Everyday Sustainable Coffee Habits
/Sustainability is a common word in the coffee community, and for good reason! All industries should be committed to using sustainable practices for the sake of preserving this beautiful blue/green earth we all share. In the coffee world specifically, the most notable sustainable practice is using sustainably sourced beans. A hot phrase, used to describe the beans grown and sold that are classified as organic and participate in fair trade practices - allowing for the individual farm to produce and sell their beans to various roasters.
While it is important that our coffee sellers abide by sustainable, fair trade practices, they aren’t the only ones who can make a difference! Here we’ve put together a list of some of the ways you can keep with the coffee tradition of sustainability by adopting these habits as you partake in your daily caffeine rituals:
Bring your own coffee mug or enjoy your coffee at the shop and ask for your drink to be made in a mug to stay. Either of these options can help to drastically cut down on paper and plastic waste. This was an interesting debate while Covid-19 was thought to live on the surfaces of objects. However, since that has been debunked most coffee houses will gladly prepare your drink in a reusable mug, it cuts down on their costs too!
If you make your coffee at home, you can cut down on your electricity use by using a manual grinder and making a French Press or Pour Over coffee. Sure, it is a small step, but every little bit helps!
Buy local, and not more than you need, from small batch roasters and not the large producers. Be sure to not just look for the "Fairtrade" label, but also Rainforest Alliance Certified, USDA Organic, UTZ Certified, or Bird-Friendly Certified.
Avoid using K-cups or single serve pods. Instead buy a reusable one that you can refill with your own beans. It cuts down on tons of plastic waste from brewing a single 3-6oz cup of coffee every time the craving hits.
Dial in your coffee taste to the precise amount of water you like to use, thereby cutting down on continually wasting any water in the future.
Recycle your old coffee grounds - there are many uses for old coffee grounds. For ideas on what to do with them, check out our blog What To Do With Your Used Coffee Grounds.
We would also like to acknowledge that while we love coffee and how far the coffee industry’s efforts to increase sustainability have gone so far, there is always room for improvement! For example, we would love to see a world where all new coffee shops are designed to include a closed water filtration and circulation system in their construction to further help avoid water waste. We are moving in the right direction, and by adopting these few ecofriendly coffee habits, you can help do your part to help make this a better world for all of us!