Low-Waste Coffee 4 Ways!

Coffee is a huge part of many people's morning routine, so I really wanted to tackle how to make coffee as low-waste as possible. We're going to cover everything from options on where and how to buy your coffee to decrease waste all the way to four different methods you can use when making your coffee at home. All of these methods I have either tried, or learned from living with different people throughout the years so I am certain that everyone will be able to find a routine that works for them. 

Buying Coffee To Decrease Waste

 Coffee bags themselves are not recyclable, which can create a lot of waste. I've come up with a few ideas on how to buy coffee to create the least amount of waste and I know everyone will be able to find an option that they do without much effort. I'm going to put them in order of least waste to most waste and then share which one I do.
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1. Get coffee beans from a bulk store: Places like Sprouts and WholeFoods have sections where you can pour coffee beans into your own jar and buy them without any packaging at all. To do this though you will need to have a coffee grinder which is something to take into account. However, it ends up being the least amount of waste because you are getting your coffee package free. 
2. Buying instant coffee in a glass jar: My college roommate Patty used to make instant coffee in the microwave daily and bought the Nescafe Instant Coffee that came in glass jars instead of aluminum bags. This would definitely be considered zero waste because the jars can either be reused or recycled infinitely and there is no filter needed or excess grounds to dispose of. 
3. Shopping Local: I'm sure everyone for the most part lives near a local coffee shop that also sells their own bags of coffee beans. See if their headquartered are local as well. The reason this is a great low-waste option is because the emissions to make and ship the coffee are significantly less than if you buy coffee from foreign countries that need to be flown into grocery stores. And you can feel good about supporting a local business as well. 

So what do I currently do? I shop local. I find this the easiest for me because my kitchen is small and I don't have room for extra applicances (like a coffee grinder), and I also live about a 30 min drive to the closest place to get coffee beans package free. Also, I tried the instant coffee and didn't love it. Where I live, I'm walking distance from a coffee shop that makes all of their coffee in Pennsylvania and it's a small family business so I feel really good about supporting them and the fact that it is somewhat more sustainable! I wanted to make this point to show you that even if the most convenient option for you is the lesser of the sustainable options it's still a better choice and every little bit helps our planet.

How To Make Coffee Sustainably

This is where the fun comes in. You've purchased your coffee and it's time to make it while creating the least amount of waste possible. Here are my tips for making zero waste coffee with every type of machine!

​1. Standard Coffee Pot: When using a standard coffee pot, either find a pot that has a reusable filter you like or buy your own reusable filters! I prefer the reusable filters that I bought because I find it does a better job of keeping coffee grounds out of my coffee. The maintenance is easy as well, everyday I dump the grounds into my compost and rinse out and then hang the filter to dry on my dish rack. Once per month I boil it for about 10 minutes and squeeze out the water to help rinse it out a little bit better. 

2. French Press: French presses are a classic no waste way to make coffee because they don't require filter at all. 

3. Keurig: I had a knock off Keurig for years that came with a reusable coffee pod. I would buy standard ground coffee and everyday fill it with coffee grounds and brew! 

If coffee is something you consume everyday I am sure that there are some options here that will work for you to incorporate into your morning routine and reduce waste while you're at it! Let me know below if you have any other zero-waste coffee routines.