What is sustainable coffee?

More and more brands and companies are striving for sustainable coffee. For example, various brands encourage the use of coffee-to-go cups instead of plastic cups. But you can also contribute to a sustainable cup of coffee in various ways.

Brewing Sustainable Coffee

A process has already taken place before you buy your coffee, but the coffee you drink and how you prepare it also affects the environment. For example, do you use coffee filters? Then make sure you don't brew more coffee than you need. Dispose of used coffee filters and coffee grounds with organic waste. Coffee grounds, essentially coffee waste, can also be reused. It's an excellent cleaning agent and can help absorb unpleasant odors. If you use coffee filters, you can also opt for filters made of plastic or cotton. Using capsules or pods is the easiest, but also generates a lot of waste. There are refillable pods, and you can return pods for recycling.

We, as residents of the Netherlands, are among the largest coffee drinkers in the world. Research shows that Dutch people drink an average of four cups of coffee per day. Do you use the same cup for every cup of coffee? Good. If not? Consider it. Rinse your used cup and it's ready to be reused.

Drinking Sustainable Coffee with Milk (Foam)

As delicious as a Cappuccino or Latte Macchiato is, it's not exactly sustainable. Both types use milk, but the livestock farming required to obtain milk also burdens the climate. To continue drinking these beverages and contribute to the environment, plant-based milks, such as oat or soy milk, are widely used.

But how much more sustainable is plant-based milk compared to cow's milk? Cow's milk requires more land and water than oat or soy milk. However, growing almonds for almond milk requires a lot of water. Nevertheless, you can conclude that the environmental impact of plant-based milk is half that of cow's milk.

Preferably choose to drink black coffee. No milk and no sugar. This way, you also don't need a stirrer, and you contribute to the environment in that way too. And good coffee tastes best pure!

Sustainable Coffee Packaging

Coffee is packaged in various ways, but which way is the most sustainable? Many packages are made from fossil raw materials and are then incinerated, which is not sustainable. Another option is to have your own jar to buy your coffee beans. This is a popular and beautiful way of presenting, but not a good idea for the freshness of coffee. When 'tapping' coffee beans, they are exposed to oxygen, and the quality deteriorates faster. The packaging of our Kaldi coffee is not made of aluminum foil. This makes the packaging recyclable and can be disposed of with PDM waste.

Sustainable Coffee Maker and Machine

To brew sustainable coffee, you need a coffee maker or machine. This can also be sustainable, or at least more sustainable. The supply of energy-saving/sustainable coffee makers is minimal, but it does exist. Coffee machines with all sorts of gadgets, such as a touchscreen, use a lot of energy. Purchasing a sustainable coffee machine naturally contributes positively to the environment, but you also use less energy, which also plays a role in energy costs. Drinking coffee is a burden on the environment, but in these ways, you can gradually contribute to improving it, and who knows, in a few years, we might all still be able to enjoy our cup of coffee.