Coffee Sensory Bin

This coffee sensory bin is so much fun for preschoolers. It smells great and kids will have a blast using this sensory bin for imaginative play.

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Of course coffee isn’t for kids, but pretending to have a cafe or be a barista is always fun. The other day, we were at the grocery store in the coffee isle and my son asked what smelled so good. I thought it would be fun for my kids to have a pretend coffee shop with their sensory bin. Plus, it smells great!

Looking for more fun ideas to keep kids busy? Some of our other favorites are this lemonade sensory bin, bee sensory bin, farm animal dot marker pages, and free busy binder printables.

Jump to:

• 📋 Important note about this sensory bin
• 💙 Why you’ll love this sensory bin
• ☕ Supplies needed
• ❓What kind of container to use
• 📝 How to set up
• 🖨️ Optional Drink Order Cards
• 💭 How to contain the mess
• ♻️ What to do with the coffee beans when you’re done with the sensory bin
• 🤔 FAQs
• Coffee Sensory Bin

📋 Important note about this sensory bin

Adult supervision is always required. This sensory bin is not taste safe and should not be given to children who mouth things as the coffee beans could be a choking hazard.

💙 Why you’ll love this sensory bin

It smells great and is so easy to put together! Coffee beans will keep for a long time and they can also be reused later. I like to add coffee beans to a mesh bag and put them in our garbage cans to reduce the odor.

☕ Supplies needed

For this sensory bin, you will need:

• Whole coffee beans: You can also use dried black beans (do not use kidney beans in sensory bins). I used the below Amazon Fresh whole coffee beans. I used a 12 ounce bag. You could also look for a bag on clearance at your local grocery store.
• Fake ice cubes: I also used these in our lemonade sensory bin. These are optional but I thought would be fun for pretending to make iced coffees.
• Cups and scoops: You can use what you have on hand too. Any scoops or plastic cups will work.

❓What kind of container to use

I usually just use an extra large food storage container with a lid. You can also use a sensory table or wooden sensory bin too.

📝 How to set up

Add the coffee beans to your sensory bin then add the toys and scoops. That’s it, this is a super easy activity to set up for kids.

Have your child make a coffee order for you. You can ask for it iced or regular. Tell them how many ice cubes and scoops you’d like. You could also add pom poms, straws, or cotton balls to this sensory bin. You can use the optional drink order cards below.

🖨️ Optional Drink Order Cards

To download and print these coffee order cards simply click the black download button below (it will open in a new tab). You can use these to practice counting with your child.

This printable is free for personal use or single classroom use only, no commercial reproduction of any kind is allowed.

The pages should be printed on landscape setting, in color, and on regular (8 ½ by 11 inch) paper. I recommend laminating them.

💭 How to contain the mess

You could put a large tablecloth or sheet down under the bin. You could also do the bin on a porch or patio then sweep the mess up after.

♻️ What to do with the coffee beans when you’re done with the sensory bin

Once my kids were done with this sensory bin, I gathered the coffee beans up and put them in mesh bags. I put them in our trash cans and they help absorb orders.

Coffee beans can also be composted or you can make a coffee bean body scrub for yourself.

🤔 FAQs

Other fun sensory bin ideas

If you tried this Coffee Sensory Bin or any other activity or recipe on my site, please let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I would love to hear from you!