Who's more energy efficient with the dishes– you or your dishwasher? Image: Ronan_tlv

Now as a regular morning coffee drinker who uses a kettle and a gas stove to heat water for coffee (not instant– yuk! I use a coffee filter cone and PEET's coffee, of course) instead of the microwave, since our microwave is an old piece of inefficient junk that takes forever to heat water, I thought that buying a new microwave would make me a more energy efficient coffee drinker. But I was wrong!

Jennifer Mitchell-Jackson, while a graduate student at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, measured the energy use of an average microwave oven, an electric stovetop, and a gas stovetop to heat up a mug of water. Turns out that an electric stove uses 25% less electricity than an average microwave oven to heat a mug of water. A gas stove is less efficient and uses more energy than a microwave oven, but depending on the cost of gas, it might cost less to heat a mug of coffee with gas compared to the microwave.

It is more efficient to wash dishes by hand than it is to use a dishwasher. True or false?

How many arguments has that one caused! The research to dispel this myth came from Germany. Rainer Stamminger, a professor of household and appliance technology and his colleagues at the University of Bonn, gathered more than 100 volunteer dishwashers with varying skill levels and dishwashing styles in a laboratory, and measured the amount of water and energy each used to wash big stacks of dirty dishes. He then washed similar dirty dishes in dishwashers and measured the dishwashers’ water and energy use.

His conclusion: The machine is more efficient than the hand. In general, the dishwashers used much more water and somewhat more energy than the dishwashing machines. Some test subjects used 53 gallons of water to clean 12 place settings! But there is a wide variation in the styles and economics of hand dishwashing.

Clearly, a new, efficient dishwasher is best. But if you can’t afford one, or like to spend a lot of time with your hands in soapy water, Stamminger and company have some suggestions:

• Remove large dish scraps with a fork or spoon.
• Do the dishes soon after a meal before the food has dried on the plates (get your dinner guests involved).
• Do not pre-rinse your dishes under running tap water (same goes for dishwasher use).
• Use a hot-water sink for washing and a cold-water sink for rinsing.
• Use just the amount of detergent recommended by the manufacturer.

And put that coffee mug in the dishwasher when you're done.

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Paul Katzeff in 1972, co-founder
of Thanksgiving Coffee Company.

Good morning! Any coffee lovers out there? I'm not confessing any addiction, but I do admit that I enjoy my morning cup. It gives me great pleasure that my cup comes from Thanksgiving Coffee Company, Oakland Zoo's caffeine supplier. Yes, this stimulates me in many ways!

Not only is the coffee delicious, but their like-minded mission makes them a great match for Oakland Zoo.

Established by Joan and Paul Katzeff in 1972, Thanksgiving Coffee was born in the Mendacino Hotel and was sold in the hotel café. Even then, the company focused on giving to the community and caring for the environment. Since then, the company has grown to become a specialty coffee industry leader, in both roasting practices and community activism.

The coffee is mostly organic and much of it is Fair Trade certified. They buy their beans from small farms in mountain regions and work to help farmers form cooperatives. The cooperatives provide stability and support, enabling groups to negotiate fair prices for their crops, send their children to school, and enrich their communities. These shifts allow growers to blossom into proud coffee artisans. Thanksgiving Coffee Company has received many awards for their sustainable practices. They were the first to create shade-grown coffee, the first to become carbon-neutral and they continue to explore ways an organization can save people and the planet! For obvious reasons, I love their:

Rwanda Gorilla Fund Coffee

A rich medium-strong roast coffee from Rwanda with citrus high notes over deep chocolate undertones.

2,000 Hutu and Tutsi farmers produce the beans for this coffee, and the hard workand dedication to quality coffee is helping to heal the scars left by the 1994 genocide. The practice also builds an alternative to poaching and logging, two of the biggest threats to the endangered Mountain Gorillas.

Thanksgiving Coffee donates a portion of the profits from each package sold to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to preserve and protect mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Ugandan Mirembe Kawomera Light Roast

Hints of vanilla, nutmeg and pecans

Mirembe Kawomera Coffee began with one man's dream. In 2003, JJ Keki, a Ugandan coffee farmer, walked door to door asking his Jewish, Christian, and Muslim neighbors to put aside old differences and come together. They named their coffee Mirembe Kawomera, which means, "Delicious Peace" in the Luganda language. The cooperative now has 750 members and sells directly to Thanksgiving Coffee Company, who supports them by buying the beans at high prices and by getting the word out about their inspiring project.

Songbird Coffee

The Nicaraguan version is fruity, nutty and chocolaty with hints of mango, plum and cranberry.

The American Birding Association (ABA) works with Thanksgiving Coffee to create beans grown in the shade of the trees, keeping vital habitat where it is.

Thanksgiving coffee grows shade-grown in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, keeping both customers and birds happy.

Come sip a cup at the Oakland Zoo's Island Café, while gazing at flamingos, anytime!

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