Why Sustainable Coffee Really Matters
This post is sponsored by Chameleon Cold Brew – thank you for supporting the brands that help make this blog possible
If you’ve read my blog or followed along on Instagram for a hot second, you know I love coffee. As a coffee lover and former barista, my expertise is definitely more in creating drinks with the finished roasted coffee bean. However, there’s so much that goes into coffee before it gets to the store. I want to share part of that story today. I find that the more we know about what we consume, the more respect, appreciation, and mindfulness we can bring into our consumption and impact.
Today I’ve partnered with Chameleon Cold Cold-Brew to talk about the vital importance of sustainable coffee. Chameleon Cold-Brew has just launched a micro-lot of Whiskey Barrel Aged Myanmar Coffee Beans, where 100% of the proceeds benefit their Myanmar Organic Initiative to help farmers in Myanmar become Certified Organic.
The more I learn about our food system, the more humbled I am. We roll up at the grocery store expecting everything to be fresh, ripe, perfect, and cheap. I know I do. And so often that’s what it is. We get the privilege of buying exactly what we want and need, leaving the store and never seeing the impact or story of how the food was created or delivered right to us.
When we lift up the hood just for a second, we realize that to get a tomato on your salad outside of the summer is an Olympic feat that often has a negative impact on our planet and the people growing it. Every item in the store has a story a journey and an impact.
Coffee is the same. It’s easy to freak out when you realize a morning cup is almost $5. Or to wonder why a bag of sustainably sourced coffee could cost $18 per lb. However, when you peek under the hood again and see just how complex of a system had to work to get that hot delicious cup of caffeinated goodness in your hands, you’ll wonder how it got so cheap.
Sustainability feels like an ambiguous buzzword. Like “eco,” “green,” “environmentally friendly,” “fair trade” and more. They sound like nice-to-haves, but when the entire process feels so far away it’s hard to know how or why to care.
What does sustainable coffee even mean?
Before I share the WHY let’s get into the WHAT. Generally, sustainable coffee refers to coffee that is grown, processed and sold in a way that supports the environment it’s grown in and supports the livelihood of the people who produce it.
Aka don’t destroy the planet and make sure to pay the people who produce the coffee… fair right?!
What it takes to get coffee from fruit to cup
The coffee supply chain is incredibly complex and I couldn’t do it justice if I tried. However, I do want to share a (very) simplified version of what goes into turning the coffee crop into the drink we love.
- Coffee fruit is grown by farmers
- Coffee fruit is picked
- Coffee fruit is sorted
- Coffee fruit is wet or dry processed to get the seed (aka the bean) out of the fruit
- The unroasted, or green coffee beans, are cleaned, sorted and prepared for sale
- Green coffee beans are sold either directly to roasters or to green coffee distributors
- Green coffee beans are roasted
- Roasted beans are sold and distributed
- Beans are purchased by coffee shops and end consumers
Again, this basic supply chain can look different for different farms, distributors and coffee brands.
Why does sustainability matter?
Sustainability matters because with each step of the process, there is an impact on our planet and the people who are part of it. Farmers and mill workers deserve to be fairly compensated for their work. So often the people who work to produce valuable crops cannot afford the very thing that they grow. How tragic to work around coffee all day, every day and not be able to afford it yourself.
Because coffee is so valuable, it’s not accessible to the people whose land makes the coffee crop possible. Sustainable practices are important because it ensures workers are fairly compensated. Coffee is a commodity crop and is traded by people with power. Usually, the farmers are the first to suffer when the market drops.
It’s also vital to pay attention to HOW the coffee is grown, both for coffee quality and for taking care of the land that makes it all possible. The higher the demand for coffee, the greater in size farms will grow. With more demand comes more deforestation, which in turn has more negative ripple effects on the environment (and, of course, everyone who lives in it).
Without caring about sustainability, more and more precious rainforests and species will be destroyed forever.
Long story short, sustainable coffee matters if you care about coffee, people or the planet. I have a hunch you care about all three…. a lot.
Ok so what does Chameleon Cold-Brew have to do with sustainability?
So glad you asked. Chameleon Cold-Brew has a robust sustainability program that helps encourage sustainable practices throughout the coffee supply chain in different coffee growing regions around the world.
Chameleon is working directly with farming communities in Peru, Myanmar, Guatemala, and Colombia to develop long-term economic, environmental, and social sustainability throughout the coffee supply chain. sAll of these projects will positively impact the quality of coffee, the people who produce it, the environment it’s grown in and ultimately you, drinking your coffee. That’s what we call a “quad win” folks.
It’s such a powerful reminder that every decision we make has ripple effects. Your choice to support the companies who care and value the long-term impact they make matters. It seems little at first, but everything does, doesn’t it?
What if no one started anything because we were afraid of how little an impact we’d make?
But what if we took the opposite approach? What if we all valued the impact our choices make? I know it’s dramatic, but I start to choke up a little when I think of how powerful the ripple effect can be.
What you can do (right now):
1.) Support coffee brands, like Chameleon Cold-Brew, who care about their impact – this can actually apply in the coffee world and beyond. Your dollar is a really powerful way to show what you care about.
When you’re buying coffee, look for things like Certified USDA and check out the brand’s website to see where they source their coffee. Brands who practice sustainability will definitely be talking about it, so look in the About section for more information.
2.) Try Chameleon Cold-Brew’s limited-edition coffee beans from Myanmar, aged in FEW Whiskey barrels. 100% of proceeds go to their Myanmar Organic Initiative …. aka buy coffee and make the coffee industry better… ummm if you love coffee this one is kind of a no-brainer, right?
Link to purchase here: https://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/product/myanmar-whole-bean-coffee/
I know this topic can get heavy but THANK YOU for caring. It’s so powerful. It’s so important. And simply buying good coffee makes a huge difference.
Learn about all of Chameleon Cold Brew’s initiatives here: https://www.chameleoncoldbrew.com/sustainability/
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