We have new coffee packaging. We did a lot of research for this and developed the bag ourselves. Our current solution keeps the coffee fresh for even longer and causes fewer emissions. Packaging is a continuous optimization process, which is why we are constantly evolving in this area. We describe what we have learned, which packaging is sustainable, and what you should look out for when buying coffee here.
In an ideal world, we wouldn't need packaging. In our coffee cosmos, however, we ship more coffee than we physically sell in our two cafés in Basel. For our purposes, packaging is a must to be able to ship the coffee at all, to maintain its quality, and to guarantee food safety.
At the same time, packaging serves as a carrier of information: a brand design imprints itself on memory, and through the labels, we can describe the coffees, convey their stories, and whet the appetite for enjoyment.
Our "New" ones - 250g and 1000g made from monomaterial: 60% renewable raw materials by mass balance, 30% recycled plastic by mass balance, and 10% new plastic.
If we look at packaging in the coffee world today, especially in the specialty coffee industry, we see a wide variety of opinions on what coffee packaging can and should do.
We see pragmatic approaches to packaging that simply does what it's supposed to do - make coffee transportable. We see approaches where it's more about pure design: especially when a lot of material is used. And then we see more and more ideas on how packaging can be made at least recyclable, but even better, circular.
In the best of all worlds, there would be packaging that addresses all of the above criteria:
airtight, pleasant to hold, circular, and stylish.
With this idea, we embarked on a long learning journey. It is not yet complete, but we have been able to develop a clear picture and a clear stance on what properties good coffee packaging must have, and what makes no sense to us.
We focus on continuous improvement in everything we do. Sustainability is also our focus when it comes to packaging.
How high are the environmental emissions of coffee packaging?
In the overall calculation of our emissions from 1kg of roasted coffee up to the point when a coffee bag leaves our roastery, the packaging itself accounts for only about three percent of the total emissions.
In our case: packaging accounts for "only" 3% of coffee emissions
In the first graph, we look at the emissions we cause in the Basel roastery. In 2023, all packaging used accounted for 16.7% of all roastery emissions.
Emissions of the Kaffeemacher:innen roastery in Basel, 2023
The figures refer to the 22/23 harvest at Santa Rita, Nicaragua.
We know exactly where we have the biggest levers to reduce emissions in a coffee chain: in cultivation, and not in coffee packaging. But: where we are, we can bring about rapid change with what we know. And that's why we must constantly improve packaging.
One aspect that we don't want to neglect when developing sustainable packaging is the look and feel. The emotions we experience when we see, hold, and feel a certain package influence our purchasing decisions.
And this is sometimes a bit absurd:
- Paper-like packaging can suggest that the roasted coffee is sustainable, even if there is no connection. The coffee could have been produced in a completely unsustainable way.
- The opposite is also possible: highly sustainably produced coffees are sold in aluminum packaging, which are by far the most environmentally damaging (see graph below).
So we were looking for packaging whose appearance matched its contents. Sustainable coffee must go into sustainable packaging.
Aluminum performs worst in terms of emissions, but has the best fresh-keeping capacity. Design: Tobias Milz, data set from ecoinvent
New packaging - a process, not a state
In November 2022, we wrote a blog about our new packaging, saying that it was now more sustainable. At that time, we switched from the widespread paper-plastic composite to mono-plastic, with the idea that mono-plastic bags would be recycled and thus we would have a better climate balance.
Our packaging upgrade from November 2022
Around the same time, we came across an article by the DIW and disillusionment set in. The thermal recovery of plastics causes approx. 2.7 kg CO2e, which roughly doubles the emissions over the entire life cycle. Tobi then casually remarked:
“Well, that was a bust.”
And why exactly?
Because we used a lot of new material, so-called virgin material, based on fossil raw materials. The old and the new packaging weighed the same, just under 13 grams. But the new packaging, which was recyclable because it consisted of mono-plastic, used twice as much virgin material as the old packaging.
