When coffee is life, you’re probably drinking several cups per day. You might rack up an impressive bill at Starbucks or another local coffee shop in order to satiate your need for caffeine and roasted coffee beans.
You’ll soon find that it’s much more affordable to brew your coffee at home. But if you’re going to be drinking coffee religiously, you need an excellent coffee maker. Chemex is a timeless coffee maker that’s loved for its unique design and functionality. And the Chemex brewing process is simple, letting you brew large batches in it so you can always have a pot of coffee ready to go when friends and family stop by.
But is it good for the environment? And are Chemex coffee filters compostable? Read on to find out more.
The eco-friendly history of Chemex
The best thing coffee lovers can do to try to help the environment is to compost their coffee filters. Put simply: yes, Chemex filters are biodegradable and can be composted. To help answer the question of how environmentally friendly Chemex is overall, let’s do a quick rundown of the popular coffee maker’s history.
This handy tool was invented in the 1940s by a chemist and inventor named Peter Schlumbohm, who wanted to find a better way to filter coffee grounds for purer coffee. He also wanted a coffee maker that could handle large batches without sacrificing its appealing design. His invention had an hourglass shape inspired by scientific tools like beakers, which makes it virtually spill-proof and easy to pour. The design has changed very letter over the 70 years that it’s been around.
Perhaps even more important to your eco-friendly needs is the dedication Chemex usually has to the environment. The coffee maker’s glass and wood design limits the need for plastics and other non-organic materials that many coffee companies use to manufacture their coffee makers. Chemex coffee pitchers are made from non-corroding, non-porous, durable, and 100 percent recycled glass. It doesn’t react with acids, unlike metal and plastic that pollute landfills and break down over time. The neck of the pitcher is also made from biodegradable wood, which makes for an impressively green design.
Fully compostable filters
Chemex coffee filters are a thing of beauty, which contributed to its popularity as a residential coffee maker. The rather unique coffee filters use double-bonded paper filters because it enhances the filtration process and provides optimal coffee extraction. The design of both these filters and the coffee maker itself has put Chemex in many design museums, including the Museum of Modern Art.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to compost most of your spent grounds, these coffee filters are perfect for you. You can easily throw your grounds and the filter into your composter for rich, thick compost to be used in your garden at any time. The paper is unbleached and will reliably break down without any problems.
All unbleached, unwaxed paper coffee filters can be composted, but Chemex is a special breed that your compost heap will love. It’s just one of many reasons that coffee lovers rely on Chemex to brew their coffee every single day.
Making coffee at home is still a somewhat expensive habit, but if you use a coffee maker and either buy grounds at the store or have them shipped to you via a coffee subscription service, you’ll help the environment and save a significant amount of money on quality coffee compared to going to a coffee shop daily.
Image: chemexcoffeemaker.com