Coffee Bean Centerpiece Ideas

Coffee beans have come a long way. There was a time when these caffeinated jewels were only appreciated for the flavor they added to our cups. Today, they are roasted and covered in chocolate for Valentine's Day and used as decorations. Build your centerpieces around coffee beans for table decorations your guests will not soon forget. Does this Spark an idea?

Different Shades of Coffee

Coffee beans come in many different shades of brown and black. Layer the shades in a large glass vase for a dramatic centerpiece. You may prefer to use several small vases to showcase a row of individual colors and line them up across the table. Nestle candles in the coffee beans to turn the vases into candleholders. Use a large pillar candle in the single vase and small votive candles in the short vases.

Flowers

Place white roses in floral tubes, also called water picks, to keep them hydrated. Fill a fish bowl vase with coffee beans and stick the roses into the beans until the top of the vase is covered in the roses. Use tall, square vases filled with coffee beans to display bolder colors like fuchsia, orange and purple. Wrap a wide brown or ivory ribbon around each vase.

Coffee Trees

Paint a trio of different sized Styrofoam trees brown. Hot glue coffee beans to them and arrange them on a mirrored tray in the center of the table. Add gold ribbon to the trees for the holidays or leave them unadorned as year-round centerpieces. Alternate rows of dark and light beans to add visual interest.

Party Favor Centerpieces

Fill Chinese takeout boxes with chocolate-covered coffee beans.

Write the names of your guests on miniature Chinese takeout boxes. Fill the boxes with chocolate-covered coffee beans. Leave them open and poke a pair of chopsticks in each box. Place the boxes in a circle on a round table so that they are positioned in front of each guest's place setting. Line them in a zigzag design along a rectangular table, again placing them in front of the guests' plates. This allows each person to see his name clearly written on the box.

Potpourri

Fill small sheer sachets with aromatic coffee beans. Tie them shut with different colored ribbons and bows. Place these sachets around a shallow vase filled with colorful flowers in the center of the table.