• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Does ground coffee go 'bad'?

outdamnspot

Senior Member
Messages
924
I'm pretty much dependent on doing a coffee enema daily (for regularity and toxin removal .. plus it helps mood/energy/anxiety etc.). Unfortunately, I didn't plan properly and ran out of ground coffee today and wasn't able to get to the store. I found some that have been left in an airtight, sealed container for roughly the past year. The appearance is fine, though they smell a little 'dry' (kinda like sawdust?).

If it's just a single enema, am I putting myself at any risk? When I googled, it said that as long as the coffee stays dry, it mainly just loses potency/flavor, which wouldn't be an issue if I'm not drinking it. However, is there a chance it can go toxic and be dangerous to use in an enema?
 

Wolfcub

Senior Member
Messages
7,089
Location
SW UK
I am not 100% sure, re: what you need it for. But airtight and sealed, and for only about a year, there will probably be no toxin in it. Coffee can be kept for ages and it will just lose flavour and go "stale". But I have never heard of it going off or bad.
So long as you are sure no mould spores got into it and the container was clean and dry when it was put in.

But if you say it smells "like sawdust" then that is weird, because it would usually have some coffee smell left. So it makes me wonder if it would be any good to use anyway.
 

outdamnspot

Senior Member
Messages
924
I am not 100% sure, re: what you need it for. But airtight and sealed, and for only about a year, there will probably be no toxin in it. Coffee can be kept for ages and it will just lose flavour and go "stale". But I have never heard of it going off or bad.
So long as you are sure no mould spores got into it and the container was clean and dry when it was put in.

But if you say it smells "like sawdust" then that is weird, because it would usually have some coffee smell left. So it makes me wonder if it would be any good to use anyway.

I need it for an enema. It didn't smell bad or off; when I say sawdust, it just smelled dry or like it had lost its flavor, but there was still some coffee smell left; it's also a mild roast, so might not have had a strong smell to begin with.

I'm okay with it losing potency, but just wanted to make sure it wouldn't have likely gone toxic.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
However, is there a chance it can go toxic and be dangerous to use in an enema?
It's hard for me to imagine that it could be toxic or dangerous. If you're concerned, maybe just use a partial strength CE to experiment with, like a 1/2 or 1/4 strength. So if there's some kind of long-shot problem, it shouldn't be overwhelming. -- If it was me, I'd go for it.
 

outdamnspot

Senior Member
Messages
924
It's hard for me to imagine that it could be toxic or dangerous. If you're concerned, maybe just use a partial strength CE to experiment with, like a 1/2 or 1/4 strength. So if there's some kind of long-shot problem, it shouldn't be overwhelming. -- If it was me, I'd go for it.

Thanks for the help :) I realize there's kind of a fine-line here where people can't give direct medical advice, so my query was more about whether coffee in general has the propensity to go toxic if stored properly.
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
I have had coffee go bad with a white chalky look on the surface of some of the granules. I tossed it because I think it was some kind of mold or fungus. If I remember correctly it was the kind that I ground in the store at those machines they have so maybe the machine had some sort of moisture or contamination in it. ???
 

outdamnspot

Senior Member
Messages
924
@outdamnspot
I'm with @Wayne on this one. So long as the coffee just smells saw-dusty (and I know exactly what you mean here), I think it should be fine, tho not very strong. Minimal risk as far as I can see, but see how it smells/tastes after you brew it up for the enema. That'll tell the story.

Yeah, I smelled it the next day after preparation and it smelled very sour, which I read is a sign the beans/oils have gone bad, so did throw it out. Luckily I managed to get some more.
 
Messages
30
Coffee is known to have fluoride and can have or grow mold / fungus. So I would say drink it or use it in enema with limitation .