Learning 1:
The amount of material used is crucial for low emissions. We are seeing more and more recyclable coffee packaging. This is actually progress, to design packaging in such a way that it can theoretically be recycled for another purpose. But: If only a small percentage worldwide (9%) is recycled and the rest is incinerated or ends up in the environment, is the idea then effective?
Anecdote:
We arranged to have lunch with an innovation manager from an energy producer.
“Don't make more plastic”
was his input. His company incinerates household waste to produce district heating, steam, and electricity. However, household waste is now "too clean" because people separate their plastic and packaging waste.
Household waste now has too little combustible mass, so exactly the plastic and packaging waste has to be added back for incineration to work at all. Alternatively, the waste mountain is also sprayed with a petroleum derivative.
“No recycling is not a solution either”
we heard from various corners that otherwise vehemently contradicted each other. So there is something of a consensus in science and industry that recycling is necessary, but the entire system is still far too undeveloped, and plastic consumption continues to rise.
Learning 2:
Recycling is not yet a functioning system. And yet we have to do it. Legal regulations are becoming stricter, recycling is becoming more widespread, and the pressure for change is growing.
And yet we asked ourselves whether recycling was right for us, given that we would use even more plastic? Or should we work with packaging that doesn't need to be recycled at all?
We started our search and conducted more than three dozen conversations with researchers, developers, manufacturers, recyclers, certifiers, other roasteries, and innovation people. Our project was internally named: "the best of all packaging."
But we learned: the best packaging does not exist. It is always a snapshot and must be reviewed again and again.
Early on, we had an exchange with a startup that can produce films from tofu production by-products. It all sounded very good, but the development from the laboratory to larger quantities takes years. We are confident that new materials for films will be in use and available to the wider industry in a few years.
Learning 3:
We opt for a form and the properties of the bag, but remain flexible regarding the choice of material. Enormous progress is currently being made in this area.
Over more than eighteen months, we contacted and exchanged ideas with various material suppliers.
While we were looking for revolutionary materials, we also questioned our demands and processes.
- Why do all bags have the same shape today?
- What sizes do we have? Do we need them?
- What are the processes for packing, sealing, and shipping?
- Are the existing dimensions right for us?
- Which department has which wishes?
Through a community survey on Instagram, we realized that our coffees are usually consumed after eight weeks. Every coffee package is legally required to have a best-before date. We also indicate one, but at the same time recommend orienting oneself by the roasting date and consuming the coffee after a few weeks and a maximum of two months.
Since we don't push the best-before date to its limit, as is often the case with large-scale production for supermarkets where coffee can be up to 18 months old on the shelf, we can rethink the barrier issue. We don't aim for an excessively long shelf-life. The barrier of our bags should keep coffee top-fresh for about three months, that would be enough. This saves material - as much as necessary, as little as possible.
The following further research questions remained:
How quickly does coffee age in the bag?
To answer this, we checked the oxygen content of three different coffees from the same cut-off date over eight weeks.
How airtight is our current packaging?
When checking the oxygen content, it turned out that not all packages were equally airtight and we sometimes found up to 17% oxygen (out of a possible 21%) in the package.
How do other packages on the market compare?
We analyzed coffee packaging from more than a dozen coffee roasteries, and more than two thirds had the same problem: the packaging was not airtight.
How does coffee age in an "airtight" package?
Significantly slower: the coffee showed more character, more aromas, and generally seemed rounder.
We learned through observation, testing, and many tastings. With the learnings from our preliminary tests, we sought conversations with manufacturers. With each conversation, we learned more and quickly realized that most manufacturers need to rethink.
However, those who already work with new materials still have capacity bottlenecks or a lack of approvals for use with food, which makes scaling difficult for them.
Facts and figures about our new bag
Our new bag is made from a monomaterial and is therefore recyclable. The old bag was not. The composition of our new bag is as follows:
- 60% ISCC certified renewable raw materials using the mass balance method: tall oil, which is a by-product of paper processing
- 30% ISCC certified post-consumer recycled plastic using the mass balance method: recycled plastic
- 10% virgin material, i.e. new plastic
In terms of the mass balance approach, we pay for more sustainable materials. These are mathematically present in the bag, physically only marginally if at all. So our packaging can consist of 100% new plastic.
