Coffee

I like coffee.
As in: I actually like the taste of coffee.

I drink my coffee black, something that I trained myself to do half a lifetime ago when I dabbled in macrobiotics. At that time I was in college and not willing to give up coffee for the better lifestyle so I compromised and eliminated the sugar and the milk. It took a little bit of work, but eventually I grew to really like coffee for what it was... and I will admit that I am a bit of a coffee snob now.
With the exception of a few periods of time when I was pregnant or nursing, I drink coffee everyday. However, I really only like good fair trade coffee that I buy in bulk and grind fresh everyday. This makes it difficult when we travel, and sometimes I choose to just go without coffee when I can't get good stuff. See, I'm a coffee snob.

We make our coffee every day at home and take it with us if we leave (I do most days). Not only does this save us a lot of money, but it's also easy. Here is our set up:

We buy the coffee beans and the sugar (for my partner) in bulk. We grind the beans in our handy coffee grinder and use the reusable coffee filter to avoid the paper waste. I recently read that once coffee is ground, it keeps that fresh taste for nine days, while whole beans can hold their freshly roasted flavor for 45 days. When we are done with the coffee grounds, we dump it into our compost bucket.

It's really awesome when one of us remembers to set this all up at night and set the timer to brew in the morning - there is nothing like waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee waiting for you.

I fill my awesome (co-op logo) insulated klean kanteen mug with coffee once it's brewed and I'm all set for the day. This mug will keep my coffee hot for many hours - I'm not sure how long because I usually don't want to wait to find out, but I do have to take the lid off for at least 15-30 minutes just to cool it down enough to drink it without burning my tongue (remember that black coffee is hotter than coffee with milk added).

I came across this video that talks about eco-friendly coffee making - interestingly, she has the exact same coffee maker that we do.

Not convinced about coffee drinking? Consider the health benefits.

Still not convinced? Consider the cost benefits of brewing your own coffee at home (funny enough, the guys in this video ALSO has the same coffee maker that we do).

Give it a shot - make some coffee at home... but if you just can't make it work then at the very least consider taking a reusable mug with you when you go out to buy coffee from somewhere else... and don't forget to support your local coffee shops and/or sellers of fair trade and organic coffees.

Enjoy!