Sip for a good cause: Recycle used coffee pods after enjoying a delicious caramel cream honey Café Au Lait

August 17th, 2020

Don Francisco's Café Au Lait

 When you love variety and convenience, choosing popular single-serve coffee pods is a great way to create plenty of choices to fit whatever mood or flavor you’re after – but what do you do with the pods when you’re done brewing a cup?

The idea of reducing waste has gone mainstream and it’s allowed brands to find new ways to reuse and recycle materials, especially single-serve coffee pods! Aside from the recent partnership with TerraCycle, we at Don Francisco’s Coffee are always looking for fun ways to reuse materials and when it comes to single-serve coffee pods there are interesting and useful ways to incorporate empty pods into daily life. 

Coffee Pods offer a variety of uses

This year, as school starts back up in a completely different way than was expected, you’re likely staying home with the kids and trying to balance both work and creating a remote classroom.

Start the day off strong with a delicious cup of Double French and then save your pods until you build up a small collection for the kids to play with -- the creative options are endless!

Here are a few fun things for kids of all ages:

  • Use the pods as building blocks
  • Color and string together pods to create festive garland or fun necklaces for the season
  • Spread them out on the table for an impromptu coin toss game
  • Before handing over the coffee pods, be sure to remove the lid and empty out used coffee grounds (they work great in the garden to enhance soil nutrients!), then rinse and dry thoroughly. 

    Kitchen uses for coffee pods

    These small but versatile pods can also be used in a variety of ways around the house! For example, if you’re like many who prefer the taste of fresh herbs but aren’t able to use them up in time before they wilt, consider chopping herbs and adding them to an empty, clean coffee pod filled with a small amount of water, then freezing. These mini pods will stay ready for the next use any time a recipe calls for fresh herbs. 

    Don Francisco's Coffee Double French Single Serve Coffee

    Another way to make use of single-serve coffee pods is to plant one or two seeds in each pod as a way to create a seed starter before transferring to a flower bed. This is also an entertaining way to get kids involved with gardening and provides hands-on learning for those plant-life school lessons! Growing plants indoors before moving them outside allows seeds to mature and become hardy before facing outdoor elements.

    Don Francisco's Cofee and the Terracycle recycling program

    If transforming empty coffee pods into new, unique uses isn’t your thing (or you just don’t have time for additional projects!), there are still great options for recycling your used pods and capsules!

    Through our new partnership with TerraCycle, all you need to do is collect your pods, sign up for the program and ship them off for free where they will be collected and upcycled or downcycled into new materials, such as park benches. There’s an added benefit to recycling through TerraCycle and that is you can earn and redeem points to benefit your favorite charitable institution! Talk about a win-win.

    For more information and how to join this recycling program, please visit here.

    Recipe - caramel cream honey Café Au Lait

    In case you need another reason to brew up coffee this season, here’s a yummy and easy-to-make recipe that offers a soothing moment of calm any time you want it.

    Here’s what you’ll need: 

  • 1 Don Francisco's Coffee Caramel Cream Single-Serve Pod
  • ½ cup warm milk (or dairy-free alternative)
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon
  • Whipped cream for topping (optional) 
  •  How to make a Caramel Cream Honey Café Au Lait:

  • Combine warm milk and honey in a glass – for a foamier consistency, froth these together instead
  • Brew Caramel Cream coffee pod
  • Pour milk and honey mixture into freshly brewed coffee and gently stir to combine.
  • Top with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon
  • There’s always a good excuse to drink delicious coffee, but when you can upcycle and reuse materials there’s even more reason to indulge in a daily cup of Caramel Cream or Double French Single-Serve coffee pods.

    Head over to our website for even more single-serve flavors and sign up for our newsletter to receive news, ideas and promotions straight from Don Francisco's Coffee!

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