Better Environmental Sustainability for Home Coffee Brewers

It is inescapable. The world is changing, and everywhere we look, we are being told how we can make a difference, how we can reduce our carbon footprint, or how we can ‘help save the world!’.

I don’t disagree, but one of the things that really irritates me is how manufacturers transfer the responsibility to consumers by simply having a big label on this product saying ‘Please Recycle’. Regardless of whether the container is recyclable or not,

But that is a conversation for another soapbox. There is no arguing that coffee, by its sheer worldwide popularity, has a major industrial ecological footprint. It consumes energy and resources throughout the value chain. From cultivation, processing, shipping, roasting, retail and finally consumption. So, as people look at ways to reduce their carbon footprint, it seems sensible for us coffee enthusiasts to consider how we can alter our habits/ practices to promote environmental sustainability as fair trade coffee attempts to address the social sustainability.

As opposed to listing a shopping cart of alternatives that you could consider, I have chosen instead to write about the top three things that I personally do to reduce the carbon footprint associated with my coffee habit. Admittedly, it may not be suitable or a viable compromise for some readers, but join the conversation and tell us in the comments what you do or why you feel you do enough in other aspects to allow you to enjoy your coffee guilt-free.

Local is Lekker!

This is a two-part strategy. Firstly, when given a choice, I choose coffee beans grown in Africa. Tanzanian, Rwandan, Kenyan, Ethiopian, among the many others that are now in this market. This felt too much like a cheat, though, as I personally prefer African beans and all the glorious complex flavour profiles associated with them.

Hence, I also chose to support local coffee roasters when purchasing coffee. Thankfully, there are many local roasters in and around KZN to still allow me the luxury, fun and adventure of choosing a bag of coffee.

My primary reason for this is the simple reduction in transportation distance. Yes. I could drink coffee grown only in KZN and reduce the transport footprint even further, but that would make my action to improve sustainability unsustainable. There are two great knock-on effects of this. From a macroeconomic perspective, it supports the local economy, but more importantly, I enjoy the experience of having the odd South American coffee at the local coffee shop so much more.

What was once ordinary has become a treat and something to look forward to. As does buying coffee from local Roasteries when I am out of KZN.

Hario, Hario. Wherefore art thou, Hario?

That was not meant to be a marketing plug (but if the guys in Japan are interested, contact us 😏).

Since the title is quite cryptic, let me be clear about what I am trying to say here. Simply said, brew manually! My tool and method of choice is the Hario V60. However, you could use the Chemex, French press, Kalita or the Clever Dripper, amongst others, to achieve the same.

Essentially, by brewing manually, you are eliminating another source of energy consumption in the coffee-making process. The two processes that require energy in my process are grinding the beans and boiling the water. One of the things that I intend to buy this year is a manual grinder.

This is not to further reduce the energy consumption associated with my daily cup of coffee, but as I can boil the water on a gas stove, a manual grinder will make my daily brew independent of load shedding.

Completing the cycle

The third thing I do for now is to dispose of my coffee beans directly in the garden or my worm bin. Now although the used coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen as well as varying amounts of phosphorus and potassium, it is most suitable for plants that grow best in soils with a higher acidity. It is also important to spread the grounds evenly in a fine layer over the soil and avoid disposing of it in clumps. As I consume coffee daily and don’t live on a large farm, I sometimes collect my coffee grounds in a small sealed bucket and give them to my neighbours who may love their gardens but not their coffee. The other advantage is that using coffee grounds in your garden is known to keep slugs and snails at bay.

The one thing to be cognisant of is that the damp grounds can sometimes attract mould. Bear this in mind when incorporating it into your topsoil and, more importantly, when storing it.

So there you have it. Those are the things that I have actively chosen to do to reduce the ecological footprint of my coffee habit. These are already in addition to brewing my coffee at home and obviously not boiling more water than is required when doing so.

I have started keeping a reusable coffee cup in my bag for when I go to get my coffee at work, but I often forget the cup, so did not want to credit myself unfairly. Most coffee shops, in fact, charge less when you bring your own cup which makes so much sense. I believe if we all change our habits in small, sustainable ways, it will snowball into the type of change that is needed for a more sustainable future.

Please comment below with your thoughts on this topic, what it is that you do, or what it is that we should all be doing?

Until then, keep brewing!

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