The best parties last long enough to see the sun rise, and we want to keep it that way.
Right now, it’s about progress – not perfection – making conscious, sustainable choices wherever possible. But hang in there, we’re working on it.
Here’s where we’re at.
FROM ONE PARTY TO THE NEXT
Our mission is to make sure we recycle and re-use whenever and wherever we can. Currently, that looks like:
- Coffee bags that are made from recycled materials formerly destined for landfill.
-
Compostable takeaway coffee cups that are collected at the end of every day by ultra-low emission vehicles, before being taken to a UK-based plant where they’re broken down into nutrient-rich fertiliser.
- Soon-to-drop Aluminium Nespresso compatible pods that come with pre-paid post bags, so you can send spent pods back to us to recycle.
- Weekly wholesale deliveries made using tubs that are hand-delivered, emptied, collected, cleaned and reused. Since 2020, this movement has saved over 150,000 bags from going to landfill.
- From party starters to fire starters, we use every part of the coffee beans that pass through our roastery. Combined with sawdust from another local business, our coffee chaff is given a new lease of life as fuel briquettes, lighting up wood burners, firepits and chimineas up and down the UK.
OK, when it comes to pods and bags it’s not exactly where we’d like to be. We’d love something that’s recyclable at-home without compromising the coffee. But between the misinformation, green-washing and poor infrastructure for home-compostable materials, we’re not in a place where we can do that (yet). And *controversy klaxon* we don’t think anyone else can – in all honesty – claim to be there, either.
Story time. Some of you may remember that we launched a compostable coffee pod back in 2021. We’ll be honest – we thought we’d cracked it. But after a little while, we realised that the quality of the coffee wasn’t at the standard to which we hold ourselves. Turns out, despite a whole lot of testing and investing in industry-leading technology, the coffee wasn’t staying as fresh as we’d have liked. So we pulled them. Right now, we’re working with aluminium pods that can be recycled, but it’s not the end of our journey – the hard work continues behind the scenes.
EVERY PARTY NEEDS GOOD PEOPLE
Running a sustainable coffee business isn’t just about the environmental impact, it’s also about social sustainability.
Which is why we believe in creating ethical, long-lasting relationships with the people who provide our beans. So, we only ever purchase from specialist traders who’ve built that same kind of relationship direct with coffee farmers. This support system means farmers can secure the financial future of their local communities, and we can continue to serve the exceptional coffee you know and love.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Bring your reusable cup along to any of our shops and you’ll get 10% off your drink. Win-win.
And if you want to take it one step further, write to your MP to put pressure on the UK government to invest further in the infrastructure.
