Java-Logs

We wrote about Java-Logs a few months ago, right after one of those unpredictable heat waves that SF has, when the weather had once again turned foggy and cold. We wondered if the fireplace logs smelled like coffee, how they burnt, how they lasted, but we don't have a fireplace so we couldn't try them ourselves.

Made from used coffee grounds, Java-Logs are advertised as being better than wood. They're clean-burning, safe, and better for the environment because they save trees while also producing fewer emissions (carbon monoxide, creosote deposits, particulate matter) than firewood.

A few days ago we were finally able to test them out in a friend's fireplace. And we were impressed. Java-Logs actually don't smell like coffee -- there's no odor at all. They burn really well, and really cleanly, and the flame was large and bright. They last about as long as other fireplace logs, and the price is comparable. We paid somewhere around $3.50 for one log.

You can find Java-Logs at Whole Foods and Walgreens -- or see the list of other locations here.

(Edited from a June 2006 post)

Comments (6)

Living in Chicago, I use my fireplace all the time for much of the year. Whenever I see a new log option (and if I have my granny grocery cart with me) I give them a try...

I've bought the java logs and liked them. From what I remember they didn'tsmell like coffee at all. Too bad, I don't drink it but love the way coffee smells, so it would have been perfect!

They were comparable to any of the duraflame type logs in terms of price and duration, etc...

posted by janel on 2006-06-30 10:54:03

No coffee smell :(
The BEST thing about these logs is that you just light the paper wrapper they come in and you are done!

posted by Genesis on 2006-11-27 13:42:57

annoyingly, my local albertson's is always OUT OF STOCK, so the javalogs must be popular. Had to settle for a lame old pine mountain log with trippy blue and green flames for the big storm last night.

posted by cg on 2006-11-27 15:04:31

I thought all prefab logs were of the "light the paper" type? It's funny, not until I had a fireplace did I realize why people buy these logs. I always thought "why not just burn wood?" Then I did for the first time,and my house smelled like a campfire for a month. Does anyone combine these prefab logs with real wood?

posted by Rocknrope on 2006-11-29 06:47:44

unless you live close to the manufacturer, locally sourced firewood is probably more eco than this product's added industrial production process and the transport of the logs from canada. and most definitely cheaper.

posted by dug on 2006-11-29 08:22:59

My only complaint is that they have stuck to the boring old 'log' motif. They could press the coffee into any shape they wanted! Flaming Buddhas! (watch the Buddha burn into nothingness as you meditate upon non-being). Cartoon bulb shaped bombs! The starship enterprize! whatever...

Or they could have gone with a Kinder Surprize approach (Kinder Tinder!) where there is some kind of non-flamible surprize at the core...

posted by teleharmonic on 2006-11-29 10:13:30