"Make Taste Not Waste" - greening your coffee drinking

(Source: www.bodum.com)

"Make Taste Not Waste" is the advertising slogan currently being used by coffee press manufacturer Bodum. I saw this slogan at a cafe at Tokyo Observatory and was surprised by the direct line taken against the ubiquitous single ushttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife coffee capsules by Nespresso and Keurig K-Cups. The single use convenience pods do make a particularly good cup of coffee there is clearly the downside of all convenience food in the packaging and waste of the pods when used. The increasing popularity of these pods are definitely a concern for traditional coffee maker manufacturers.

I do agree that the pod systems make for a consistent cup of coffee, but is it worth the 9 billion capsules that are disposed of every year according to Bodum. Something to think about, even when you consider the source. In full disclosure, I do use a Bodum french press daily and have been very satisfied. I chose this interestingly to avoid having to use the disposable paper filters which predated the capsule craze. Another side note, a green product has to work in reality, not just marketing. I also purchased this Bodum Travel Press with less than stellar results. So an effort at being green, ended up being potential landfill (though I still keep it since it's all plasticy and I use it for tea).

So it's nice when advertising is meant to ask bigger questions. So I applaud Bodum's move and hope that the competitors will come up with green alternatives. Though others are trying, as this Instructables article shows. (It is an awful lot of work, so you have to be really dedicated. Keurig offers a Reusable Coffee Filter as well and the reviews seem pretty positive overall.

But a simple way to address the issue of packaging is to use less, one of my favorite perks for coffee is that Peet's offers $0.25 discount if you bring back your old coffee bag when you get fresh beans. I can personally vouch that it's possible to use a bag for an extra long time.

So you can make your morning buzz more green, regardless of how you make your coffee.