I was never much a coffee drinker. I never understood why people loved it because, honestly, while it does smell delightful, the taste was always so bitter! Until I realized I've just had really shitty coffee. HAHAHA! That, and the fact that I'm in love with CREAMER, and sweet Iced Vietnamese Coffee. That SCM. *droooling*
I bought a Fellow pour-over kettle and their carafe - yes, a bit pricey, but seriously, it's so beautiful, clean looking, and makes a nice cup o' joe if you ask me. So much so that I get so excited to have that cup in the am. It's not an every day thing, and I only really drink like 1/4 cup because that's enough to spark that caffeine fire under my booty. And caffeine affects me pretty quickly. Also, can't have anything after 3pm or I'll be up until 5am. True Story. That was not a fun night for me.
Lesson Learned.
Anyhow, as I was making coffee and putting the filter in the dripper, I realized how wasteful it was. I use it once and it's done. Bye-bye. Sayonara. Auf Wiedersehn.
So I thought, what else can I use to filter this? After a quick google search, I read about how people use Muslin as an eco-friendly alternative. I have 1.5 rolls of it downstairs, so I went and cut a piece and sewed away. I think it came out pretty nicely! I only made one to try it out, and well, it worked! Huzzah!
What do you do when you're done with your pour-over? You can do a few options:
Dump the coffee in your compost
Throw it away in your trash can
Or do what I do and make your own homemade coffee grounds body and face scrub! (More on this later) It does not last long, so at the most a couple days and then toss it out.
Now take your semi dirty coffee ground filter, rinse it under the faucet, add a little dish soap, and hand wash clean, then set it to dry and you've got yourself a clean filter for later / tomorrow or what have you. Or you can sew/buy more and when you're done, rinse it out, and set aside with your other dirty kitchen rags to wash in the machine. Voila! You've just saved yourself some money and trash space, and I'm sure The Lorax thanks you as well.
Don't have a pour-over and have a Keurig machine instead? USE A REUSABLE FILTER!
I bought one for my last company as they only had a Keurig, and I thought it would be really difficult to use, but it was better! You get to use the coffee you want, save on those gross plastic cups, and no waste - except for the spent coffee grounds. And it's actually cheaper! I don't understand people who want to spend more money than they have to.
I guess the next step for me is finding a more environmentally friendly coffee. But first, let me finish what I have on hand. Do you have any suggestions? If so, I'd love to know in the comments below! Share your knowledge :)
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