, I'll give you that. LOL