Your Practical Guide to Creating an Eco-Friendly Coffee Routine
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If we are being honest, most of us can’t get through the day without our morning cup of Joe, but is there a way to curate an eco friendly coffee routine that fits into your current routine?
There is!
For some people, having a morning coffee isn’t just about getting in your caffeine, it is also about the process and ritual of creating your morning goodness. For other people, an efficient coffee morning routine is all they want. This post will cover all the ways you can make your coffee routine a bit more sustainable regardles of your routine!
This post is all about creating a sustainable coffee routine.
Where to Buy Sustainable Coffee
This post will not be going into detail about the process behind how coffee can be grown sustainably but here are a few ethical coffee brands that are doing an excellent job sourcing and/or packaging their beans.
Ethical Coffee Brands We Love:
What is the Most Eco Friendly Way to Make Coffee?
*This list is not in any particular order! Just find what works well for you and your routine, budget, and coffee preferences.
1. French Press for Zero Waste Coffee
The French press is the iconic image of the zero-waste coffee routine, which is great because it creates almost no waste! Since you only have to buy a french press once you can save a lot of money in the long run.
If you have never used a french press before, there are tons of videos on youtube to get you started.
2. Reusable Sustainable Coffee Mug at a Local Coffee Shop
If you don’t have time to make coffee at home, opt for an eco-friendly takeaway coffee.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t love Starbucks but local coffee shops are great too and it helps to support your local economy and small business owners!
Some coffee shops are even passionate about sustainable living as well and will offer organic coffee, paper straws etc.! If you have access to a sustainable coffee shop, definitely support them! If not, make do with what you’ve got.
Here are a few zero-waste coffee accessories that are reusable and will cut down on waste!
There is also a higher possibility that workers at a local coffee shop (rather than corporate) are making a livable wage but that isn’t always true!
3. Choose a Plant-Based Creamer
Opting for a nondairy coffee creamer is a great simple switch to make your coffee routine a bit kinder to the earth.
You could always use a simple nut milk (almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, oat milk etc.) and sweetener combo or opt for a fun plant-based creamer.
As more and more people in recent years have moved towards vegan diets, it has pressured companies to have to keep up with the demand. These days there are tons of plant-based creamers to choose from. Here are some of our favorites:
4. Recyclable Keurig Cups & Sustainable Coffee Pods
This may be an obvious claim but Keruigs are SO convenient. I refused to get one for so long because I felt like they were really wasteful with all the tiny disposable plastic cups BUT Keruig transitioned to making their k cups recyclable!
Recycling is not a perfect solution to our waste problems but it is a step in the right direction.
Using a Keurig is a really convenient way for people that have limited time to prepare coffee or have limited mobility!
So if you use a Keuring at home or at your business, be sure to recycle your k cups or choose this attachment that you can use your very own organic grounds to brew with.
5. Opt for Organic Coffee When Possible
The word “Organic” is thrown around all the time but what does it actually mean and why is it better for the earth to choose organic?
Again, this is a topic that is too vast to cover in this blog post but here is a quick rundown on why choosing organic can be beneficial for your health and the earths.
Conventionally grown food requires a lot of chemicals to keep pests away, make food more weather resistant, and for it to grow bigger. We all know what a perfectly stocked and symmetrical produce section of a grocery store looks like. In nature, oranges are not perfectly round with the same bright hue as the next orange. They differ slightly, but irregularity doesn’t sell as well to consumers. Although the produce looks more uniform and is grown more efficiently (debatable topic) the cost comes at our bodies health and the environment is loaded with toxins.
So by purchasing organic food we can ensure that our food does not have harmful chemicals in it. These chemicals are harmful to the produce, the people that grow it, and the environment (think runoff from a farm to local streams and eventually the ocean).
So by choosing organic coffee, you can support farmers that are trying to do their best to protect the environment!
{RECOMENDED POST: Exactly How to Create an Eco-Friendly Coffee Bar in Your Home, Business, or Office}
6. Use a Coffee Pot with Coffee Filters Made From Recycled Paper
If you have had one coffee pot in your home or office for years, it is honestly the most sustainable choice to just keep using your dependable coffee maker rather than going out and buying all new products just to have a “sustainable coffee routine” that is Pinterest worthy!
A great way to live sustainably is to use what we already have until it completely gives out, try to fix it and then dispose of it properly.
In order to make your current coffee pot a bit more eco-friendly, you can choose more sustainable coffee accessories like these compostable coffee filters that won’t rot away in a landfill after they have been used.
7. Uproot Your Life and Move to a Place That Grows Coffee. Start Your Own Regenerative Sustainable Coffee Farm and Have the Ultimate Eco-friendly Coffee Routine
This tip is mostly a joke and not feasible for the majority of us but I wanted to include it on the list because it is important to dream big and we need more regenerative farmers!
If you are obsessed with coffee maybe considering a career in eco-friendly coffee roasting or coffee growing could be your secret calling. Of course, there are a lot of things to consider but it is an option and you definitely would have the most eco-friendly coffee routine around!
8. Reuse Coffee Grounds
You can really get your money’s worth from your organic coffee by reusing it after you make your coffee for the day!
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Make a body scrub with coffee grounds
- Use it in your garden as a fertilizer (and it repels slugs!)
- Use coffee as a deodorizer in your fridge/freezer by leaving an open cup of grounds and changing it once per month
{RECOMMENDED POST: 4 Surprising Foods You Can Regrow From Kitchen Scraps}
9. Quitting Coffee For a Zero Waste Coffee Routine
This tip is also not super realistic to most of us but I figured I would still mention it. My morning cup of coffee is something I really look forward to and most attempts I’ve made at quitting coffee did not last long!
Making more sustainable choices does include some sacrifices but you don’t have to quit all the things you love!
Living sustainably is nuanced so if you have considered quitting caffeine for health reasons maybe this is your push to do so! You can definitely cut down on waste by just quitting coffee altogether! But also no judgment if you can’t imagine life without coffee.
If we missed any good ideas please let us know in the comments below and it can help others as they try to figure out how to create their own eco-friendly coffee routine! And if you do tip number 7 PLEASE comment below! I want to hear all about it!
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Stay well,
Maggie
This post was all about the least wasteful ways to make coffee.
Other posts you may like:
11 Genius Zero Waste Kitchen Organization Tips For a Peaceful Home
Surprisingly Easy Vegan Meal Prep Ideas That Will Be a Sustainable Part Of Your Weekly Routine
Your Ultimate Guide to Budget Friendly Juicing for Beginners
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