Have Your (Eco) Coffee and Drink it too!

For all you district caffeine junkies, there is hope! Unfortunately, not a cure for those morning migraines, multiple bathroom runs and thinning wallets. You can, however, enjoy your morning machiatto or evening espresso eco-guilt-free. Yes, you too can have your coffee and drink it too. 

While traditional coffee production is sustainable (emphasis on traditional), the emergence of the Starbucks coffee crazed culture has encouraged deforestation and an increase in the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Increased demand instigated the switch from the slow dried shade-grown beans favoring lush canopy cover to quick sun-dried beans favoring large vegetation-free expanses. On the coattails of the Fair Trade movement, several organizations took note and took action, seeking to provide quality, fair wages, and sustainable products to the masses. The sustainable coffee movement has since created such a stir that green coffee is cited as one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. 

Counter Culture Coffee has taken the sustainable coffee movement to a whole new level.  A marriage of quality and sustainability interests, they consider every aspect of the bean-to-cup process from responsible growing and fair wages to open dialogues and transparency. The organization aims to preserve local biodiversity by forgoing the use of toxic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers and purchasing environmentally friendly shade-grown coffee. All in the name of good coffee.

For your daily dose of caffein, check out these DC favorites serving seriously organic, seriously sustainable Counter Culture coffee: 

Big Bear (1700 1st St, NW, Washington DC 20001)

Peregrine Espresso (660 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Washington DC 20003)

Mid City Cafe  (1626 14th St, NW, Washington DC 20009) 

Baked & Wired (1052 Thomas Jefferson St, NW, Washington DC 20007) 

And for the avid coffee lover in you, check out Counter Culture's Washington, DC location in Adam's Morgan for coffee events. Attend coffee cuppings and mingle with the best and brightest DC caffeine addicts around.

And please, drink sustainably.