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Health & Fitness

Kirkland's Green Beanery Provides Sustainable Options for Coffee Lovers

Organic and sustainable coffee house "The Green Beanery" is highlighted as the first in series for businesses on the Eastside who have made sustainable practices part of their core operations.

It is not every day that one "gets" to test out a Theo Dark Chocolate Mocha for article research! That is where I found myself this morning in preparation for my article interview—the first business in my upcoming series.

The series includes highlighting Eastside businesses that have progressively incorporated sustainability into their practices. Today's business, The Green Beanery is located in Kirkland, just a stone throw away from the Redmond border. This drive-up and walk-up coffee house is situated in the Bridle Trails Shopping Center near the corner of Old Redmond Road and 132nd Avenue Northeast.

The idea for which business to interview first, came to me when I was purchasing a Spicy Chai Latte one morning. The barista that morning was the owner Deanna Shifton. To my inquiry of "So, are you more green than just your coffee and dairy products?" was met with such a well rounded level of sustainability answer that I was soon in email contact with Deanna to make an interview appointment.

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THE BUILDING: On the first level of sustainability was the coffee house building itself. Deanna had obtained it just before it was to be demolished to make way for a wider road and had it cut out of the ground and moved to the current site. Then her father, a construction company owner himself, green retrofitted and added on to the coffeehouse using reclaimed lumbar.  Pictures of this process can be viewed on the Green Beanery Facebook page.

ORGANIC: A native of Redmond and with a degree in mathematics to her name, Deanna decided to open up a coffeehouse based on her experience as a barista at a number of other places. And why organic? "That's just how I am," she said. She speaks of a number of influences she had growing up. As a kid, her family was a NW outdoorsy one, with a number of camping outings, followed by her attending the 3-year junior High EAS Enviornmental and Adventure Choice School with even more camping outings and a trip to Peru. Also while living at home, due to her mother's health issues at the time, the household switched over to an all-organic and nutrient-enriched diet.  As Deanna started benefiting from this diet herself, she noticed her awareness grow in other Environmental areas too.

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THE BEANS: Deanna's first impression of how beans are grown was on her junior high Peru trip, while flying over part of the rain forrest and seeing lots of green and then all of a sudden a large patch of brown. She was able to see first-hand what a slash-and-burn plantation looked like. The espresso beans she purchases are shade grown, meaning they are grown underneath the canopy of the rain forrest. They are also fair trade, or in other words fair price. Her supplier Grounds for Change also has a carbon free program, where they buy carbon credits to offset their carbon footprint. Grounds for Change is located and roasts the beans in Poulsbo.

THE MILK: Finding the right supplier for her milk's and creams was important for Deanna. After testing the milk products at Whole Food Demos and Seattle's Coffee Fest, she selected Bellingham's Fresh Breeze. A new term I learned in connection to this farm and milk processing is "vat pasteurized." By pasteurizing at a lower temperature, the milk ends up containing a ton more of its nutrients, including proteins, than it does using the typical ultra-pasteruizing methods. This is one of the last farms to still process milk this way and this is due to the higher expense of this process. She also pondered whether to make organic milk an option or whether to make it standard. In the end she went with making it standard to simplify the drink ordering process.

MORE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES: The Green Beanery uses compostable cups and straws. They participate in the City of Kirkland's regular recycling and food waste recycling programs to the point that the regular garbage (as small or smaller than a tall kitchen size container) hardly needs to be emptied each week. She buys her pasteries and bagels from local Redmond companies  and .

A fellow barista, Kasey, mentioned that since working there her general awareness for the environment has increased as well. She is now involving her children more in her home recycling program and recycling more than before.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS: Deanna has received positive feedback and appreciation since opening. Customers have told her they like that The Green Beanery is sustainable, they like the taste of the coffee, they appreciate the compostable cups, they like the organic menu and do not mind paying the few cents more to be assured that there are no pesticides in the products, as it is better for their health and it is better for the environment.

And from my own morning, ahem.....research, I have to say that I give my two thumbs up to the Theo Dark Chocolate Mocha. I'm adding it to one of my favorite espresso, but not so sugary drinks!

Next week and next in series, I will be traveling to the Waste Management Cascade's single stream recycling facility to find out how Eastside recyclables are processed.

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For more Green Beanery pictures, visit Darsi Fouillade's EcoEastsideBlog. For updates on future posts, follow darsif on Twitter.

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