Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
If you’re like many people, you may love the convenience and available flavors of the individual K-cup coffee pods. And if you’re environmentally conscious, you can go through the inconvenience of digging out the filter and coffee from each cup to put in the compost pile, and add the brands with recyclable pods to your recycling bin. Or you may feel a twinge of guilt when you throw the whole pod in the trash. But you need your coffee, life is fast-paced, and what else can you do?
There’s an answer for that! A sustainable answer that gives you a delicious option, sans plastic.
Guide Roasting Company, owned by Julie and Gary Kratzer started out as a small coffee roasting company in 2018. They used the name Guide and incorporated a compass in their logo because of their love of the outdoors, and also their desire to “guide” customers on their coffee journey.
They began roasting one-pound batches in their garage, but soon needed a bigger roaster. Then a bigger space, as their client list grew. Now, in addition to warehouse space, they have a tasting bar so that people can enjoy a just-brewed cup of their delicious, high quality, fresh-roasted coffee beans. Or pick up a curb-side online order to take home a bag to brew at home. There are also gift baskets, sample sets, and many flavors available for purchase online.
Then people started asking for something more. They wanted single-serve K-cups for home use. But Julie was concerned about the plastic pods that have become a worldwide litter problem. “Convenience with a conscience” is how Julie refers to their desire to brew a single cup of high quality coffee without using single-use plastic cups. The pods are made with plant-based materials and renewable resources. They can be added to a backyard compost bin with other kitchen scraps, and turned into a valuable soil amendment for your garden.
The Kratzers met with ICA, an Italian company who was designing a K-cup pod that is completely compostable. Check out this short video that tells the story of the innovative Italian company and what it’s been able to achieve. The small coffee-roasting business owners purchased ICA’s first machine in a small version. It was made in Italy and shipped to Midlothian.
GreenPod Coffee Packing offers a compostable alternative to traditional plastic K-cups for craft roasters across in the area, expanding the number of companies and consumers that will use this sustainable way to bring guiltless single-use coffee pods to homes.