A Humble List of Ways to Cut Down on Waste

The cardboard sleeves still obviously looks recycled but we'll work on that, we'll work on that. :)

* We've been listing down ways on how we can cut down on our solid waste. So far we have come up with the following:

- Recycling old cardboard boxes and turn them into coffee bag sleeves and coffee cup sleeves (I got this idea from Joy Ann Chua of Coffee Academy. Checkout her blog: http://thequillist.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/quills-for-coffee-2-upcycled-coffee-sleeves/) 

- Recycling milk cartons and fashion them into eco-bags (I still have no idea how to do this but I have a bunch of cartons already)

- Recycling used order slips and turn them into new paper. I have a bucketful of paper pulp right now that looks like poop and three trays of recycled paper drying in the sun). We cut the paper with a pair of scissors since we don't have a paper shredder and then I used an old blender to turn the strips of paper into pulp.

- Eco bags! Refuse to use plastic bags in supermarkets! I learned that from Ms. Earth 2012, Cathy Untalan. I know that plastics are no longer allowed here in Los Banos but supermarkets still keep a stash under the counters for wet goods like chicken or fish. That's why I bring a bayong for that. 

- I bring home all the vegetable and fruit scraps at the cafe. I put it in my compost bin and my compost pit because I have a backyard organic garden in my apartment (http://www.organicbackyardthinking.blogspot.com). When the organic agriculture industry booms, I hope all cafes and restaurants would adopt a garden or farm and supply it with organic inputs.

- Bottles and cans go straight to the junk shop. Give our garbage collectors a break and simplify their work by segregating beforehand. I know that our garbage collection schedules are messed up and are not practical or realistic so let's do our part to reduce what goes into the landfills.

Reading the book "An A-Z Guide for a Green Pinoy" by Annie Pascual-Guerrero really inspired me to be conscious of the amount of waste that goes into our trashcans. Thanks to Raoul de Peralta of Coffee Academy for giving me a copy!

What's Up, MARCH?!?!?!

March 7 - 9: International Women's Day Fair @ IRRI. 

* COFFEE UNPLUGGED, our touring manual coffee brewing station, will be showcasing their newest coffee blend roasted by our friends from 18 Days Coffee Roaster, the GABRIELA BLEND--smooth, gentle, and comforting and yet strong at the same time! Just like the Filipina heroine, Gabriela Silang, who was the inspiration for this blend. The blend is made from 4 locally-grown coffee species, Robusta, Excelsa, Arabica, and Liberica. The Gabriela Blend was the coffee used by our barista, Elmer, last February 1 in the Philippine National Barista Championship at SM Megamall. Coffee Unplugged will also be selling and displaying HANDMADE QUILTS by a women's livelihood group from Rizal, Laguna.

New Chef's Specials and Lenten Season Menu 

* We're very happy that our Rib Eye Steak in Garlic Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce and Pan Seared Salmon in Spinach specials were a big hit this month of February. Say goodbye to those dishes and welcome two new dishes this March. We will release the official Lenten Season menu next week. Product photo shoot is tomorrow! Woohoo, free food!