Much like in humans, a small dose of coffee in the "system" provides a certain boost for forests as well.

A recently concluded study explored how coffee pulp (a byproduct of coffee cultivation) can help revitalise the rainforests of Costa Rica. Researchers from the University of Hawaii assessed how coffee byproducts (waste) affect deforested land across two test plots; one grassy plot was covered with a layer of coffee pulp roughly 50 cm (20 inches) thick, while the other was left untouched.

In both plots, the land had previously been used for a long time and relatively intensively, either for coffee cultivation or as pasture, before eventually being abandoned. Prior to the study, the plots were dominated by grasses, mostly an invasive species from Africa known as Guinea grass, which is excellent for cattle grazing. The grass can grow up to 4.80–5 m (16 feet) tall (if not eaten by animals), thereby suppressing the natural regeneration of the rainforest.