Green Your Caffeine

Did you know that worldwide 1.4 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day?  Did you know there's a lot of room for improvement in terms of eco- and social-responsibility?  Read on for tips on how to green your own caffeine addiction!

Now this wiki is not just limited to caffeinated beverages...of course this goes for decaf also!

1. Get a reusable mug (and use it)!  Americans alone throw away 25 trillion polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) cups every year.  Plus you'll look way cooler carrying around a mug from your alma mater or one with your kid's picture on it.
2. Buy and drink fair trade.  Fair trade ensures that the farmers that cultivate your coffee and tea are getting paid living wages and are working in safe conditions.  Not to mention, TransFair and Rainforest Alliance also include environmental standards in their certification criteria.
3. Buy and drink organic.  You may not be able to quit the caffeine habit but you can definitely quite the pesticide one.
4. Buy and drink local.  Suport your local farmers and economy and reduce the carbon emissions from the transport of your java.
5. Go with loose tea.  You'll save a bunch of resources that are used on individually packaged tea bags and the cloth/paper wrapped around the tea leaves.
6. Try a reusable filter if you brew at home.  Or if you can't seem to go reusable, at least look for biodegradable filters.
7. Compost your coffee grounds and tea bags.  Why send that stuff to the landfill when it can do some great work in your garden?  For more details on recycling your coffee grounds, check out the wiki!
8. Don't fill up the entire kettle if you're not going to use all the water.  Measure out the water you need in your mug and then pour that into the kettle.  It saves energy in the heating process and it saves you time in the waiting process!
9. Purchase your sugar (or sweetener of choice) in bulk.  Those individually-sized servings waste a TON of paper.

What else is there, Huddlers?  Also...what are some of your personal favorite coffees and teas?  Any organic hot chocolate drinkers out there?

Environmentally Friendly Coffee Companies:

• Thanksgiving Coffee