Brewing a Greener Cup: Everyday Coffee and Tea Habits to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Question: What everyday coffee or tea consumption habits can I adjust to lessen my overall carbon footprint?

Rethinking Your Brew: Energy and Water Efficiency

The way we prepare our daily dose of caffeine or comfort can have a surprisingly significant environmental impact. For coffee drinkers, the energy consumed by electric coffee makers is a key factor. Choosing energy-efficient brewing methods, or simply brewing larger batches less frequently, can conserve electricity. While specific process parameters for energy consumption during brewing aren’t detailed in the provided literature, general principles of energy efficiency apply. Similarly, for tea, boiling only the amount of water needed for your cup rather than a full kettle reduces energy waste. Moreover, the water itself has an environmental cost in terms of sourcing, treatment, and distribution.

The Impact of What’s Inside the Cup

Beyond the brewing process, what we add to our coffee and tea also contributes to our carbon footprint. The production of dairy milk, a common addition, is associated with significant greenhouse gas emissions. Exploring plant-based alternatives like oat, soy, or almond milk can offer a more sustainable choice. The environmental impact of producing these alternatives varies, but generally, they tend to have a lower footprint than dairy. For those who take sugar, consider its origin and production methods. The cultivation and processing of sugar can be resource-intensive.

Minimizing Waste: From Grounds to Packaging

Waste management is a critical aspect of reducing the carbon footprint of our beverage consumption. Spent coffee grounds, for instance, can be repurposed. Research has explored their use in creating biocomposites with wheat flour for applications like plant growth substrates [2]. This diverts waste from landfills and offers potential environmental benefits. Similarly, tea leaves, once steeped, can be composted. Beyond the immediate byproducts, consider the packaging of your coffee and tea. Opting for bulk purchases, loose-leaf tea, or coffee with minimal and recyclable packaging can significantly reduce waste. Even the disposable cups and lids associated with takeaway beverages accumulate a considerable environmental burden.

Sourcing Smarter: Beyond the Bean and Leaf

The journey of coffee beans and tea leaves from their origin to our cups involves agricultural practices, transportation, and processing, all of which have environmental implications. While not all sources detail specific environmental impacts of sourcing, the origin of produce generally plays a role in its footprint. Understanding certifications and ethical sourcing practices can guide consumers toward more sustainable choices. For coffee, different species and processing methods, such as fermentation protocols that positively influence pH and volatile compounds [3], can have varying environmental impacts throughout their lifecycle. The choice between different coffee co-products, for example, may also offer avenues for reducing waste and utilizing the whole plant [4].

A Concluding Thought on Conscious Consumption

While the environmental impact of a single cup of coffee or tea might seem small, the cumulative effect of daily consumption habits across millions of people is substantial. By making conscious choices about energy and water usage during preparation, the additions to our beverages, waste reduction strategies, and the origins of our beans and leaves, we can collectively make a meaningful difference. Embracing these adjustments transforms a daily ritual into an act of environmental stewardship, proving that a greener cup is achievable with mindful practice.

References

[1] — Ernesto Illy, Luciano Navarini — Neglected Food Bubbles: The Espresso Coffee Foam. — 2011-Sep — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21892345/ [2] — Magdalena Zdanowicz, Marta Rokosa, Magdalena Pieczykolan, Adrian Krzysztof Antosik, Katarzyna Skórczewska — Biocomposites Based on Wheat Flour with Urea-Based Eutectic Plasticizer and Spent Coffee Grounds: Preparation, Physicochemical Characterization, and Study of Their Influence on Plant Growth. — 2024-Mar-06 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38473683/ [3] — Gustavo Galarza, Jorge G Figueroa — Volatile Compound Characterization of Coffee ( — 2022-Mar-21 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35335365/ [4] — Katarína Poláková, Alica Bobková, Alžbeta Demianová, Marek Bobko, Judita Lidiková, Lukáš Jurčaga, Ľubomír Belej, Andrea Mesárošová, Melina Korčok, Tomáš Tóth — Quality Attributes and Sensory Acceptance of Different Botanical Coffee Co-Products. — 2023-Jul-11 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37509767/ [5] — Rongsuo Hu, Fei Xu, Liyan Zhao, Wenjiang Dong, Xingyuan Xiao, Xiao Chen — Comparative Evaluation of Flavor and Sensory Quality of Coffee Pulp Wines. — 2024-Jun-27 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38999011/ [6] — Marin Senila, Eniko Kovacs, Lacrimioara Senila — Essential and Nonessential Elements, Lipids and Volatile Compounds in Coffee and Transfer to Coffee Brews: Assessment of the Benefits and Potential Risks for Human Health. — 2025-Jan — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39803262/ [7] — Ryan C Emadi, Farin Kamangar — Coffee’s Impact on Health and Well-Being. — 2025-Aug-05 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40806142/ [8] — Ami Fukunaga, Masamine Jimba, Thuy Thi Phuong Pham, Chau Que Nguyen, Dong Van Hoang, Tien Vu Phan, Aki Yazawa, Danh Cong Phan, Masahiko Hachiya, Huy Xuan Le, Hung Thai Do, Tetsuya Mizoue, Yosuke Inoue — The association of coffee consumption with prediabetes, diabetes, and markers of glucose metabolism in rural Vietnam: a cross-sectional study. — 2025-Mar-26 — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40140806/