Composting Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds are the perfect addition to your compost pile. After brewing, coffee grounds absorb moisture critical to the compost pile, they are an excellent source of nitrogen widely available year-round, and they are usually free. Coffee grounds also help to sustain high temperatures in the compost pile which kills the seeds from weeds or vegetable material added to the pile. Coffee grounds contain about 2% nitrogen, are basically pH neutral and have a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of about 20 to 1, the same range as animal manure. For composting purposes, coffee grounds should be considered “green” material, similar to grass clippings.
Coffee grounds seem to be a worm’s favorite food which actually adds more compost material, as well as, allowing your compost pile to breathe and absorb moisture. A good compost pile should be placed in an area that receives direct sunlight for at least half the day and may consist of one part green material to two parts brown material, like leaves or sawdust. Open wire bins seem to be the best enclosures for composting with coffee grounds, as solid enclosed bins, like plastic, seem to attract fruit flies. It is a good idea to layer the coffee grounds and other materials as you build your compost pile and turn the materials with a gardening fork on a regular weekly basis. In about three or four months the compost should be ready to add to your flower beds or garden. Since the coffee grounds break-down quickly, you may be able to use your compost in a much shorter time.
 Coffee grounds also contain potassium, phosphorus and other elements that aid in plant growth. Many rose gardeners have found their roses to be more colorful and larger when coffee grounds were added as mulch around the rosebushes. Vegetable gardeners have been surprised at the size of their tomatoes when coffee ground mulched.
 Coffee grounds seem to be an excellent way of riding your garden of those pesky slugs and snails that seem to enjoy your favorite hostas and lilies. When their slimy foot crawls across the caffeine, the results are usually fatal. By recycling coffee grounds we are making a significant difference in the amount of organic material that is reused and not sent to the local landfill. Organics decompose and produce methane which is about 25 times as bad as carbon dioxide, according to waste management engineers. So by diverting coffee grounds from the landfill to a compost pile helps cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Even if you don’t drink coffee or only make one pot a day, more than likely, there is a coffee shop owner or manager in your local area who would give you their coffee grounds. Simply take a clean five-gallon bucket with your name and phone number on the bucket and on the lid, and then arrange a convenient time to come back and pick up the filled bucket.
Using coffee grounds to aid in plant growth is actually an excellent alternative to discarding them in the garbage. You can help in the recycling efforts and you just may be surprised by how much better your garden grows.

Mag's Coffee Shop Accepting Donations for "Bikers Who Care - Family Fund"

On September 18, 2011, after completing their annual toy run benefit, five members of the Bikers Who Care (BWC) organization died in their sleep from what has been determined to be carbon monoxide poisoning. The tragic, untimely deaths of these caring people not only resulted in a tremendous loss to the Clarksville community, but also forever changed the lives of twelve children.

As parents and grandparents, we at Mag’s Coffee want to help in whatever small way we can. We will be accepting donations to the “Bikers Who Care Family Fund” at our coffee shop located at 201 S. Riverside Dr., Clarksville, TN. from now through October 31, 2011. We ask all of our friends and customers to stop by and make a donation in whatever amount possible.

Office depot has agreed to donate printed motorcycle cards which will be displayed on our wall with the name of the person or business making the donation. These cards will be displayed in remembrance of Jon, Katy, Jim, Allison and Tim and in support of the children left behind. We will deliver all motorcycle cards to the BWC organization after this campaign is over, so if you would like to write a comment on the back of the card, that will be appropriate.

Please understand that all donations will be divided 12 ways, so that means for every dollar collected, only eight cents ($.08) goes to the benefit of one child.

We welcome donations from small businesses and large corporations.
If you live out of town and would like to help, please mail your donation to Mag’s Coffee, 201 S. Riverside Dr., Clarksville, TN. 37040. Make all checks payable to “Bikers Who Care – Family Fund”. We will certainly post your motorcycle card on our wall.

