6:30 am.
The alarm rings. You need a coffee to wake up and become a person.
You go like
a zombie to the kitchen decided to have a coffee.. but, which kind of coffee?
Instant
coffee, filter coffee or capsule coffee?
- Filter coffee tastes better but you need to boil too much water and you will end throwing up the coffee once it gets cold.
- Capsule coffee tastes even better and reduces the amount of green coffee needed but produces more packaging waste.
Maybe this
study will help you to take the decision: http://www.lcacenter.org/LCA9/presentations/92.pdf
Where you can find the following comparison of the impact of the 3 coffees for many impact cathegories:
Where you can find the following comparison of the impact of the 3 coffees for many impact cathegories:
To
summarize, the results of the LCA showed that instant coffee had a lower
overall environmental footprint than filter and capsule coffee with the former
having the worst environmental footprint of the three.
Instant coffee
|
Filter coffee
|
Capsule coffee
|
|
Energy consumption
(MJ/cup)
|
1.25
|
2.25
|
1.85
|
Carbon footprint
(gCO2eq/cup)
|
75
|
120
|
110
|
Water use (l/cup)
|
13
|
29
|
21
|
Almost all studies agree in stating that the main phases responsible of impacts are: 1) green
coffee cultivation and processing and 2) machine use. Machine and packaging
production, transport and waste treatment are secondary phases in terms of
environmental impact.
However, as
you know that not everything is B&W, you will find some other references
stating different figures, because their inventory data is different or their hypothesis
or their interests..:
“Like any system, portion coffee has advantages
and disadvantages. The production of
the capsule has some impacts. However, the
benefit of a portion system is actually that
it reduces waste of brewed coffee and reduces
the amount of green coffee needed by
ensuring a better extraction. This means that
depending on the different scenarios (for
example, how much prepared coffee is wasted in
a traditional system or if the capsule
is recycled and an economic machine is used), a
Nespresso coffee can have a lower
impact than a traditional one.“
For
drinking one standard cup of coffee in the Netherlands we need about 140 litres
of water, by far the largest part for growing the coffee plant.
Functional Unit: Provision of one cup of Tchibo Privat
Kaffee Rarity Machare, made with 7g coffee powder and 125ml of water => About 50-100 gCO2eq/cup
Some other references:
http://www.coffeemachinesreviews.co.uk/news/coffeemachines-news/dolce-gusto-coffee-machines-on-track-to-reduce-impact-on-environmentFinally.. do not forget about social and health issues.. in this blog we will focus on environmental aspects but I will encourage you to go deeper in all aspects of sustainability.
So, why not read the following link while having a coffee?
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/politics/fairtrade.htm
When you need a great cup of coffee don't go for instant coffee as it may not taste well.Give some time and have a great cup of filtered coffee.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Finn Felton
Kopi Luwak
Thank you very much Finn for your comment.
DeleteI really love good coffee and you probably have reason in terms of taste (however it depends on everyone's preferences).
I was just giving some figures from other studies. It would be necessary an LCA of your coffe in order to evaluate its specific environmental profile.
That's why i have shared that filtered coffee is one of the best coffee you can enjoy any time.Well it takes time to prepare it but at the end you will get a great cup of coffee.
DeleteThanks
Finn Felton
Kopi Luwak
This comment has been removed by the author.
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