SAVOUR SAVING WATER BREW SMARTLY
EAGER coffee lovers are constantly perfecting their brew at home, but with Day Zero looming, water will be in short supply.
The quality and temperature of the water used to make a cup is crucial. In fact without water, coffee would just be a memory.
Cape Town residents will be facing this stark reality soon, because daily limits now mean every drop counts and coffee might not take priority.
So is there anything you can do to ensure that with water scarce, you can still make the perfect home brew?
The Blue Crane Coffee Company in Stellenbosch isn’t only taking the necessary precautions to avoid water wastage – the coffee roastery and experimental laboratory is showing coffee lovers how easy it can be to make every drop count.
Leading the way since they launched in 2016, this is a team of passionate entrepreneurs who kicked off their new business venture with smart water-saving principles already in place.
They’ve embedded eco-nurturing in the outlet’s day-to-day running to help sustain the environment and support the community. So they collect used coffee water and transport it weekly to a local Jonkershoek flower farm, which harvests hydrangeas, flowers that thrive on low PH (coffee) water.
And they are keen for coffee lovers to continue the water saving in their own homes.
If you’re an avid coffee drinker, make every sip count with Michael Jones, Blue Crane founder and co-owner’s tips: Install a grey water system: It may be time-consuming, but it’s well worth “bucketing” as much water as you can and using it to water your garden.
“Opt for plants that prefer acidic nutrition such as the hydrangea wild flower family”, said Jones. “This is best for repurposing coffee water. So the more coffee you drink, the more colour you could add to your garden.” Coffee bean recycling 101: When it’s not about water, move to dry ingredients, like ground coffee or beans, to replenish soil and add to compost.
Although it can be a good idea to remain aware of the types of soil that prefer more acidic additions, used coffee beans may neutralise after being drained, so this cancels out the low PH level precautions.
When adding grounds coffee to compost, be sure to not add more than a quarter more than the entire compost batch. Coffee adds nutritional ground chemicals to aid plant growth. Guard your garden: General garden pests are not fond of coffee’s texture. Build small wall barriers using used ground coffee around your favourite plants to ward off snails and insects.
It’s a natural odour neutraliser:
Add a good portion of coffee grounds in a bowl on a fridge rack to neutralise off-putting smells. Replace a few times a month. It’s good for hair: Coffee is a great hair exfoliant when applied in a cup portion or so to your scalp and thoroughly lathered with shampoo during a quick power shower.
“As a single coffee outlet, we won’t necessarily have a massive impact, but we are willing to take ownership of our water-saving efforts. We truly believe every drop counts,” said Jones.