Green electricity and biogas work on the same principle: you pay for the alternative materials, which are then purchased by the manufacturer. You buy renewable products in terms of balance, but what comes out of the socket or pipe is a mixed product.
In the following graphics, we therefore assume a calculatory best-case scenario and a real-case scenario.
Best-case scenario:
shows what emissions our bag would theoretically have if the 60/30/10 mixture were exactly as it is in the bag. It shows the purely theoretical ideal value.
Real-case scenario:
shows what emissions occur in the real case if 0% of the more sustainable materials are present in a bag.
The real-case scenario still performs better than the old bag because we use almost four grams less material.
The ecological footprint of our new packaging
New bag, theoretical best-case scenario: material, production, disposal without recycling
If our bag is not recycled, we have total emissions of 92g CO2e per 250g bag.
New bag, theoretical best-case scenario: material, production, disposal with 35% recycling
In the case of plastics (PE and PP) from which coffee packaging is usually made, this is downcycling. The worldwide rate is 9%, in Germany approx. 35% becomes usable granulate.
Old bag: material, disposal
Our previous bag, which will be gradually replaced by the new bag in April and May 2025, emits more. We are improving by almost 25%.
New bag: detailed calculation in the best-case scenario
Reality Check - what really hurts and what brings joy
The longer we dealt with the topic, the more questions arose. At times we felt like researchers or investigative journalists - but actually we were looking for packaging for our coffee beans.
The issue of packaging is complex and too often too closely intertwined with technological backwardness and lax legal trade instructions.
Minimal improvements were presented to us as "world firsts" and what some called a "smart approach" we would have classified as common sense. The topic of packaging is emotional and pragmatic at the same time.
One can quickly be annoyed by organic cucumbers wrapped in plastic, but individual coffee beans cannot be transported. We need to sharpen our view on where packaging makes sense and what properties it really needs or does not need.
With these learnings, there were some things that hurt, but also some that made us confident.
What hurts
Recyclable merely means that it can be recycled. How well it works depends on the material. Approx. 35% of the waste collected in the yellow bin is turned back into usable raw material.
The rest is incinerated, exported, or ends up in the environment.
Why is recycled material more expensive than virgin material?
- The processes are not as optimized as those for virgin material.
- Demand determines the price. Demand is high and not much is available.
- If there is too little plastic in the waste, oil or plastic waste is bought for incineration.
- Material composites cannot be recycled. This means they are incinerated, which leads to a doubling of CO2e emissions.
What raises questions
- No packaging materials from the yellow bin receive food approval.
- The same applies (currently) to "ocean plastic" → "wild plastic" for other areas.
- Valves are not 100% PP or PE, but contain a small PET film and are therefore not 100% recyclable.
- Food waste or coffee waste is worse than packaging waste.
What makes us confident
- new materials, young companies approaching the big industry players - things are happening
- EU Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste "PPWR" is coming and requires the following points, which are particularly relevant for coffee packaging:
- The components of recycled packaging must be separable and recyclable as individual components.
- Material reduction: The weight and volume of packaging should be reduced to the necessary minimum.
- Crucial for shipping: the empty space in packaging, filled with materials such as bubble wrap or foam, may not exceed 50% of the total volume.
Checklist for good packaging:
- How long does my product need to last?
- How little packaging can I use?
- Packaging size vs. packaging content
- How do I inform consumers to dispose of the packaging correctly?
- What do we stand for and how does the packaging go hand in hand with that?
What brings joy: our new packaging partner
Our new partner for coffee packaging is O.Kleiner, based in Wohlen, Switzerland. We were looking for a partner who could cover both development and production. In various discussions, we approached our goals and together developed new packaging for coffee.
Andreas Platz from O. Kleiner (left) and Philipp Schallberger, Kaffeemacher GmbH (right)
