Eco Blend

I love coffee. I wondered if I could combine my love for coffee with my desire to protect the environment. I scoured the internet to find out.

The first thing I learned is that old coffee grounds can be recycled to save money on baking soda & fertilizer while reducing waste. Sprinkling used grounds over soil is a great way to fertilize acid hungry plants like azaleas, oak trees, and vegitable plants. Rubbing grounds on your hands after working with onions, fish, or other smelly food will reduce the smelliness. Placing grounds in a tub in the refrigerator will help to neutralize odors.

The next thing I learned is that organic coffee helps reduce the amount of pesticides that end up in our water bodies, which results in cleaner drinking water, healthier fish populations, and reduced nutrient loading (nutrient loading leads to algae that chokes plant/animal life in water bodies). Organic coffee is often grown on smaller plots where trees are allowed to grow wild and provide habitat all while absorbing greenhouse gases. Visit...www.sacredgroundscoffee.com to buy organic coffee.

Finally, I learned that shade grown coffee is better for the environment than non. Coffee is traditionally grown on bushes under a shade canopy of trees. To increase the amount of space for coffee plants on a farm, growers often tear down the shade canopy which can have a devestating effect on the environment. Besides eliminating habitat for wildlife (wildlife like bees who pollinate trees and plants), destroying the shade canopy results in coffee grown in direct sunlight which requires far more fertilizers, perticides, and insecticies. Destorying the shade canopy undermines the soil structure as well, which results in a higher frequency of mud slides during rainy seasons. Here are examples of shade grown coffee available online...http://www.groundsforchange.com/shop/category-origin.php?

Coffee had so many benefits, from delaying Alzheimer's Disease, to curing headaches. Now your morning brew can be environmentally conscious too.