In honor of Earth Day, April 22, we're taking a look at easy ways to green up your coffee routine. Making Earth-friendly espresso requires a little creativity, check out our take on it.

Brew Smart
Paper filters turn into trash with every brew cycle; reduce your carbon footprint with reusable filters or if you indulge in single-serve coffee, consider a reusable cup/capsule, like the Keurig My K-Cup. Looking to unplug? Go with a French Press, Handpresso, or manual espresso machine.

Cup Consciousness
Instead of using a disposable cup, opt for nice mugs and cups that you'll love using over again. For coffee on the go, choose a travel mug that won't end up in the landfill long after your drink's gone.

Put Your Grounds into the Ground
Make free compost with every cup! Spent grounds can deter pests, encourage worms, and nourish your garden. It'll be literally going green in no time!

Got a green coffee routine you'd like to share? Post your eco-friendly tricks here!

Are you known around the office for being a big coffee drinker? Do you own a huge honking coffee cup that can practically fit an entire pot of coffee in it? Well if you answered yes, try this cup of Joe on for size! Mauricio Cadavid set the Guinness Record for the largest cup of coffee back in 2007. His giant Styrofoam mug equaled over 16,000 cups of coffee!

While Cadavid's cup is certainly cool, some of us are looking to lessen your caffeine intake. If you're in the same boat I am, try starting out with baby steps. Consider ordering half-caf when you get your favorite frappe...Half the caffeine, but the same amazing taste.

If you brew at home consider brewing a shot of Illy Café Espresso Whole Bean Decaf. Try making a double-shot beverage, using one shot of decaf and one shot of regular espresso.

If you are looking for a coffee alternative, try exploring the wonderful world of tea. Teaposy is one the best kept tea secrets. Having known nothing about it, I tried a blossom the other night. Not only is the tea flavorful and low in caffeine, it's a visual spectacle as the tea blossoms and bursts into different colors in the teapot.

Regardless of whether you go with coffee or tea, switching to decaf doesn't mean sacrificing great taste. With a little bit coffee and tea savvy, you taste buds won't ever notice switch!

Lori
Customer Service Department

An old friend of mine drowns his coffee in creamer and sugar; three creams and eight sugar packets per medium cup, to be exact. Always one to give in to his sweet tooth, he'd much rather consume diabetes in a cup than "bitter coffee." I'm not talking about over-extracted espresso here, folks; just your run-of-the-mill cup of Joe.

Some coffees are naturally bitter, even if brewed to perfection. But, what causes that bitterness? General misconceptions blame caffeine; but the truth to the matter is only 15% of the bitter taste is a result of the caffeine content.

Surprisingly, antioxidants are the perpetrators! That's right; the very ingredients that make coffee good for you may be causing the brew's bitterness. Chlorogenic acid lactones, found in light to medium roasts, and phenylindanes in dark roasts give coffee its bite. And, the darker the roast the more likely you are to notice bitterness in the drink.

Some people say bitterness balances out coffee acidity. But, if you're not a big fan of the taste try sticking to light or medium roasts. It's much healthier than having a cup of sugar, with coffee on the side.

Do you take your coffee black or with sugar? If you add sugar to your coffee, how much do you use?

When it comes to my coffee, I expect a great many things: great flavor, aroma, and crema—all at the right temp. Most importantly, I've come to rely on that jolt of energy that comes with a good espresso. But, coffee can only do so much right?

Evidently, according to Nestle, I should be asking much more of my java. Jumping on the nutria-cosmetics (aka ingestible beauty products) train, the company has launched its Nescafe Body Partner Collagen line. Targeted towards women, the instant coffee comes in small sachets containing skimmed milk and, get this, 200 grams of collagen. The concoction is currently being sold in Singapore along with the rest of the Body Partner line including soy and high-calcium premixed coffee blends.

This isn't the first time collagen has been introduced into a grocery store staple. In 2006 Eiwa, a Japanese sweet maker, unveiled a marshmallow made with 3,000mg of collagen—which the company claimed offered the same benefits as filler injections. However, health experts question the effectiveness of ingesting collagen. There isn't much scientific evidence to support the notion that consuming the substance would improve the appearance aging skin.

What do you think? Any chance you'd give this Nescafe line a try if it made it to your local grocery store?

Tho
Writing Department

I'm sure you've heard of the term "coffee breath." People who drink a lot of coffee and reek of coffee are normally known to have coffee breath; but that's not necessarily a bad thing, if the people around you happen to enjoy the smell of coffee. Everybody thinks that coffee causes bad breath and it's often true, because coffee, which has a dehydrating effect in the mouth, becomes potent when mixed with milk, and can ferment into smelly substances. Similar to some juices, coffee also contains a lot of acid. If you're unable to function without your daily dose of caffeine, you could try tea or a low-acid coffee such as Café La Semeuse Classique—which can noticeably eliminate harsh coffee breath smells.

If you're really concerned about smelly breath, you might want to consider loading up on gum, mint, or mouthwash to take away from the potent taste in your mouth. Maybe even try carrying a toothbrush and some toothpaste with you; I hear it also helps take care of tartar as well!

Brian
Sales Department