Zero Waste Coffee
I love freshly made coffee but today most of it comes with so much plastic packaging it’s tricky trying to have a Zero Waste Coffee.
The love of coffee runs in our family as my niece owns a coffee farm and B&B in Peru Fundo La Colorada so there’s never any shortage of fresh coffee when she comes to visit.
Buying coffee
If you buy ground coffee in the supermarket it’s very likely to be in plastic coated packaging which you cannot recycle, but do keep looking as I have found Percol, Fair Trade, in home compostable bags.
However, if you can’t find any the best alternative is to find somewhere that sells beans that you can purchase in a paper bag or your own container and grind as and when you need them. Once you get the beans home store them in an airtight glass jar.
Making your zero waste coffee at home
Coffee Pods
Coffee pod machines have become very popular as they are a quick and simple way to make a fresh cup of coffee at home and you don’t need to worry about buying beans and grinding your coffee. However, most coffee pods end up in landfill.
According to research by Halo, a British producer of compostable coffee capsules, every minute about 39,000 of these pods are made worldwide, while up to 29,000 are dumped in landfill sites.
However, that doesn’t need to be the case as aluminium coffee pods can be recycled and you can now buy home compostable coffee pods.
To recycle aluminium coffee pods, remove the top and empty the coffee grinds into your compost bin and you can then place the aluminium pod in your kerbside recycling (check that your council accepts them first). It may also be worth checking out the recycling options for Nescafe Dolce Gusto and Nespresso who both have their own recycling schemes.
When it comes to compostable pods check that they are home compostable as some can only be composted in industrial facilities which we don’t have access to in the UK. One of my favourites is Novell which are not only home compostable but also 100% organic.
Filter Coffee (Drip)
Another way to make a lovely fresh cup of coffee at home is with a filter machine and rather than buying disposable filters invest in reusable cloth filters.
Cafetiere or French Press
A cafetiere or French press is a very simple way to make a jug of fresh coffee. It’s one of my favourite ways to make coffee for breakfast as there’s always enough for a couple of cups each.
Moka Pot
A favourite with Italians the moka pot is a stove-top coffee maker that brews coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. Named after the Yemeni city of Mocha, it was invented by an Italian engineer named Alfonso Bialetti in 1933.
The moka pot is fairly simple to user:
- Heat the Moka pot on the stovetop for 5–10 minutes. Set the stovetop temperature to medium-low and watch the coffee
- Use a spoon to stir the coffee in the upper chamber. Once the Moka pot has been removed from the heat, carefully stir
- Serve the Moka pot coffee immediately.
Bean to Cup Coffee Machine
If you’re a true coffee lover you may want to invest in a proper espresso machine that not only makes the coffee but also grinds the coffee beans.
Whichever Zero Waste Coffee method you choose enjoy your coffee and why not make some Banana Bread to go with it.
Thanks for the tips. I don’t like coffee but my husband drinks a couple of cups a day. He likes coffee granules usually but I’ll let him know about other options.
Great post. We’ve stopped using our coffee machine due to the worry about the amount of pods we were going through.
We now use a cafetière instead and it involves much less waste which is great x
I need another coffee now! I love coffee and coffee pods so it’s good to know that the aluminium ones can be recycled.
My Mum is a big coffee drinker. I’ll have to show her this post.
My husband drinks a LOT of coffee. He gets whole beans and grinds them himself, and uses an areopress with a reuseable metal filter.
My in-laws are coffee lovers, so I am sure they would be happy to know about all these options. I am gonna share this post with them tonight. ☺
My husband is the coffee drinker in our house and our coffee maker has just given up on us, so I this is really helpful in choosing our next one