Zero Waste Coffee Routine

With the current social distancing necessity, I know everyone has needed to begin making coffee at home! I feel like nearly everyone I know drinks coffee. This ritual plays a huge part in so many people’s lives. On average, Americans drink about 400 million cups of coffee a day. Furthermore, the United States ranks 25th in the top coffee consuming nations. That means that other countries consume even more coffee than we do here! With all of the coffee our world consumes, we can produce a LOT of waste. Therefore, I want to share some easy ways to help you create a zero waste and great tasting coffee routine from bean to cup in the safety of your own home!

Choosing Your Coffee

Before making your coffee, you have to choose where you will purchase your coffee beans. Over the summer, Sebastian and I took my sister and Vasco to Colombia to visit Sebastian’s family. My sister has worked in coffee for years, and we couldn’t wait to visit a coffee farm with her in Colombia. Honestly, we all loved seeing how Cafe Mesa de Los Santos had a plan for all of the waste it produced. Everything worked together to have a purpose rather than producing any waste.

Often, I think we can become very separated from the products we use. However, watching this product produced from plant all the way to cup helped me understand the amount of work that goes into it as well as the impact I have when I drink my morning coffee! This experience largely influences how I choose the coffees I purchase now.

Personally, I love supporting our local coffee roasters, Jittery Joe’s and 1000 Faces Coffee. Not only do I prefer supporting local businesses, but I think that local companies can offer more transparency about how they source and roast their coffee. Furthermore, Jittery Joe’s uses cans to package their coffee, and 1000 Faces Coffee uses a compostable bag for their packaging. Therefore, I can take the cans back to Jittery Joe’s to refill for me or I can use them as cute little planters!

Also, in Athens, we have a great commercial compost system. That means I can take my 1000 Faces packaging to one of their facilities to help create nutrient rich soil! In addition, both of my local roasters have quickly created efficient ways for our community to receive their coffee while also staying safe in the midst of the pandemic. Anyone can order either of their coffees online right now! Check out your local roasters’ current shipping policies in order to support them as well.

From an environmental standpoint, most small batch coffee roasters source coffee well. With such a large industry that often begins in other countries, I sometimes find it difficult to know that coffee farms produce their green coffee sustainably. When you use a local coffee roaster, they can often elaborate on their farms’ sustainable practices. Furthermore, they often have representatives that visit their partners so that they can keep a close and informed relationship with their producers. Of course, larger roasters may also source coffee sustainably, but when you choose a local roaster, you have a direct line of contact to create a conversation about sustainability! During our current situation, remember that supporting your local roaster not only helps their employees keep their jobs, but it also supports jobs all the way down to origin countries’ farms.

Aside from using local coffee roasters, if you have a bulk bin section at your local grocery store, choosing to use these beans cuts down on packaging completely. If you plan a grocery shopping trip now, try to only touch what you plan to buy, and remember to sanitize your hands properly.

Grinding Your Coffee

Typically, grinding coffee does not produce very much waste. However, grinding coffee does play a vital role in making a great tasting cup of coffee! While you can always purchase your coffee pre ground, it will taste so much better if you grind it closer to when you plan to actually use it. Carbon dioxide helps transfer the coffee flavors into the water you put the grounds in. When you grind the coffee, you create more surface area for the carbon dioxide to escape. Therefore, the coffee will begin to taste stale faster if you grind it too long before brewing it. For this reason, I recommend purchasing an at home grinder so that you can grind just the amount needed for one cup.

I’ve listed some of my favorite beginner grinders below. All of them use burrs instead of blades because burrs help create a more uniform grind size. Furthermore, you can order these grinders online today:

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Baratza Encore: This is a very high quality electric grinder. I recommend any of the grinders from Baratza, but this one is a little cheaper and still grinds coffee well.
Lido 2 or 3: These manual grinders are some of the best on the market. They grind coffee just as well and quickly as an electric grinder but are compact and easy to transport. Furthermore, eliminating the use of electricity can help minimize some of the waste in making your zero waste and great tasting cup of coffee!
Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill: This manual grinder is a much more affordable option for beginner coffee brewers. While it may take longer to grind the coffee, it still creates an even grind size and does not use electricity.

Choosing Your Zero Waste Coffee Routine Brew Method

Personally, I use a pour over coffee brewer every morning to create my zero waste and great tasting coffee. When I am finished brewing my coffee, I put the paper filter and the grounds in our compost bin. Regardless, I have listed three options below that cut down on waste while still making a wonderful cup of coffee! All three of these methods use a scale and a gooseneck kettle. If you don’t already have one of each, here are a couple of options that I highly recommend:

This scale measures to the nearest 0.1 gram and also keeps time for you to help create a precise brew.

Not only does this scale measure to the nearest 0.1 gram and keep time like the Hario, but you can also recharge it. Therefore, you can eliminate the waste of batteries with this more eco friendly option!

This kettle is loved by all coffee geeks! Not only does it pour well, but it maintains an exact temperature for your brew throughout the process. To create a great quality cup of coffee, a temperature of 205 degrees is ideal.

This is a more affordable electric kettle that pours just as well as the Fellow kettle.

Now you have everything you need to create a zero waste and great tasting cup of coffee. We can delve into some zero waste methods of brewing coffee.

Pour Over Coffee: My personal favorite method of zero waste coffee brewing! With this method, you use a paper filter. Regardless, you can always compost this portion with the grounds when you finish using it. The most popular pour overs I’ve come across are the Kalita Wave and the Hario V60. I would recommend using a medium grind size and a ratio of one part coffee to sixteen parts water. (23 grams of coffee to about 375 grams of water!)
French Press Coffee: When you choose a french press, you eliminate all waste because this method does not involve a paper filter at all. Therefore, you can put your grounds in the compost or your garden when you finish using it! While this method uses no waste at all, I don’t think every coffee tastes as great when I brew it with this full immersion method. Again, I would recommend using a ratio of one part coffee to sixteen parts water, but I would adjust the grind size to a good bit coarser.
Cold Brew Dripper: If you enjoy cold coffee, not only does this method take away the paper filter, but it also eliminates the need to heat any water at all! I have this cold brew dripper, and I really love it. To use it, you adjust the collar to create about a 12 hour brew cycle. Then, you leave it in your refrigerator until it is done brewing. For this method, I recommend using a coarser grind size and a ratio of one part coffee to fifteen parts water. (50 grams of coffee to 750 grams of water)

Of course, plenty of other methods offer a very sustainable brew. However, I think all three of these methods are great places to start!

Clean Up!

When you finish brewing your zero waste and great tasting coffee, you have a few different options for your used grinds. Personally, I love composting my grinds when I finish making my coffee. The grounds help produce nutrient rich soil for my garden. Specifically, coffee grounds are great for vermicomposting because worms love them! Regardless, you can also add grinds directly to your garden beds or potted plants. Coffee grounds can help get rid of slugs and snails. Also, plants like blueberries, azaleas, carrots, radishes, and rhododendrons love them. If you don’t have as many plants as I do, you can also use your old coffee grounds to create body scrubs. Not only do they make a great exfoliant, but they can also help protect the skin from sun damage.