jcolman Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Seattle, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 4:05am Subject: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
Hey folks, I'm writing an article for The Nature Conservancy's web site at http://www.nature.org/ about roasting your own Fair Trade/organic/shade-grown coffee beans at home... how I think that's better for the environment than buying mass-marketed pre-roasted coffee in a (gasp!) grocery store.
That said, I'm having a hard time finding any data to prove this theory. Obviously buying sustainable coffee (Fair Trade/organic/shade-grown) is better for nature and people at the grower/producer level, but what about during the roasting/shipping/distribution phase? Is there any additional benefit for the environment when I roast green coffee beans at home? Or should I buy pre-roasted Fair Trade/organic/shade-grown coffee from a professional roaster and just be done with it because that has less impact somehow?
Any help, especially objective data sources, would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks! :) --jdc
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 4:46am Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
Better for the environment in what way? The "sustainable" buzzword drives me crazy, so "feel-good".
Large roasters have to do more with afterburners to scrub the multitude of chemical compounds created by the roasting process. Home roasters don't have to worry about such things, although the Behmor 1600 does have an afterburner that eliminates some of the smoke. So, I don't think the environment is any better with many home roasters doing their thing.
What's better about home roasting is the freshness of the beans and the variety of ways to mix and roast beans. Cheaper, too!
jcolman Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Seattle, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 4:57am Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
Right! Home roasting is definitely the way to go. I'm cheap and relatively inexperienced, so I'm still going with the $10 hot-air popcorn popper I got at a garage sale, but I'd love to get a Behmor. :)
Sorry for the buzzwords! What I'm looking for is information or data showing that buying Fair Trade/organic/shade grown green coffee beans and roasting them at home: - Produces less carbon emissions, - Uses less fuel, - Creates less waste products (such as plastic or foil for packaging), and/or - Is otherwise more "green"
...than buying, say, a bag of Starbucks coffee at a Safeway grocery store. Since I'm writing this article for an environmental nonprofit, I need to recommend to my readers what's best for the environment. That said, I do roast my own coffee at home (inexpertly, but I'm getting better) and am trying to prove that it has less impact on the planet than buying mass-marketed coffee in a store.
Hope this adds some clarification... Many thanks for your help!
wideasleep1 Senior Member Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 587 Location: Sausalito,Ca Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: VBMDoubleDomo Grinder: Mazzer Mini Vac Pot: nope Drip: Bodum Press Roaster: IR1 and 2,SC/TO,Behmor
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 7:38am Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
I think the biggest plus is 'just-in-time' (Lean/SixSigma buzzword) processing..home roasting is on demand, so waste is dramtically minimized compared to commercial/retail coffee. This will become more important as consumers demand fresher coffee and roast-dating, as more coffee will be disposed of as stale. Finding empirical data to support my theory is still a challenge, however.
xardoz Senior Member Joined: 8 Feb 2005 Posts: 141 Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: KA Proline Grinder: KA Proline Vac Pot: Bodum eSantos Drip: Newco OCS-12 Roaster: UFO/TO
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 10:14am Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
I don't know that you're going to have much luck with the fuel and "carbon emissions" angles. Home roasting can be done with gas, electricity or even over an open wood fire, and each has it's own "carbon footprint." If the person is using electricity, how is it generated? Just because you don't see the powerplant smoke stack doesn't mean it isn't there, albeit fifty miles away belching coal smoke into the atmosphere. And how does nuclear power fit into that?
And then there's the question of which professional roaster are you comparing the home roast to? How do they get their power and heat their roasters? Is a commercial roaster more efficient than my home-made UFO/TO? Probably, but how do you tell?
I do agree that waste and packaging are probably dramatically reduced, depending upon how your greens are packaged. I get mine largely from the greencoffee.coop, and as such the packaging is minimal. But other vendors may use fancy bags or containers.
Brian
I'm an enigma - an enigma wrapped in a riddle, and smothered in secret sauce.
CoffeeRoastersClub Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2005 Posts: 2,144 Location: Vernon Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Vintage La Pavoni Lever... Grinder: KitchenAid Pro Line Burr... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Aeropress, French Press Roaster: "EL SUPREMO" w/QuikSPIN-CRC...
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 11:32am Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
jcolman Said:
Hey folks, I'm writing an article for The Nature Conservancy's web site at http://www.nature.org/ about roasting your own Fair Trade/organic/shade-grown coffee beans at home... how I think that's better for the environment than buying mass-marketed pre-roasted coffee in a (gasp!) grocery store. ...snip... Any help, especially objective data sources, would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks! :) --jdc
Hate to tell you, but most likely worse, with the following caveat: If all the coffee consumption on the planet turned to home roast. You see, commercial roasters have to use pollution reducing equipment; home roasters do not.
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 5:14pm Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
Not to mention that roasting in small batches probably wastes more energy than doign so in large batches... I.e. home roasting 1/3lb a few times a week probably wastes a lot more energy/lb than a 15 kilo roaster.
Prosumer Senior Member Joined: 11 Sep 2007 Posts: 56 Location: Jupiter, FL Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Salvatore One Black Grinder: La Cimbali Jr. & Baratza... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Tabletop Drip: Melita #1 and Aeropress Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Thu Jun 26, 2008, 6:56pm Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
The big problem you have, jcolman, is your methodology. One cannot simply have a theory, then go scour the Internet for information to back it up. It simply violate the rules of unbiased study. If I were you, I would also re-examine my reasons for supporting Fair Trade(TM) and Organic coffee. In many cases, the Fair Trade(TM) price is much, much lower than the price paid by super-premium buyers, since the "fair price" is determined by the C Grade Coffee Market in New York. This sort of NGO-regulated price-fixing also has some interesting consequences for the smaller farmers that prefer not to work with co-ops. Also, in all honesty, most quality, high-grown coffee is cultivated without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides, even if it isn't "Organic Certified." You may be better off focusing your article on coffee quality, in general, rather than trying to "prove" an environmental point with insufficient data.
On a lighter note, if everyone left Starbucks coffee to sit on the shelves for eternity, a lot of "carbon" would be sequestered.
Posted Fri Jun 27, 2008, 4:21am Subject: Re: Roasting at home = better for the environment than buying at a store?
Prosumer Said:
The big problem you have, jcolman, is your methodology. One cannot simply have a theory, then go scour the Internet for information to back it up. It simply violate the rules of unbiased study. If I were you, I would also re-examine my reasons for supporting Fair Trade(TM) and Organic coffee.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 