Tip 5: Eco-Friendly Coffee and Tea Habits

For many of us, our days don’t start without a jolt of coffee or tea to shake off our morning drowsiness. Then we need another round mid-afternoon to counter the food coma effects. With the high consumption rate of these two essential beverages, a few adjustments in rituals could help the Earth. Since we’re going green with everything else, why not with our coffee and tea addictions?

• Pour the Sugar and Cream First - You can cut out the use of disposable coffee stirrers by pouring in the sugar and cream before the coffee. The heat from a fresh pot of coffee or tea will dissolve the sugar and the swirl of the pouring will mix the cream around.
• Grab a Mug - If you consume two servings of coffee or tea each workday, then that leads to 10 cups per week, 40 cups per month, and 520 cups per year that stack up in landfills across the nation. Usually, these disposable cups aren’t biodegradable either. Simple solution: use a mug for your caffeine fixes. 
• Turn Trash into Compost - Don’t discard your used coffee grinds and tea leaves. Instead, save them for your compost heap which in turn can be used to enrich your plants and balance the soil’s nitrogen balance. You can also throw in the coffee filters and tea bags as they break down quickly during composting. 
• Buy Organic - When perusing aisles overflowing with coffee and tea options, target the ones that are certified as organic. When you buy organic, you support Eco-friendly methods of cultivation and harvesting and protect workers from noxious chemicals.  

For more green tips, visit TreeHugger.