I *love* coffee - it's the way I start and end my day. No coffee, no sleep. No coffee, no work. Addiction is wonderful :)
Unfortunately, the demand for cheap coffee has resulted in the increasing clearing of rainforests and other natural habitats, declines in biodiversity, and increased usage of chemicals and pesticides. The latter is not only bad for the environment, it's bad for us.
Thankfully, there's been growing popularity in earth friendly and organic coffee production, and prices, while still a little more than el cheapo instant brands, are gradually reducing.
If you'd like to switch to earth friendly coffee but have no stockists close by, buying it in bulk online and freezing it is the way to go. Coffee can be kept for up to 3 months in this state.
If certified organic coffee is beyond your budget; another alternative is certified fair trade coffee; which is usually a little cheaper. By supporting fair trade; you'll be helping ensure farmers in developing countries are paid fairly for their toil. Coffee carrying the fair trade endorsement has also been produced using environmentally sustainable methods. Some fair trade coffee is organic (it will be labeled as such if it is), but all fair trade endorsed coffee products are grown and processed in a more environmentally friendly fashion than many big brand names in the coffee industry.
Where does your coffee come from? Until recently, my brand was from Brazil which is a very long way from Australia. Food miles are an important consideration if you're concerned about the environment. I've now started buying coffee from East Timor via Fair Go Trading in Western Australia - East Timor is about 7,000 miles closer to Australia than Brazil, so less fossil fuels are used in getting my caffeine fix and the farmers growing it get a better deal under the fair trade system.
If you're a filter coffee drinker, another way to make your favorite brew more earth friendly is to use unbleached coffee filters - it won't cost you anything more and you'll be reducing the amount of organochlorines and dioxins released into the environment, which is a by-product of bleaching with chlorine. Handy tip: you can put used coffee grounds into your worm farm if you have one!
Have a favorite earth friendly coffee tip? Please add it below.
