Simple Ways Coffee Drinkers Can #BeatAirPollution This World Environment Day 2019 

On World Environment Day 2019 Let’s Make Coffee Consumption More Sustainable! 

World Environment Day 2019 will roll around again on June 5th and we have some suggestions for coffee lovers looking to reduce their impact on our beautiful environment!

But first…

What is World Environment Day? 

“World Environment Day is the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.” (worldenvironmentday.global) The 2019 theme is air pollution! #BeatAirPollution!

Learn more about air pollution and its causes. 

How can you help?

 

Air pollution may not seem very relevant to coffee, however, most of our actions do contribute to air pollution, even coffee making and consumption. Some contributing factors include energy production like coal-burning plants, transportation, agriculture and landfill waste. As coffee consumers, there is plenty we can do in each of these areas to reduce our individual impact.

 

Brew Coffee at Home With Less Electricity

If you have an espresso machine at home or enjoy heading to the local café for a morning espresso, why not try cutting back on weekends or in the afternoon, and use a manual or alternative brewing method.

Here are some alternative brewing methods that only need a kettle (provided you have a hand grinder or get your coffee ground in store):

    -French Press coffee – coarse ground coffee, immersed in hot water for up to 4 minutes, then the filter is plunged down to compress the grind and extract the coffee. Pour and drink as is!

See our French Press Brewing Guide & French Press products!

    -Pour Over or Chemex – medium/medium-coarse grind is placed into a paper filter in the dripper, then use your gooseneck kettle to pour hot water over the grind in slow, circular motions for up to 2-3 minutes.

See our Pour Over & Chemex Brewing Guides & see our Pour Over/Chemex products!

    -AeroPress coffee – the AeroPress works in a similar way to the French Press, but producers a stronger brew. Place medium coarse grind in the brewing chambers, add hot water, sit it for 2-4 minutes and press the plunger down.

See our AeroPress Brewing Guide & AeroPress products!

     

Here are some alternative brewing methods that only need cold water:

    -Cold Brew coffee – uses a medium coarse grind that is immersed in cold filtered water for up to 12 hours. Cold brew is becoming a popular favourite in cafes as an alternative to espresso.

See our Cold Brew Brewing Guide & Cold Brew products!

    -Cold Drip coffee – the refined and fancy cousin of cold brew coffee. Using a medium-coarse grind, cold filtered water is dripped onto the coffee grind allowing it to soak and extract before it begins to drip through to the decanter. Brewing can take anywhere between 3-12 hours or sometimes longer. This is popular as an eye-catching piece and talking point in cafes and at home.

See our Cold Drip Brewing Guide & Cold Drip products!

Here are some manual espresso making methods to try, all you need is hot water:

    -Flair Espresso, Handpresso & Cafflano Kompresso – these espresso makers can produce as much pressure as commercial or home coffee machines, and the result is a zingy, rich espresso topped with thick crema – just like you get from the machine!

See the Flair Espresso Maker here.

See the Handpresso here.

See the Cafflano Kompresso here.

 

Reduce the Amount of Waste Your Coffee Consumption Produces 

 

This is easier than most people think and there are a lot of different solutions out there now to reduce unnecessary waste going into landfill. Here are just a few suggestions to get you started:

          -Buy a reusable coffee cup, like a KeepCup.

          -Get a reusable straw – stainless steel straws are particularly good for easy cleaning. It can also double as a stirrer if you like sugar in your coffee!

          -Use metal reusable filters in your brewing, rather than paper filters, or, if you have a compost going, you can compost your paper filters!

          -Repurpose coffee bags – we have clients that use them as pot plants or to store other perishables.

          -If you’re brewing at home, reuse used or old coffee grounds in face or body scrubs.

        

 

Get Your Coffee Shipped Instead of Driving to Pick It Up

 

It may seem like a small thing, but small things add up and can make a big impact! By getting your coffee shipped to you, you are reducing the amount of time your car is running and as a result reducing your carbon footprint.

For example, if it is a 15 min drive to the store or café that sells the coffee you like, that is a 30min round trip. Now if you make this trip once a fortnight, that is 1 hour a month you spend driving to get your coffee, or 52 hours a year approximately… the math could go on, but we get the idea... so having your coffee shipped to your office or home is a simple and no-fuss way to reduce your carbon footprint!

If you want to take it a step further and reduce the time (and electricity) you spend online ordering coffee beans, you can also arrange for a coffee subscription and have a blend or single origin sent to your door fortnightly or monthly.

See our Crema original blends here & our range of coffee subscriptions here.