Coffee Filter Update
Many thanks to Lauren, who suggested I search for reusable coffee filters. I didn't realize there would be so many choices! Here are a few links I found, for the green coffeeheads. Several of these companies offer all sorts of other eco-friendly products as well ... but these links will take you to directly to the filters:
Ecofilter
1earth1design
AbundantEarth
VeganUnlimited
GXOnlineStore
It also sounds like bleached paper (which is any white paper) is not something you want in your compost, since the bleach is toxic ... which makes me wonder, do you want to drink bleach with your coffee?
**Note - please read comments attached to this post, I may be wrong about the bleach and will correct the info in a later post.**
posted by SustainableGirl @ 1:58 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
I finally made it over to your blog. It looks good; I'll link to it when I get time.
In the Humanure Handbook, Joseph Jenkins points out that the bleach is washed out of the finished paper products. If it wasn't, it would pose an irritability problem to everyone. His view is that bleached paper products are fine to compost.
From what I understand, it's the manufacture of bleach which causes the most environmental damage.
Paul & Lauren,
Thank you so much for the info and linking me on your sites. I'm going to research the bleach issue ... I'm glad you set me straight. It makes sense that we wouldn't be able to use white toilet paper if the bleach were still "active." I'll post better information - again, thanks for letting me know.
Darling, you're back! After you went MIA for so long, I had to take you off my blogroll so readers who were clicking over wouldn't get frustrated -- But you're back with full force!
Off to add you back in --
Thanks for the coffee filter info. I don't drink coffee, but my housemate does. I'll have to give him a reuseable filter for the upcoming holiday, and I going to add you to my blogroll, too!
Oh, good heavens Lauren, get a permanent metal mesh filter like these. There would be a little more sediment in your coffee, but they tend to last 2-5 years, they don't aquire a taste like hemp or other fiber products and all you have to do is wash them (after you toss the grounds in the compost).
After resolving that issue, you can move on to more advanced topics like growing and preserving some of your own food, learning to make and repair class A, B and C tools, and addressing community environmental issues. A year from now, coffee filters and paper towels will look like the distractions that they are.
Hi.
As it turns out, the issue regarding bleached vs. unbleached filters is not as clear-cut.
Unbleached filters may contain more byproducts of pulp manufacturing than bleached ones so they are not necessarily a healthier choice. I heard from a person in paper mfg industry that he'd prefer (oxygen) bleached ones due to this.
Just be sure, for both enviromental and health reasons, that the bleaching was not done with chlorine but oxygen (methods differ, and I am no paper engineer so I guess that ozone and hydrogen peroxide or some other oxygen or peroxide releasing compounds are used).
Of course, a filter made of completely inert material is better (meaning: not natural fibres, not plastics). Stainless steel or gold (not gold-plated plastic) are probably good choices.
And speaking of which. Filter coffee has less fat than french press/espresso, because fat sticks to the filter. Some people think this is a health benefit (I don't). I do not think that inert filters do this - a stainless steel filter just keeps your grounds in the right place, but doesn't soak up fat, I guess. So it may taste different.
Anyway, if you want better coffee, getting yourself a french press or a moka pot not only frees you from filters but also gets you better coffee.
I don't think there's any arguing that inert (gold, etc) filters are a better choice than either bleached or unbleached paper filters. But I've also heard that paper filters absorb oils that otherwise raise bad (LDL?) cholesterol, making them a healthier choice than non-paper filters. Comments?
Oh, and a p.s. to my 'healthier' comment; I suspect that if you buy unbleached and compost it w/ the grounds when you're done, the impact nears that of a gold filter...mb?
Personally, I think using compostable filters is probably better, environmentally, than using a reusable filter. If, that is, you do compost and you use your compost. When I used a reusable gold mesh filter, I had to rinse it each time I used it--water down the drain, and nutrient-rich coffee grounds in the river (which is usually a bad thing for rivers).
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