Un-plastic Your Morning Coffee

I really, freaking love coffee.

I don’t know when I started drinking it because neither of my parents do on a regular basis. But somewhere along the way, I developed a love for the stuff.

Growing up, my Uncle always smelled like coffee, so maybe that’s where it came from. He’s like my second dad and the smell always brings back fond memories of my childhood and spending time at their farm…

However, it has always struck me a little odd that sometimes I’ll think “is that poop I smell?” no, just coffee beans. or “did someone burn something?” nope. coffee again. But yet I still love it, which makes me wonder a bit about myself, but whatever.

I recently wrote about the importance of choosing healthy coffees, especially when it comes to decaf, which I am doomed to consume until I am neither pregnant or nursing, which seems lightyears away…

Also important to note, while coffee does have some health benefits when consumed in moderation, 5 cups a day is not ok…adrenal fatigue anyone?

I have found a cool local company that roasts the best decaf i’ve ever tasted…almost as good as the real thing.

Anyhow, the whole issue of plastic and coffee has recently come up. Forcing super hot liquid trough the plastic parts found in most coffee makers doesn’t make for the ideal health situation, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before! Anyhow, once it did don on me that while enjoying my morning brew I was also ingesting some nasty chemicals thanks to the plastic parts in my coffee maker, I purchased a few different options to try out for you.

So, here are my 2 favorite plastic-free options for brewing the delicious stuff.

1. chemex – this one is so cool. It’s super simple and a quick YouTube tutorial will help you get the technique down. I just pour hot water over the grounds straight from my tea kettle. I don’t bother with the scale and timer like the guy in the video. Once you do it a few times you will figure out how much water you need.

I have this handy little sponge wand for cleaning wine glasses that I bought at Williams Sonoma. click the picture to buy from Amazon:

And can we jut take a minute to appreciate the gloriousness that is Williams Sonoma??….ok, anyhow, the wine wand works perfectly for cleaning out the chemex. You can also place the chemed over very low heat on the stove or a warming plate to keep it warm.

click the pic below to check it out on Amazon:

The best part? I just found this etsy shop that sells reusable organic cloth filters – c’mon! You can buy them HERE, can’t wait to get mine! Chemex offers THESE unbleached ones if that’s more your style.

2. french press – make sure when you buy this one that it is glass and stainless steel interior only. I have seen a few on the market that are plastic, which would obviously miss the mark here. I love this option and it makes for a great cup as well. I recently broke mine (anyone else insanely clumsy when they are pregnant?!)…anyhow, I’ll be replacing it with this one soon: