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Three actions for morning-challenged coffee drinkers
A fresh-brewed cup of coffee in the morning is fantastic! If you are morning-challenged like me, you probably don’t have a lot of brain activity prior to that first cup, so here are a few things you can plan ahead for, so that first cup taste great and is environmentally- friendly.
1. Stop Trying to Impress your Coffee Maker
Why are some coffee filters white, and some brown? Strictly, for appearances: apparently someone in the coffee filter business decided a long time ago that white coffee filters looked better, so they started bleaching them. Most inexpensive white coffee filters use chlorine to turn the natural brown color to white. That means more processing with water, chemicals, and energy for no practical reason. The color does not affect the taste. Take a look next time you are in a coffee house – they are probably using brown filters. Stop trying to impress your coffee maker, stick with the brown filters.
2. Choose Sustainable and Ethical coffee producers.
As good as coffee is, it is bad for the environment. Rainforests are replaced with plantations that produce high-volume beans, however eliminate natural environments for wildlife. These plantations often negatively influence the indigenous populations and prey on the small coffee farmers. There are a number of companies that sell sustainable coffee, that may be shade grown, and possibly fair trade. You can find this information on the package labels. Starbucks http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility, for example has a strong sustainability program and many of their beans are grown in environmental and ethical ways. Yes, you may pay a bit more, however read on for a way to save a bit of cash.
3. BYOC = Bring Your Own Cup
If you buy a cup of coffee, you are likely buying a paper cup, a cardboard band to protect your hand and a plastic lid. You can compost the paper parts (really it works!); however few places will recycle the plastic lids. Bring your own travel mug and you will not have to worry about waste, your coffee will stay hot longer and many coffee houses will give you a 10cent or more discount if you bring your own mug. That means once a month you get a free cup of coffee if you are a weekday customer – or about $25 a year. That will make up for additional costs you spend on sustainable coffee!
Three simple steps an Ordinary Environmentalist can choose to do to positively impact the environment; in our backyards and ½ ways around the world.
A fresh-brewed cup of coffee in the morning is fantastic! If you are morning-challenged like me, you probably don’t have a lot of brain activity prior to that first cup, so here are a few things you can plan ahead for, so that first cup taste great and is environmentally- friendly.
1. Stop Trying to Impress your Coffee Maker
Why are some coffee filters white, and some brown? Strictly, for appearances: apparently someone in the coffee filter business decided a long time ago that white coffee filters looked better, so they started bleaching them. Most inexpensive white coffee filters use chlorine to turn the natural brown color to white. That means more processing with water, chemicals, and energy for no practical reason. The color does not affect the taste. Take a look next time you are in a coffee house – they are probably using brown filters. Stop trying to impress your coffee maker, stick with the brown filters.
2. Choose Sustainable and Ethical coffee producers.
As good as coffee is, it is bad for the environment. Rainforests are replaced with plantations that produce high-volume beans, however eliminate natural environments for wildlife. These plantations often negatively influence the indigenous populations and prey on the small coffee farmers. There are a number of companies that sell sustainable coffee, that may be shade grown, and possibly fair trade. You can find this information on the package labels. Starbucks http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility, for example has a strong sustainability program and many of their beans are grown in environmental and ethical ways. Yes, you may pay a bit more, however read on for a way to save a bit of cash.
3. BYOC = Bring Your Own Cup
If you buy a cup of coffee, you are likely buying a paper cup, a cardboard band to protect your hand and a plastic lid. You can compost the paper parts (really it works!); however few places will recycle the plastic lids. Bring your own travel mug and you will not have to worry about waste, your coffee will stay hot longer and many coffee houses will give you a 10cent or more discount if you bring your own mug. That means once a month you get a free cup of coffee if you are a weekday customer – or about $25 a year. That will make up for additional costs you spend on sustainable coffee!
Three simple steps an Ordinary Environmentalist can choose to do to positively impact the environment; in our backyards and ½ ways around the world.
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