by Yvonne Quincey-de Guzman
Set the scene 2006: George Clooney enters a swanky venue; smooth jazz pours out of the TV speakers and envelops you. In the blink of an eye, you're transported there, witnessing sexy George, young ER George, old Catch-22 George Clooney—all combined. He walks past two beautiful women and overhears their sensual conversation, all about coffee cloaked in innuendo. He pops a coffee pod into a machine and out comes a perfect cup of caffeinated gold. Yes, in that very moment, coffee that came from a pod was akin to being in the vast charismatic presence of Sir George himself.
Immediate mental mayhem ensued! I'm sure an error sign began blinking from my retinas as my inner voice loudly announced, “Does not compute.” Regardless of my crush on George, he was branded a charlatan forever. To pour salt in the wound, pod machines started showing up everywhere. I could not escape them, my mother’s house, the cute country B&B, people’s offices. My favourite shopping centre began selling them not just in one shop, but ten. I hoped it was a trend that would just go away. Thirteen years later, it has not.
I was a coffee purist, and still am. I've turned my nose up at coffee capsules and pods, dismissing them for reasons of flavour and environmental impact. When I heard that ST. ALi was making coffee pods, I thought I was going to have to break up with one of the best and most stable relationships I've ever had in my life. ST. ALi was—and continues to be—part of my morning routine and spiritual practice. Wake-up, hit the power button on my espresso machine, let the dog out, make a latte (in the cup my husband gave me when we began living together 12 years ago!) light a candle and set my intention for the day, while I zone out over the panoramic view of the Hawksbury River. The ritual is sealed as I slowly sip the liquid sunshine made with love by ST. ALi.
The day I heard about ST. ALi pods was different. My mind did not gently slide into the bliss of the morning. It was frantic and confusing. My mind screamed WHY? How could you do this to me ST. ALi? I believed in you! I trusted you. I could not accept this betrayal. I made a second cup of coffee and attempted to calm myself. “Get it together!” my alter ego insisted. My compassionate heart contemplated how cruel it would be to deny all of those pod machine people the joy and happiness ST. ALi brings me every day. I pulled apart my preconceived notions and tried to understand my beloved ST. ALi's point of view.
Firstly, I considered the quality of the coffee. FEELS GOOD was organic after all. WIDE AWAKE and ORTHODOX were also sustainably cultivated and precisely processed. All three delicious and full of flavour. In theory, this was an optimal start for any perfect cup of coffee—pod or not. High-quality specialty coffee: check.
Secondly, how are the pods made and from what material? Not all pods are created equal, as Google will tell you. The amount of misleading, contradictory, and inaccurate information floating around is enough to prompt abandoning the hunt for truth. I refused to give up. To press on, there were a few issues to consider:
How does the coffee taste and what are the key factors in preserving flavour and freshness?
What materials are the best to accomplish this?
How environmentally friendly are the pods?
Finally, I looked at my darling ST. ALi’s history. I have never been let down before. ST. ALi’s longevity and dependability has never failed me in the many years of our love story. Even though I don’t always see past my own point of view, ST. ALi remains inclusive of all coffee drinkers, remaining accessible to all, and does not discriminate nor judge. ST. ALi comes to the party with solutions. And while no one is perfect, ST. ALi always strives to do the best by coffee drinkers and me worldwide, minimising harm and creating a love bubble of unity through coffee.
Motivated to press on and put my mind at ease I did the research. I discovered that the pod materials made an impact in two ways. They keep the coffee fresh from oxygen transmission, as the choice of capsule or pod may affect the quality of the coffee over time. And, the pods are made from materials which do not always end up as advertised, whether compostable or recyclable.
