Sustainable Coffee – a St. Louis Speciality

Originally published on Saint Louis Brew blog.

Imagine waking up on a typical Monday morning – you’re groggy, not wanting to remove yourself from the cocoon of warmth that is your bed. But despite the urge to hit the snooze button or call into work sick, you bravely tear yourself off of your mattress and go through the motions of the morning. The sole ray of sunshine in this stormy morning is your warm, life-giving cup of coffee. How could you function without it? Now imagine this morning without coffee. Before you burst into tears, I’m only making you imagine this scenario because there are several ecological factors that impact coffee production and consumption. But fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom and coffee-less mornings. St. Louis is actually home to a few organizations determined to make coffee production and consumption greener for all. Most of the world’s coffee is grown in what is known as the “Bean Belt,” a line that runs through regions under the equator such as Central America, South America, central Africa, and parts of Asia. These areas of the world are rural and revolve around farming compared to the regions that consume the most coffee, such as the United States and western Europe. But despite the seemingly endless supply of coffee in the consuming regions, coffee is harvested for a few weeks and factors such as poor crops, severe weather, or environmental pollution can greatly impact our favorite morning beverage. And while different certificates of coffee such as fair-trade and shade-grown help sustain the environment, the high demand for coffee and the extensive process of producing coffee beans takes its toll on Mother Earth. While coffee in itself is an international product, some advocates for its sustainability are home-grown. Kuva Coffee is a micro-roasting company specializing in roasting single-origin coffees of the highest quality to its customers. They pride themselves on their close relationship with the farmers growing the coffee beans and their ethical and sustainable methods of production. Watch the Nine Network’s story covering Kuva and its dedication to green coffee production below.

But sustainability issues aren’t only for farmers and those roasting the beans. Wastes from coffee products are another concern looming over the ecosystem. Plastic coffee cups, sleeves, and Keurig K-cups are huge contributors to coffee waste. Most recently K-cups have come under fire for being non-recyclable and filling landfills to the brim. And since Americans consume the most coffee, we also produce the most coffee-related waste. Sleeve a Message, another St. Louis-based company, provides green alternatives from the other side of the coffee process. They produce coffee sleeves and restaurant supplies that are eco-friendly and minimize harm. Special inks, recyclable sleeves, and strategic use of the trees they use help reduce their consumption costs. They state that a single tree can make 7,000 coffee sleeves! The company is also partnered with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, an organization dedicated to reforesting urban areas, to produce sleeves from locally incubated trees. Overall, St. Louis is working towards a better, greener way of producing and consuming our favorite morning beverage. Even though these are relatively small steps in the face of a global issue, they will create large strides in sustainable coffee for all. How do you try to be green with your coffee? Let us know!