Coffee Stories: Unpacking the Environmental Impact of Our Favourite Brew (2024)

FAQs

What are the environmental impacts of coffee brewing? ›

On average, it takes about 140 liters of water to produce a single cup of coffee. This high water usage can strain local water resources, leading to shortages that affect both communities and ecosystems.

Coffee processing plants often discharge waste into rivers creating pollution and contamination problems that can cause eutrophication of the water systems and kill aquatic plants and animals. As coffee demand grows, so does the market and in come the new suppliers.

Intensive cultivation of the single crop was depleting and degrading the soil, and the wastewater from processing the coffee beans was polluting the river. The effects of climate change were exacerbating the deteriorating conditions.

Some traditional coffee machines, especially those with warming plates, can consume a significant amount of energy over time. This contributes to higher energy bills and carbon emissions. There are coffee machines that require a constant flow of water, leading to unnecessary water consumption.

The most important conditions necessary for a coffee tree to grow is the presence of a temperate or tropical climate where there is no frost, ample sunshine, and plenty of water. And of course, too much direct sunlight or hydration can have a reverse and detrimental effect upon the trees.

High intake of boiled, unfiltered coffee has been associated with mild increase in cholesterol levels. The bottom line? Your coffee habit is probably fine and may even have some benefits. But if you have side effects from coffee, such as heartburn, nervousness or insomnia, consider cutting back.

Optimal coffee-growing conditions include cool to warm tropical climates, rich soils, and few pests or diseases. The world's Coffee Belt spans the globe along the equator, with cultivation in North, Central, and South America; the Caribbean; Africa; the Middle East; and Asia.

On its centuries-long path to becoming a world commodity and a global drink, coffee was a tool to build empires and fuel an industrial revolution. And it sometimes was a not-so-hidden driving force behind human exploitation, slavery and violent civil war.

How will coffee be affected by climate change? ›

Climate change is also disrupting weather patterns, causing everything from unpredictable periods of rain to extreme drought. This can massively impact the rate at which coffee cherries mature, speeding up or delaying when beans can be harvested and even spoiling entire crops in some cases.

Drink plenty of water to ease off dehydration effects. Let go of that extra energy with some exercise. Grab an orange, banana or eat some oatmeal or yogurt to replenish the minerals lost and combat coffee's acidity. Hydrate with naturally caffeine-free and relaxing herbal tea.

Chemical buildup in soils and loss of forest shade are consequences of mass coffee production. This leads to chemical runoff polluting rivers, land and aquatic wildlife dying, soil eroding, and land degradation.

Coffee growing helps reduce soil erosion, is a useful carbon sink (especially with plantations grown under shade trees), aids good watershed management, helps to maintain a degree of biodiversity, particularly in systems with mixed cropping on small family farms, and can provide a good habitat for many migrant birds ...

The study found that coffee supports more than 2.2 million U.S. jobs while generating more than $101.2 billion in wages. Incidentally, those figures translate into average wages per coffee job of $46,000 per year.

This is bad for the environment: decomposing coffee grounds release methane into the atmosphere; methane is the second-most abundant greenhouse gas and has a global warming potential up to 86 times greater than CO2.

They found that drip filter coffee had the highest carbon emissions because a higher content of ground coffee is used to prepare the drink and it also uses up more electricity. In their analysis, brewed coffee using a French press, on average, emitted the second-highest amount of carbon dioxide.

Environmental factors that influence the coffee industry

Environmental factors that affect the coffee industry are the availability of water, sustainable production practices, and climate change. For example, the availability of water in coffee-producing countries could be one of the major challenges for the industry.

The history of coffee is indeed intertwined with some darker aspects, including the issue of slavery. During the colonial period, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, the demand for cheap labor in coffee-producing regions led to the widespread use of slave labor on coffee plantations.