Three tips to reduce coffee waste at home
Waste of coffee
Do you drink coffee at home rather than in a café? If so, you're definitely not alone.
Over the past years , the consumption of coffee prepared at home has increased as people have stopped visiting coffee shops.
However, making coffee at home often means more experimentation, which can mean more coffee waste as a result.
How much coffee is wasted
Wastage already starts with spilling a few spoonfuls of coffee when transferring from the grinder to the V60 or French press, or when grinding to the wrong coarseness.
It may not seem like much, but if you put it all together, it could be a few dozen grams of coffee.
What about coffee that eventually went cold or didn't taste to your liking? A lot of people also don't know how to store coffee properly, so they smell it after a while and have to throw it away.
You'd betterread this article on how to store coffee properly so you don't have to do that next time.
Processing coffee
It is important to understand that coffee beans go through a very complex process.
It starts with a small coffee bean harvested from a coffee plantation in one of 70 different countries around the world.
Then there is processing, transportation, roasting, and although it may not seem like it at first when you drink a cup of coffee, all of this has a huge impact on our entire planet. And you shouldn't ignore that.
So we should all care and be concerned about how we work with coffee.
We can start by looking at ways to reduce its waste. Recycling, composting and reusing where possible are great ways to ensure we minimise the negative impact of our lifestyle choices and reduce our carbon footprint.
TIP 1: Only buy what you need
Assessing how much coffee you drink will contribute to how much you waste. It's best to plan how much coffee you're likely to consume in a given period of time. This is the main key to avoiding waste.
Fresh beans
We recommend buying fresh beans in small quantities. This will prevent you from buying too much coffee, which you might end up not liking or not being able to consume in the time given and the coffee going off.
Remember that coffee is a food and has a limited shelf life from the moment it is brewed.
Although there is no exact consensus on how long coffee has a shelf life, most roasters put the date the coffee wasroastedon the packaging of select coffee .
However, roasters generally recommend that their coffee be consumed within a certain time period (often three months to six months). However, it depends on how youstoreyour coffee .
Order fresh coffee to your home If you are tired of constantly ordering and buying coffee, many roasters now offer online subscription services.
TIP 2: Proper coffee storage
If you store your coffee properly, it will last longer. It's a simple equation.
Storing roasted beans in a resealable bag with a one-way valve will protect them from oxygen ingress. The valve allows the coffee to safely release carbon dioxide without being exposed to too much air.
When you buy coffee online, it often comes in resealable bags. However, if you bought your coffee directly from a local roaster, it may be in simpler paper or plastic packaging.
If this is the case, be sure to the coffee beans at home in an airtight andpreferably opaque container.
This protects the coffee from oxygen, moisture and direct sunlight. Keep the coffee in this way for a maximum of two months.
TIP 3: Prepare your coffee according to a precise recipe
There are many different ways to prepare coffee at home, and each provides a unique way to enjoy your coffee.
No matter which method you prefer, it is important to use an accurate and repeatable recipe. Not only will it help you produce consistent results, but it also means you'll waste less coffee.
Also, be careful about the coarseness you grind your coffee to. This is because each preparation requires a different grind coarseness. For example, the coffee is ground coarsely for a French press, but finely for an espresso machine.
Other tips for preparing coffee?
- Use the scale to accurately weigh your coffee beans. The scale will also help you follow the recipe exactly to the letter and the resulting coffee will taste all the better.
- Don't forget to clean everything properly after brewing. This will ensure that your coffee tastes as it should next time, as there will be no residual oils left behind that could spoil the taste of your next coffee.
- Think about the water too, it will make up the majority of your cup of coffee. If possible, use filtered water and heated to a temperature between 90.6 and 96.1 degrees Fahrenheit. The resulting coffee taste will be perfect.
Home brewing is a great way to get more into the world of fine coffee. Itallows you to try a variety of different methods for making coffee from the comfort of your own home and experiment with different methods.
However, if you're not careful, it could lead to wasted coffee. By planning how you will buy, store and prepare your coffee, you will be able to minimise your coffee waste. This will make your coffee drinking more cost-effective - not to mention better for the environment and the planet.