Plant-based, non-plant based, aluminium pods, or a combo? Recyclable or compostable? Many companies make claims that simply are not totally true. According to the UTS’s Institute for Sustainable Futures research titled Coffee Capsules and the Environment from May 2019, I learnt that currently no pod or capsule is truly compostable or recyclable in Australia at this time—any companies making such claims are misleading. There are some materials that breakdown faster than others, for sure. The more compostable the pod material is, the more there is an oxygen exchange, so shorter shelf life and faster spoilage.
I began to understand that dear ST. ALi was just trying to steer the coffee pod sensation in a better direction. Pod people and pod machines were not going away, and who was I to judge anyway. I would not deny the love of ST. ALi and a perfect cup of coffee to anyone, ever.
All I could do is better understand the issues and how I can help. I referred back to the UTS article and made a list of the important points to review.
Coffee capsules are generally not currently recoverable through most standard kerbside systems, and should not be placed in either recycling or organics bins by most people.
Coffee capsules are currently not acceptable in any kerbside commingled recycling bins. Compostable coffee capsules (including certified compostable coffee capsules) are currently not accepted in most kerbside organics recycling bins.
The only viable standard recovery system for coffee capsules are dedicated, specialist recovery systems where consumers can drop-off or post-back certain branded coffee capsules to be recycled or composted. This is expensive and time consuming, making it unrealistic for most folks.
Recovery through recycling is generally preferable to composting, as recycling keeps materials in a circular economy for longer. But since kerbside is not an option and no recycling centres in Australia can separate the materials out of general recycling because they are so small, we must lobby our local councils to have a segregated collection system for these pods to be recycled properly.
Compostable capsules should only be considered if recycling is not a viable option, or if it also enables recovery of the coffee grounds. Currently, compostable pods in Australia need to be commercially processed for composting using chemical additives. Is this safe?
The use of the term ‘biodegradable’ is misleading unless accompanied by information on certification to an accepted industry standard. Products labelled biodegradable or degradable may not have any environmental benefits. Oxo-degradable capsules may cause environmental harm if they end up in landfill, or littered on land or in waterways, and will contaminate recyclable plastics. Materials labelled biodegradable, degradable or oxo-degradable should be avoided.
There is no evidence that any plastic capsules (even those that claim to be compostable, biodegradable or bio-based) will have greater environmental benefits.
So here is where the cost-benefit analysis kicks in. Each manufacturer has to weigh the pros and cons on offer. There's a pod with a shorter shelf life creating a product that easily goes off, and ends up in the bin anyway, and is not viable in the marketplace—but can be marketed as "compostable". This is balanced against a product that lasts longer, and is offset by other factors to minimise the footprint it leaves, like sustainable outer packaging and minimal use of plastics overall—where the pods themselves can't (or shouldn't!) be marketed as compostable or recyclable.
Not an easy decision. We do not live in a perfect world, and often must choose the least harm as the best path forward, until we develop something better. It's not all or nothing. I suppose I must accept this reality in the world of coffee pods too.
St. ALi Orthodox Coffee Pods
So, my conclusion was this. Coffee pods and capsules are popular and increasing in usage. All people deserve a perfect cup of specialty coffee, even those who use a pod machine. ST. ALi has developed pods for use with compatible machines, like Nespresso, with the intention of delivering consistently great tasting specialty coffee with the least impact and harm on the environment. As consumers and citizens, we need to urge our local councils to include a segregated recycling program for small plastics like pods to truly be able to deliver an environmentally friendly pod. ST. ALi uses recyclable plastics, ready for when local council makes this type of program available.
Enjoy the love of ST. ALi and get some pods of your favourite ST. ALi coffee from Lewis & Son—FEELS GOOD, ORTHODOX and WIDE AWAKE. They have a long shelf life and are easy to keep on hand. Use them at home, work, school or the next time you go away for the weekend. Even if you don’t have a pod machine at home, you never know when one will appear. You, too, can be ready for a perfect cup of coffee anytime. I love you now more than ever ST. ALi. Thank you for opening my heart to all coffee lovers, even the pod people.
Please urge your local council to recycle small plastics and sign this petition.