Ditch the Keurig Attachment: {Keep the Coffee}

With the Holiday Season upon us, the Keurig is oft advertised as the perfect gift. This annoys me quite a bit.  I’ve always loathed those little plastic cups. If you feel guilty about using this waste machine it’s probably with good reason and you may consider turning it in for something more eco-friendly. I know people who are very attached to their Keurig’s, but shouldn’t we be attached to other people, our earth, our morals, our beliefs, and our ethics.  Not things and objects, so let it go already with the excuses and attachments.

Anyway, the holidays…

The perfect gift?  To show someone you care:  Here is a machine that wastes plastic and heats your coffee directly in a little plastic cup that leaches God knows what chemicals into your morning brew? For real.  For what 20 added seconds of convenience?

It takes maybe 20 seconds to put a filter and scoop some coffee grounds into it. If you don’t have an extra few moments in the morning for this, you probably want to rework, like, your entire life. If you need some help, I will provide you a  life coaching free of charge my email address is on my contact page. You are welcome.

Sarcasm aside,

 Below is an excellent article about the Keurig. Did you know the maker of the Keurig K-cup sometimes regrets making it?  Okay, so my annoyance with these plastic wasting machines aside, the company is trying to be environmentally responsible and they do encourage recycling of the cups. This is great! If you have a Keurig at home do you recycle the waste?

I really want to try a French Press after reading this article below and encourage others to find less wasteful coffee consumption methods.

Keurig: Killing with Convenience from NoNeedforMars.com
 

I am not perfect. I greatly enjoy coffee and yes, sometimes it comes in a little Styrofoam cup at division meetings and what not. Egads. I may just partake sometimes in a pinch although I really attempt to avoid anything heated in Styrofoam.  This is also the exact reason why I brew my coffee at home every morning. Okay, well, the hubs makes it every morning. That man makes the best damn fine cup of coffee… (shameless Twin Peaks reference: we love anything David Lynch at our home).

image courtesy of buzzfeed.com

Reusable mugs, of course.  Recently I’ve been forgoing my afternoon cup of dark slop because the machine downstairs uses plastic pouches to brew their coffee.  I have opted to drink green or Chai tea instead. Great pick me up, twice as healthy, and a little better for my gut microbiome.

Okay, let’s get back to waste. Coffee cans and plastics are wasteful- the packaging. When I do buy larger plastic bulk tubs, I save the tubs. I have found SO many uses for these tubs.  I have also tried multiple different fair trade and organic brands that come in packaging (recyclable) rather than plastic tubs. Some ideas to reuse those tubs:

* to spread grass seed with – just drill some holes in the bottom

* the lids made great cement stepping stone ‘molds’

* and of course, crafts!   My son and husband were  play pretending “cars” and I just grabbed an old plastic lid and it was their steering wheel

If you feel judged about your Keurig ownership. Yes, I am judging you a little. You are welcome to judge me right back. I prefer symbiotic relationships. The great thing is there are options.

You do not have to gift a coffee making machine this holiday season or if you do add the silicon reusable cup and a bag of fresh coffee grounds to your gift. There are some excellent deals on stainless steel cookware right now- and reusable water bottles, coffee mugs, snack bags, etc… Now those would make awesome eco-friendly Christmas gifts!

A few thoughts about reducing waste and ways to keep your coffee consumption a happy and guilt-free experience:

1. If you must have a Keurig machine, try the reusable silicon K-cups.  Now, my sister did claim hers created some issues with grounds in her coffee. Alas, try it out, it may be a great alternative.

2.  Use non-bleached and compostable filters. In an effort to eliminate dyes and bleaches out of our coffee filters and muffin liners I sourced and found some awesome filters and liners by a brand called If You Care.

The coffee grounds and compostable filters are going straight into our compost pile.  I use the muffin liners when necessary or just plop the batter straight in the pan to avoid waste of the liners.

3. Consider buying your coffee beans in bulk at a health food store, bring your reusable bag,  and then grind the beans at home. First of all fresh ground coffee beans make amazing coffee. Secondly, you reduce packaging waste.

Do you have any thoughts on great holiday gifts this season that are eco-friendly?

What are your favorite coffee brewing methods?