With COP26 in session at the time of writing, sustainability has never been higher on the world’s agenda. There is a growing appreciation within the global community that we must take urgent action on climate change now. Even small variations in our daily habits can have a significant impact, including our choice of morning coffee.
Our focus on the complete lifecycle of the Francesco coffee bean blend, from plant to cup, has resulted in an award-winning, sustainable, Italian-style espresso that doesn’t cost The Earth.
Now read on to learn more about sustainable coffee and our exclusive Francesco tote bag offer.
Sustainability and Ethics At Point of Origin
Sustainability addresses environmental impact, whilst ethics addresses other moral issues such as working practices and pricing structures.
Within The Coffee Sector, the two leading ethical organisations are Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.
Land should not have been diverted from a more sustainable use and the crop should be Shade-grown and Organic to promote biodiversity.
Water is an increasingly scarce resource in many coffee growing areas. Water usage must be efficiently managed on the growing terraces and at the Mill?
Francesco Coffee Beans from Piano Coffee: Organic, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Sustainability In Transportation
Coffee beans (particularly Arabica) grows in very specific conditions only found in certain, often remote, parts of the world. As coffee cannot be grown locally transportation of green beans over long distances is unavoidable. Harvested beans are processed at a mill, before being packed in jute sacks and moved to the port for global distribution. Most coffee beans are transported by container ship, which is less harmful than air freight (although some more expensive coffees may be air-freighted). The value of Trade in coffee is second only to oil among the ‘soft’ commodities.
Shipments arrive at the key ports in Europe before being distributed through the supply chain to roasters. Once roasted and packed, the major international coffee brands then re-distribute their products globally, clocking up a massive number of additional Food Miles as a result.
By roasting and dispatching our Piano Coffee blends directly from the roastery, we remove 1,500 Food Miles from the supply chain, compared to our imported range.
The transportation of finished goods to the final customer is a crucial area in the supply chain. As a result of the pandemic, usage of this type of service has grown dramatically. The major couriers are all working to implement new ways of working and declare their environmental policies, like this one: DPDgroupUK.
Sustainability At The Roastery
At the roastery, green coffee beans are quality checked on arrival before being blended, roasted and packed. This is a point in the sustainability chain where there is high energy usage, particularly where roasters are using older inefficient equipment and packaging formats.
Partnering with a modern local eco-friendly roastery we minimise the carbon footprint and waste stream from roasting and packing Piano Coffee blends.
With the expertise of our roastery partner, we developed our two Italian heritage roasts, Luisa and Francesco. In September 2021, less than a year after launch, Francesco received a Great Taste Award from the Guild of Fine Food.
Piano Coffee Blends have fully recyclable packaging. This now includes the coffee bag itself (PE04 barrier film – always check with your local council if in any doubt).
There are many innovative uses for waste coffee grounds. At the most basic level, if you have a garden then you can gain benefits from composting your grounds. If you live in a flat, then make sure you put grounds in your food waste collection.
Finally, we can all avoid the use of takeaway cups by using a keep cup. A similar scheme worked well with water and plastic bottles, but less so with takeaway coffee. Contact Us for more information on keep cups or to ask any questions concerning Francesco.
Francesco Coffee Beans from Piano Coffee
- Award-winning
- Organic
- Ethically Produced
- 1,500 Fewer Food Miles
- Fully Recyclable Packaging
Buy Francesco Coffee Beans HERE during the month of November and receive a free limited edition Francesco re-usable tote bag*
*Subject to availability and limited to one bag per transaction.