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Ilove hot coffee in the morning, afternoon, evening – anytime. Most mornings, thinking about that cup of coffee is the easiest way to get myself out of bed… However, a lot of coffee is not harvested in ethical environments. Coffee can also be really expensive, especially when you prefer a sweet and delicious frappucino or latte from your favorite coffee shop, and those delicious coffee delights come in disposable cups that add to the landfill pile. Here are some green tips for drinking coffee.
- Make your own coffee – Making your own coffee is a cheap and green option. What I recommend is spending the money for a great coffee maker that has a reusable filter – which means no paper filter waste. Also, if you get excellent coffee from your coffeemaker, you will be less likely to go out for coffee. Plus you can customize it to meet your needs using fair trade and organic coffee, creamer, etc.
- Buy Whole Beans – When you compare the same size package of whole beans verses ground coffee, the whole beans package has more coffee. So, if you buy whole beans, you get more for the same price. This of course means you have to grind the coffee. My coffee grinder is part of my coffeemaker. You can also purchase a coffee grinder and some stores have coffee grinders you can use as well. More coffee per package means less packaging and less money than buying ground coffee.
- Buy Fairtrade and Organic Coffee - I have noticed lately at my local grocery store that they are increasing the selection of fair trade coffees. This makes sense since their is a higher demand for it and did you know the most popular fair trade product is coffee? I have also noticed the price is going down on fair trade coffee and they often sell it in bulk which makes it is less expensive per cup and less packaging. Plus you are supporting ethical conditions for coffee harvesting. The best part about fair trade and organic coffee is that it makes a delicious cup of coffee. Even Starbucks has a fair trade coffee they sell. It would be nice if all of their coffee was fair trade…
- Bring a Reusable Mug - If you love coffee shops and you can’t live without them, consider bringing your own mug. That way you can cut down on wasted disposable cups that are typical at coffee shops. It is also wise to have one at work so that you aren’t tempted to use a paper or *eek* styrofoam disposable cup.
- Avoid plastic cup creamers and paper sugar packets – This can be really hard if you go to a coffee shop… but those little mini creamers and sugars mean a lot of landfill waste. Try to avoid coffee shops that don’t have reusable containers of sugar and cream. If you are brave (and love the coffee shop) ask them if they can make the change to reusable…maybe they will listen, you never know. Also use organic sugars and creams when possible. This will keep those yucky pesticides out of your coffee.
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