Year In the Life of Mag's Coffee Shop

In January 2010, somewhere in the middle of chasing dolphins and tromping through alligators in the Florida Keys, the idea of opening a “coffee shop” was born. Future home of Mag's Coffee Everyone seemed to like the idea, so Maggie and Ashley started working on the color scheme for the shop and arrived at dark brown, golden yellow and turquoise.  Ken began thinking of business names and working on the logo design for the business. Original Mag's Coffee logo Since Maggie is from Texas, understanding that the logo must contain the “lone star” was a no brainer and the best name for the shop seemed to be “Lonestar Coffee Shop & Trading Company”. It was a good idea until we visited the local sign company. We soon realized that the name must be shorter, a lot shorter. After many failed attempts, “Mag’s Coffee” just seemed to be appropriate and affordable. While searching over the Clarksville area, Maggie fell in love with this “rag-tag” building at the corner of Riverside Dr. and Commerce St. and in February renovations began. Creating a fully functional coffee shop inside such a small building was a task, so we had to maximize every square inch. We spent a couple of months sampling coffee from all over the world to make sure that we were going to serve the best coffee in town. We eventually chose a coffee from Guatemala as our house coffee. Mag wanted to put her personal touch on this coffee, so she named it “Splendora”. Splendora is a small town in East Texas where her Aunt Linnie lives. We also realized we must cater to the non-coffee drinkers, so shaved ice, Italian sodas, steamers and smoothies were added to the menu. At the end of April, with everything going as scheduled, a grand opening date of May 14, 2010 was established. The flower beds were professionally landscaped and on May 2, 2010, the parking lot was freshly paved, just before the rains began. Flash flood warnings were out for most of the area and the rain continued to come down very hard.  To complicate things, the Corp of Engineers made the decision to release water from several dams in Nashville and unfortunately, all of this water came down the Cumberland River to Clarksville. On May 3, 2010, the Cumberland had reached flood stage and the water quickly rose up the hill at Mag’s Coffee Shop and on May 4, 2010, the newly renovated coffee shop was at the bottom of the river. Mag's Coffee on May 4, 2010 We still believe we could have withstood the rains, but all that water coming down the river was just too much too fast. As we stood on the hill on Commerce St., we were overwhelmed by the feeling of helplessness and yes, at times, even hopelessness. Several days after the river had crested at over 60 feet, the waters began to recede, leaving a dark water line about 30 inches high on our exterior and interior walls. Our newly resurfaced parking lot was a blanket of mud and our newly landscaped flower beds were destroyed. Renovations had to begin once again, butthis time we had no electricity. We had made the decision to make both our Moms part of our business, so we designed “Millie’s Garden” and “Alma’s Rose”. Ironically, the only flowers which survived the flood waters were the daylilies in “Millie’s Garden” and the rose bush in “Alma’s Rose”. Our Mom’s were with us during these very trying times and they just seemed to tell us just to press on. Even though the flood damaged our building, many business owners up and down Riverside Dr. were under several feet of water and were at the point where they didn’t know if they would ever re-open. We wanted to do something to help, so we brought the grill up to the shop and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and delivered them to the working business owners. The sad part here is that someone decided to borrow our grill for an evening cookout and forget to ever return it. On June 30, 2010, Mag’s Coffee Shop finally got to hold its Grand Opening celebration with a mission of serving excellent coffee and non-coffee beverages and being a good, friendly place to come sit and relax for a while. We also felt that getting access to the internet should not be complicated and should not be something you have to pay for in addition to paying for a drink or a snack. Mag’s Coffee was also interested and doing what we could to help our environment, so a full re-cycling program was implemented, from our glass and plastics to our coffee grounds. We are proud to say that we are a Green Business. Shortly after our grand opening, the “Spunky Monkey” was born. It seemed like every week we were coming up with new drinks like, “Banana Split”, “Riverside Flood” and many more. It seemed like no time until it was time for the holidays. Mag’s Coffee Shop was all decked out in its holiday attire and new holiday drinks were developed. It was at this point that Mag decided to decorate the shop for each season. So don’t be surprised to see hearts, shamrocks, snowflakes, stars, flamingos or flags litup on the wall. We have affectionately named Mag’s very small kitchen – “The Hollow Tree”. It is here that Mag creates here famous sausage roll and prepares her delicious muffins, truffle cakes, Banoffee Pie and other amazing homemade goodies. We would like to thank Amanda, Andrea, Andrew, Ashley, Caleb, Dana, Kali, Kat, Laurie and Renee for their hard work and dedication to making the best drinks in town and providing exceptional service to our customers. We would like to thank Green Bank, Clarksville Police Department, Clarksville Chamber of Commerce, WTVF-News Channel 5, Sign's Now, Orgain Building Supply, The Leaf Chronicle, Vienna Coffee Company, Rainbow Electric, Five Star Plumbing, Rick's Services, Dallas, Dwayne, Dale and Kevin for their help, concern and services during some very trying times. We would like to extend a special thanks to Bill Larson of Clarksville Online for not only being a loyal customer, but more importantly, for hanging in there with us from the flood until now. We also want to express our thanks and our love to our family and friends for their hard work and encouragement. We have entertained visitors from all over the United States and many foreign countries like, Wales, France, and Germany. We have made many new friendships and attracted many loyal customers during our first year. We want to extend our sincere appreciation for accepting us into the community and making our first year in business a huge success. Even though our first anniversary is June 30, 2011, we have decided to celebrate on Saturday, July 2, 1011. Our favorite musician and singer, Jimmy Johnson, has worked us into his very busy schedule and will be performing on our patio that evening. We will also be open late on Sunday, July 3, 2011 so our customers and friends can enjoy their favorite beverages and watch the fireworks display over the river. Come on down to Mag’s Coffee Shop and just kick back and relax for a while. We want you to feel at home and we promise to make your drink just the way you like it. "That Little Coffee Shop By The River."

"Peace, Love & Mag's Coffee"

Our "Peace, Love & Mag's Coffee T-Shirts should be arriving by June 17, 2011.  Shirts will be available in sizes: Small, Medium, Large and X-Large. We have ordered a limited number of these new shirts, so you had better reserve yours now.

Mag's Coffee Shop Turns One on June 30, 2011

It was only a year ago when Mag's Coffee Shop was undergoing renovations due to the damages caused by the May 2010 flood. On June 30, 2010, Mag's Coffee served its first customer. Our anniversary falls on Thursday, so we have decided to have our celebration on Saturday. Anytime we think of having live entertainment, we immediately think of Jimmy Johnson.  He has performed on our patio 3 or 4 times and it is always a treat to have him here. Jimmy will be performing once again on our patio at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, 2011. We have made many friends during our first year and we hope everyone will come out and celebrate with us.