Big Picture

You already know a coffee shop is more than just a caffeine fill-up station: it’s a sanctuary for good brews, good eats, good friends, and good vibes. But it’s also the cups it uses, the trash it throws out, the energy it consumes, and the people it employs.

Underground revolutions, literary masterpieces, steamy relationships, and relaxing afternoons. So many good things were born in coffee shops. Now we ask the question…IzzitGreen?

Factoids n' Stuff

• Coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder who noticed his flock dancing and followed them to a shrub with "magical" beans.
• Coffee is the US’s second largest import—behind oil. ("Fair Trade", Global Exchange)
• "The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combines, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself." –Mark Helprin, Memoir from Antproof Case (1995)
• "It is surely easier to confess a murder over a cup of coffee than in front of a jury."–Friedrich Dürrenmatt
• "Coffee is a beverage that puts one to sleep when not drank."--Alphonse Allais

What Goes In?

A coffee shop wouldn’t be a coffee shop without some coffee beans. Where do those beans come from, and does growing, harvesting, transporting, and roasting them have a positive or negative impact on people and the environment? The more you grind this bean, the more difficult it is to answer this question. Labels like organic, fair trade, and rainforest alliance are a start, but by no means an end.

Coffee may grow on trees, but most other things in a coffee shop don’t–so where does the shop get them? Are they ordering pastries from halfway across the country, shipped frozen, or from the bakery down the street? All those chairs, tables, and cozy couches have to come from somewhere. And although you can’t hold it in your hand, energy goes in, too. Is that energy coming from solar panels on the roof or a power plant?

What Comes Out?

Coffee without a cup is just a sad brown puddle on the floor. A cup without coffee is usually trash. Does the coffee shop offer reusable mugs? Biodegradable cups? Incentive to bring your own? And what happens to the rest of their trash, like coffee grounds, food waste, and packaging. Is it recycled, composted, sent to a landfill?

How's it Run?

There are as many ways to brew and serve a good cup of coffee as there are coffee shops. It goes beyond the grinding, brewing, and foaming. How much water does the coffee shop use in their kitchen and bathrooms? What about heat and insulation? Is the AC blowing full blast while the door is propped open in the summer? Are the baristas rumbling up in stretch-Hummers, or wheeling in on bikes? And somebody’s got to clean the place, so what chemicals do they use?

What They Care About

You want a chef to know and care about the ingredients in your pasta primavera, so don’t you want the people behind a coffee shop to know and care about the ingredients in your latte? If the people behind the coffee shop are aware about the ins and outs of their business, and are as concerned as you are about doing what’s right, as we build our knowledge of what it means to be green, they’ll shape their business practices accordingly.

What to Ask

• What do you do with your coffee grounds and tea leaves? If you have a garden, ask if you can have their coffee grounds for compost.
• Where does your coffee come from?
• Do you offer fair trade, organic or direct trade coffee?
• Do you offer a discount if I bring my own mug?
• Who makes your pastries?

What to Do

• Bring your own mug.
• Go for the bulk sugar container instead of the paper packet.
• Skip the disposable stir stick. Keep a pen or chopstick in your bag to use instead.
• Tell the coffee shop you’d like to see them offer fair trade, organic, or direct trade options.

Find Out More

• Green Restaurant Association (GRA) – environmental guidelines and list of certified restaurants, coffee shops, cafes
• Treehugger’s Tips for Green Coffee and How to Green Your Coffee and Tea
• Black Gold - movie about coffee growers and traders
• Bring Your Own - an organization committed to changing our disposable habits to renewable ones
• Coffee and Conservation - "Resources on the coffee and habitat connection for the conscious consumer."
• Starbucks Fair Trade Coffee
• “A Little More at Tully’s for a Cup that Composts” -- article from the Seattle Times
• CoffeeReview- Site that evaluates coffee; search by categories such as fair trade and organic
• Grist's Ask Umbra takes on coffee certifications and The Bottom Line does a taste test of certified coffee v. direct trade roasters
• Life Without Plastic-- Home products that are (almost) plastic free
• Single Serve Coffee Blog-- About the pursuing the perfect "single cup" of coffee. Has a section on cups and travel mugs.
• World Wildlife Fund on coffee and habitats
• “Fair trade branded ‘unfair’” -- article from The Guardian