The bitter brew

Since the 1960s, college students have operated on one predominant energy source worth relatively two to four dollars: coffee. It’s convenient, stimulating and, principally, reliable, but at what expense to the environment? Coffee is one of the worst beverages to manufacture and consume for the environment due to its repugnant ramifications on the earth and human health. Coffee production and consumption could be a substantial cause of deforestation; per research by the European Coffee Federation, “8.8 million hectares of forest land are lost worldwide,” one of the main drivers of which is the conversion of forest land into farmland. While deforestation is a small share of an enormous climate crisis, it poses the question: What does coffee actually cost?  

Traditionally, coffee was grown in shaded forest regions; however, when sun-grown coffee became more popular, due to economic and agricultural reasons, farmers needed more farmland to produce this type of coffee to maximize profit. In turn, this unlocked an inlet for the production of sun-grown coffee, through the inconsiderate exploitation of our rainforests. This has consequently led to the degradation of biodiversity, augmented excess greenhouse emissions and intensified temperatures — all contributing to climate change. Now imagine that this degradation is occurring across “2.5 million acres of forest in Central America” that have been obliterated to fund these coffee farms. 

Paradoxically, according to a Times article, , “About half of the land around the world currently used to produce high-quality coffee could be unproductive by 2050.” This statistic highlights the fallacy within the production of coffee: Although it’s so reliable and convenient, it’s not operating on sustainable, renewable resources. As much as you cherish your sip of coffee every morning, in the long run, that sip will diminish if we continue to produce coffee as we are. The environment cannot sustain this drastic consumption of resources, so, what can we do?  

I’m fully cognizant of the roughly 69 percent of college students who absolutely cannot function without their morning dose of coffee, so I ask you not to stop drinking coffee entirely, but to drink an alternative just as suitable, energizing, and dependable as coffee, such as tea. In a study published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” “On a per-liter basis, the carbon emissions of instant coffee are 2.5 times more than for tea ready to drink. The carbon footprint of brewed coffee and latte is much higher due to the increased amount of green coffee required for brewing and the use of milk, respectively.” 

Tea plants are more robust than coffee, meaning they can withstand harsh weather climates and growth conditions, as opposed to more susceptible coffee plants, which require excess resources to maintain them. Likewise, the amount of water required for fermentation in coffee is much greater than in tea. Tea can maintain its stability from natural amounts of rainwater, requiring no excess water; coffee, however, uses excess water for washing and processing, which often becomes polluted and dumped back into rivers and lakes — destroying their ecosystems. 

Moreover, tea has logistically been proven to be more eco-friendly without sacrificing any benefits coffee offers, especially its stimulating nature, which tea has been misconceived to harbor less of. According to a blog post from Harvard Medical School, Yaupon Tea has the same amount of caffeine as instant coffee, and the energized effect of tea harbors more longevity than coffee. As the author states, “This tea has 60 mg caffeine per cup and also provides theobromine, a compound structurally similar to the caffeine found in cocoa beans and many teas. Theobromine increases blood flow and may increase energy and alertness, but this boost is slower to start and lasts longer than caffeine, which provides a quick but short-lived boost.”

Additionally, the blog post notes that “8 ounces of brewed coffee contains about 95 mg caffeine; instant coffee about 60 mg; black tea about 47 mg; and green tea about 28 mg.” This evidence denounces the notion of tea not being able to match the stimulation of coffee. Tea is just as accessible, reliable and exhilarating as coffee; it is much more eco-friendly and, in some cases, better for the consumer.  

As students of an esteemed institution, it’s almost criminal for us to internalize the calamitous effects of climate change and do nothing about it — let alone contribute to it. Coffee may not be the leading factor in climate change, nor the leading factor in deforestation; however, we cannot turn a blind eye to its prominence in the grand scheme of the environment. We must acknowledge its presence and work to minimize its loss.