918 Coffee Co has partnered with environmental attraction the Eden Project to launch a new range of Eco-Roast coffee blends.
The five Eco-Roast coffees – Central American, South American, Far Eastern, East African and Italian – are inspired by the Eden Project’s rainforest and Mediterranean biomes. All five blends will go on sale this month at UK stores of Waitrose, and are either Rainforest Alliance-certified or Fairtrade.
Dorset-based 918 Coffee has also introduced a new way of illustrating the taste profile of each blend by providing a comprehensive multi-point descriptor on the reverse of each pack to provide the consumer with a clearer indication of each of the main characteristics. The range is individually hand-packaged in fully biodegradable kraft bags, using fully compostable labels, to help achieve the goal of significantly reducing its carbon footprint.
918 Coffee Co CEO Justin Cornelius said: “We have worked tirelessly over the last two and a half years on our Eco-Roast project and invested heavily into making it a reality for everyone to enjoy. To see our Eco-Roast coffee being distributed in Waitrose stores across the UK with the Eden Project endorsement is a great achievement.”
Eden Project commercial manager Tracey Smith added: “As an educational charity and visitor attraction, Eden is always searching for sustainable solutions and clever uses for waste streams.
“Our rainforest biome is the world’s largest greenhouse and in it we grow coffee as an exhibit. It is a natural fit to partner with an innovator and coffee roaster such as 918. We are very excited at the prospect of this new range now being available through Waitrose stores across the UK.”
The Coffe-Eco technology used to produce the coffees was developed by 918 Coffee as a means of “dramatically reducing the amount of coffee grounds and disposables being deposited into landfill”.
918 Coffee co-founder Chanel Cornelius said: “Coffee is the world’s second largest commodity, second only to oil, and is responsible for more than 1.8m tonnes of carbon emissions produced in the UK alone. Our Eco Roast technology makes substantial reductions in the roasting, packaging and disposal parts of the process.
“Whether you are an individual who enjoys delicious coffee, a coffee shop or a blue chip corporation, both you and the planet will benefit from using our trademarked Coffe-Eco system. Working with a retailer such as Waitrose is amazing and a fantastic way to involve their consumers in what we are trying to achieve. Everyone is concerned about our planet and the damage it suffers and would like to help, unfortunately for many they do not know where to start. By purchasing Eco-Roast coffee, the consumer can enjoy their favourite beverage safe in the knowledge that the coffee has been produced in a positive way, using coffee waste as fuel within an energy efficient green coffee roasting plant.”
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