By

www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org

We recently addressed the issue of

who drinks the most coffee and it is

the USA.

Now it would appear that the USA

is steadily consuming less coffee,

not because anyone is cutting back

but because of the single serve

revolution.

.Bloomberg Business reports on

how single-serving pods have

decreased coffee consumption.

Single-serve brewing machines

popularized by Keurig Green

Mountain Inc. are now used by

more than one in four Americans

and are altering the way coffee is

consumed.

Almost every brand, from Folgers to

Dunkin’ Donuts, is sold in disposable

2-inch-by-2-inch plastic pods that yield

just one serving. They’re more efficient

than drip-brewing pots capable of

making 10 cups, some of which isn’t

consumed and gets dumped.

While Americans still drink more coffee than any beverage except water, expanded use of single-serve machines has slowed demand growth for a $52 billion market in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer. That’s hurt sales at a time when ample inventories of the commodity have sent prices tumbling.

One observer says that coffee

farmers have lost their most

lucrative consumer, the kitchen sink where unused coffee poured.

Who Started Single Serve?

Keurig is an American

manufacturer of coffee brewers and producers of K-cups.

Each K-Cup is a plastic container

with a coffee filter inside. Ground

coffee beans are packed in the K-

Cup and sealed air-tight with a

combination plastic and foil lid.

When the K-Cup is placed in a

Keurig brewer, the brewer

punctures both the foil lid and the

bottom of the K-Cup and forces hot

water under pressure through the

K-Cup and into a mug or cup.

From small beginnings this single

serve revolution has moved into

one in four US homes as well as offices and hotel rooms.

And Lots of Plastic

Those of us who like healthy

organic coffee also care about the

environment. As single serve

decreases coffee consumption it

should be a good thing.

But the single serve plastic pods

are an environmental disaster

according to the Montreal Gazette.

The increasing popularity of single-serve coffee brewing technologies is not only decreasing overall demand for coffee in North America, but also producing colossal volumes of un-recyclable and non-compostable plastics.

While the efficiency of these machines

(which help reduce coffee waste) can

be seen as an improvement from

conventional methods of brewing

coffee, arguably, this is offset by the

excessive plastic waste generated

from their use.

Not to mention the amount of fossil fuels used and burned in creating the plastic cups. The amount of coffee wasted from old-fashion coffee machines could be mitigated through a fundamental shift in the North American economic system.

If coffee prices included

environmental externalities, they

would undoubtedly rise and

consumers would be more

economically inclined not to waste their precious coffee.

If you like organic coffee and are

friendly to the environment

consider buying whole bean

roasted coffee, grinding just

enough before making coffee and

enjoying fresh coffee every time.

Along the way you will not be

cluttering up the world with single

serve plastic containers.