How Sustainable is Your Cup of Joe?
As I sip my espresso (black, which isn’t usually my preference but it’s what I’ve got in this Spanish AirBnB), I can’t help feeling guilty that I used a Nespresso maker to make my two shots, each requiring me to trash the disposable pods as soon as the machine magically dispensed the perfect amount of bean juice I rely on to jumpstart my day. Upset with my wasteful cup of joe, my brain wanders to my regular American coffee routine, to consider if what I normally do is any better.
Since the start of COVID, my order hasn’t been up-to-snuff regarding my personal sustainability standards, because reusable cups for takeaway coffee are on hold at most coffee shops for the time being. For me (for now), this means getting my iced americano in a plastic coffee cup while I’m on the go. To make matters worse, plastic cups of any kind are not accepted for recycling here in Portland. As a sustainability consultant, I’m not even sure if I should be admitting that but I’d like to be transparent about my shortcomings to let everyone know that everyone does this and that it’s incredibly hard to do everything “right.” So even though I do use them, these plastic cups are still the most frustrating disposable item I can think of, and the Nespresso pods have always invoked similar rage. The fact that so many across the world rely on this daily habit to get through the day and haven’t figured out a way to avoid creating waste every single time we go buy a coffee? That seems silly. But what other choices do we have? To purchase a wildly expensive espresso maker? To drink my drip coffee at my house every time I need a little pep in my step? To stop drinking coffee altogether? Don’t be ridiculous.
As I continue to think about how to improve, I come to the realization that everything I’m analyzing is all based on what I think is best, rather than any research I’ve actually done. I’ve always gotten mad at Nespresso specifically, maybe because it was so easy in a way. Because throwing something away every single time you make coffee has to be one of the most wasteful coffee choices you can make, right? But then I checked myself and …I also…throw something away…almost every time…I drink coffee…
So, I looked into it. And wow was I wrong. Not only am I now biting my tongue because the process of brewing Nespresso is rated second best, but my regular routine is ranked last.
Alf Hill, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Bath, ranked the environmental impact of different coffee-making methods by looking at the full life-cycle assessment. For coffee purposes, this included “all the stages of coffee production, from growing the beans to disposal of waste, assessing the impact on ecosystems, climate change, and water” according to WIRED magazine’s article. So here’s Alf’s breakdown, from the best to the worst:
Instant coffee: Comes in first place because you get the most bean for your buck. No really, instant coffee is considered the most sustainable option because you essentially need to grow less of it to make a full cup, and therefore need less water, fertilizer, and other inputs as well. To be fair, I only know one person who drinks instant coffee, but hey, maybe she’s onto something.
Nespresso pods: And yes, I’m talking about Nespresso specifically as a company…turns out the other pod companies don’t stack up as well. Nespresso pods have the inherent ability to only use what you need and extract coffee from the grounds very effectively. This also means that as long as you are pretty confident you at least want one shot of espresso, you won’t be wasting anything because you didn’t have to measure, and you get what you sign up for. On top of this, the flash-heating method that these machines use a minimal amount of energy. If you do want to get into the packaging aspect, they are doing some things about that too, even though it’s not perfect yet. Nespresso offers a recycling program where they take back the pods and recycle them for you.
Drip coffee: Depending on whether or not you’re already living with sustainable intentions, drip coffee isn’t necessarily always ranked number three. However, the reality is that most consumers end up making more than they drink, using disposable filters, or leaving their coffee maker which uses unnecessary energy. Boiling a kettle also uses more energy than the flash-heating method.
Espresso: Espresso machines use significantly more energy than a capsule machine does, which brings them in last place. Who would have thought that a little tiny espresso shot could have such a big environmental impact?
Evidently, sometimes the most sustainable option isn’t what you’d think. So many of us interpret the world in such a visual way that it’s difficult to analyze what goes into the lifecycle of a product before it makes its way to our door (or mouth). What’s strange is even though Alf Hill and many other scientists have done the research to show the general public what the most impactful options are, there are still so many people attempting to make the Nespresso pod more sustainable because it’s interpreted (oops, me too) as such a problem.
Not to be the bearer of bad news, but climate change is, unfortunately, reducing our ability to produce some of our most popular coffee beans, and there is a real possibility that we will be seeing less of our favorite beans in the next 100 years (or sooner, depending on how things go). Arabica beans specifically (which currently account for 60% of the beans that we use) are projected to be at a 60% loss by 2100 due to temperature fluctuations. So, if I didn’t already make you rethink all your coffee decisions, try your best to do all the other parts of your life sustainably too. Okay? Okay cool, thanks.
While I’m out here telling you how to live your life, I should probably at least give you at least a couple ways of going about that so you’re not completely overwhelmed. That is what I do, after all. I also believe it is only fair to introduce solutions when introducing a problem, so here are some coffee companies doing really cool things that will hopefully help you in your journey forward, or at least shine a little light:
Atomo Coffee, a company based in Seattle is working on making molecular coffee, which eliminates the need for coffee beans altogether. This is amazing in the sense that they are doing away with the resources used in regular coffee production, and instead isolating the molecule to make you a cup that tastes, smells, and looks like coffee.
What about a cup that you can eat after you’ve finished your cup of joe? New Zealand-based company Twiice has made this possible. Some customers claimed it needed more nutmeg, but no one reported any leakage, and overall, taste reviews were very positive. Twiice has already trial runs with these cups with Air New Zealand and Porsche New Zealand. At the moment, you can only buy 48 of them at a time(and only in New Zealand) but if you work in an office, this would be a great thing to advocate for!
Finally, just bringing more awareness to the way your coffee is grown and the amount of consciousness your local coffee shop puts into ethical sourcing is a good start. The most significant potential for change in the coffee industry starts on the coffee farm.
As always, if you have additional questions or want to hear more about coffee, please reach out!
