Earlier in the week we looked at some green coffee terms. However, simply buying greener beans is not all it takes to brew sustainable coffee. There are many more green steps you can take when it comes to greening your coffee.

What are you brewing in?

• There’s no such thing as a certified green coffee maker, but that doesn’t mean you’re totally in the dark. Head over to  The Department of Energy where you can estimate your coffee maker’s energy consumption. If your maker is wasting loads of energy, make sure when you next trade up, you buy a more energy efficient machine.
• Try a lower energy use French Press.
• Unplug your machine when it’s not actually brewing. If you want to keep your coffee hot, transfer it to a reusable thermos.
• Inhabitat has an in-depth post, GREEN YOUR APPLIANCES! Coffee Makers that will fill you in on more about coffee makers.

Other tips:

• Buy a reusable coffee filter.
• If you buy bulk beans or bulk ground coffee, take your own small reusable bags to the store rather than using the store’s plastic baggies.
• Compost your coffee grounds.

A small sampling of green coffee vendors (plus a couple of fun links):

• Rogers Family Gourmet Coffee & Tea Market
• Costa - UK based
• Guido’s Fresh Marketplace
• New Harvest Coffee Roasters
• Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee info
• Organic coffee info

BONUS GREEN COFFEE TIP: Make Your Own Coffee Drinks & Snacks.

[image via Free Pixels]

If you drink loads of coffee, then making the change to a more sustainable coffee experience is something you should consider. However, there are a lot of coffee choices out there (coffee is actually grown in more than 50 countries!) so how to choose…?

Here are some general eco-terms you may see on coffee packaging:

Umbrella terms:

“Green coffee” - doesn’t mean much, unless followed up by another term (see below).

“Natural coffee” - also means little. Unless, like “green” the term is followed by another.

“Sustainable coffee” - IF you grow sustainable coffee, it would mean doing things like using minimal water, using composted soils, organic soil fertilizers, and natural energy sources to grow the beans. It could also mean the company offices use energy efficient techniques and so on. Sustainable is good, but you have to check out a company to see if they’re actually using sustainable practices. Any old Joe can say, “I’m sustainable” but this isn’t some official term.

Terms that mean more than the terms above:

“Fair Trade coffee” - Coffee that’s labeled as Fair Trade is coffee that is sold sans coffee trader which leaves more cash in the pockets of those who produce said coffee. If you’re looking to buy coffee that actually pays the harvesters a fair wage look for certification from organizations like TransFair USA. Learn more about Fair Trade coffee.

“Organic coffee” - There are various organic labels some mean more than others. If it’s certified organic coffee then it’s been produced without pesticides or herbicides. Learn more about organic labels.

“Shade grown - bird safe coffee” - Coffee that is Rainforest Alliance Certified is grown in such a way that it won’t damage the natural habitat. You can learn more about this label at the coffee portion of the Rainforest Alliance.

THE FINAL SAY:

Text on coffee packaging is tricky.  Words are just that, words. What matters more is how a company actually functions and the only way you can know that is by researching the terms and the coffee company.

Coming soon; places to get greener coffee and other tips that can help you keep your brew-time sustainable.

[image via stock.xchng]

Just kidding!

Well, I usually ignore tags. It’s nothing personal against the person sending, but this time I decided to do it. One reason is because this is a tag I haven’t seen before. The other reason is that the stuff on page 123 of my book deals with a favorite topic of mine. And I just happen to have a contest on this delicious topic going on right now at another blog.

Heather at A Creative Journal tagged me with the 123 Book Tag.

Here’s how the 123 Book Tag works:

Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
Open the book to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences.
Tag five people.

The book I picked up is Big Green Purse by Diane MacEachern.

Here are the sentences on page 123: Read more