Homemade Latte

I have always been a tea person. The only time I ever drank coffee was when my great grandmother would make me “coffee” with a few tablespoons of coffee and a full cup of milk when I was a kid. Once my parents got a small espresso machine, it started to grow on me.

For people who spend $20 on coffee each week (or the average American who spends $1,092 on coffee each year), having an espresso machine at home saves money, but does it save resources as well? For people who get a disposable cup, lid, and stirrer every time they go to the coffee shop, it’s quite possible that over the lifetime of the machine (years if treated properly) could save carbon emissions and paper/plastic waste.

While I’m not saying that every home in America should have an espresso machine (although many already do have a coffee pot), I sure do enjoy having one I can use at work. And let’s face it, foaming milk is fun.

Even though I have convenient access to espresso machines, I still hardly drink coffee. Because the coffee itself is resource intensive to produce and ship around the world (not to mention the poor living conditions for many of the farmers or people who live near commercialized coffee farms), it’s something I try to save as a treat instead of a daily necessity.