Coffee is not one of the things that we tend to think much about when it comes to protecting the environment.
It’s just coffee, the beans grow on a plant in a field, they’re harvested and then eventually they end up as a steaming cup of energy for you.
It doesn’t sound like something that would have a negative effect on the environment does it? Not really, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t.
Well there’s a couple of reasons why it does tend to be somewhat problematic. Things like deforestation and water pollution are big ones.
If this is something that you care about, you can avoid being a part of it by switching to sustainable coffee beans.
There are some out there which are specifically grown and produced to be as eco-friendly as possible. Here’s 5 that you could try.
- Doma
Doma is a company that’s based in Idaho and since their arrival on the coffee scene in 2000, they have dedicated their careers to eco-friendly coffee.
Doma’s biggest asset in this fight against unsustainable coffee is a revolutionary coffee roaster known as the Kestrel S35 Loring Smart Roaster.
This machine uses 80% less gas and as such, releases significantly less carbon dioxide than the majority of coffee producers are responsible for.
The company also exclusively purchases fair-traded beans and gets them directly from the farms so that they can ensure the legitimacy of the product.
In addition to all of that, the company goes out of their way to be environmentally friendly in other areas too.
- Rise Up
The Rise Up product is another one that uses only fair-traded beans and it’s also a USDA certified organic brand.
One of the big differences between Rise Up and their competitors is that they grow without the use of chemical pesticides.
Not only is that something that can affect the taste of the coffee, but it’s harmful for the soil and it spreads a lot of these chemicals into the air.
In order to make sure that they are working with only traditional cultivators, Rise Up uses many farmers from coffee-friendly countries in Central America.
This includes the pioneering Bryan Corrales who has practices sustainable coffee farming for many years on his farm in Matagalpa Nicaragua.
- Dean’s Beans
Dean’s Beans is one of the companies that still produces something which is known as ‘shade-grown’ coffee.
The goal of this style of growing is to ensure that the surrounding habitat is unaffected by the process of coffee production.
It’s grown under the canopy of trees and this helps to promote natural ecological relationships between the coffee plants and other plants in the area.
A much more eco-friendly method than the producers who interfere with the environment to make room for their coffee farms.
They grow both at home in Massachusetts and abroad in Asia and Africa. Like Doma, Dean’s Beans is also committed to the environment in a number of ways.
They are involved in a number of fundraising projects and it’s also interesting to note that they use solar panels to power their beanery.
That might be a big off-topic, but it does give a good indication that Dean’s Beans is a company that can be trusted with eco-friendly work.
- Sweetwater Organic
Sweetwater Organic operates out of Gainesville Florida and are a USDA certified Organic brand in their own right.
Fair Traded beans is a specialty of this company and they aim to work with as many small-scale farmers as possible to avoid supporting the unsustainable practices of larger companies.
They seek out the world’s finest specialty-grade Arabica beans which are delivered daily to their headquarters in Florida to ensure consistent, fresh eco-friendly beans.
These Arabica beans are generally sourced from Ethiopia where they are shade-grown in the forests and the plants are exposed to a sufficient amount of rainwater.
- Cafe Campesino
Another American company but also one that was, pardon the pun, grown with a lot of traditional cultivation and environmentally friendly methods in mind.
Cafe Campesino was started by the Georgia native Bill Harris who learned about fair trade coffee during a trip to Central America in the mid-90’s.
Since then, he has been working to produce sustainable coffee that supports smaller farmers and better farming methods.
The company is a part of the Fair Trade Federation and Georgia Organics as well as being a Certified Green Business.
So this is unquestionably a reputable company when it comes to their eco-friendly approach to coffee production.
Conclusion
If you are interested in getting a regular supply of a a sustainable coffee beans, one of these could be the right choice for you.
You could also have a look at this list of reliable coffee subscriptions from Homegrounds. There’s a few more eco-friendly brands on there which might be of interest to you.
