There’s been a lot of talk about coffee lately. It seemed millions of peoples’ dream came true when the NYT published an article a few weeks ago debunking every myth about the detriment of caffeine and its most common source: coffee (was that story funded by Starbucks, by the way?).

Certainly, this was good news for me, too. I love coffee. Over the years, I have tried and failed countless times to “get off the bean.” I’ve tried tea (Yerba Mate, Chai, Green Tea, the list goes on) decaf, and herbal coffee. Shoot, I even wrote a 2-part magazine article called “But I Can’t … Decaffeinate,” highlighting the dangerous cavalcade of activity (body and brain) set off by a single sip of the potent drug. Initially, my research scared me away from coffee, but I soon found myself back in coffee heaven.

Ultimately, I succumbed to the reality that coffee is good and I want to drink it. Forever. To me, there is nothing like a warm mug of steaming java in my hands. But just like with other daily activities and habits, I’ve learned that coffee-drinking can be done responsibly and I strive to do the best I can.

I’ve really been making an effort to bring homemade coffee to work in a steel mug (fits in the holder on my bike). By opting out of using paper cups and sleeves, I am substantially reducing my impact. (A funny anecdote: In Sevilla, Spain, where I lived for 6 months, there was only one cafe that offered coffee in to-go cups. It was fittingly called “American Coffee.”) By bypassing coffee shops on my way to work (many with lines literally out the door), I save substantially.

Think about it: A pound of coffee makes approximately 32 eight-ounce cups of coffee. A cup of tall coffee at Starbucks costs about $2. If you spend $10 for a pound of coffee and make it at home, you save $54 over buying 32 tall coffees at Starbucks!

There are several keys to making the “greatest greenest cup,” as Care2 Senior Editor Melissa Breyer recently expounded. Foremost, a french press. Did you know Americans spend $400 million annually on electricity for their coffeemakers? Yikes! To use a french press costs virtually nothing (you just need to boil water) and you don’t need to use coffee filters … which usually are bleached. Plus, in terms of taste, french-pressed coffee is really tasty. For directions on how to use a french press, click here. Also, click here for tips on what to do with your grounds when you’re done.

A Care2 reader commented that instead of a french press, she thinks a coffee toddy makes the greenest cup. I have never used a toddy but may perhaps look into it. http://www.toddyproducts.com/

Another key to making “your fix” responsible is using farmer and plant-friendly Fair Trade, organic, or shade grown–coffees. In addition to benefiting farmers, organic and fair-trade varieties, increasingly available in the mainstream marketplace, are healthier for our bodies, as they often are not grown with pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers.

If such coffees are not available near you, consider purchasing them online.

Do you have any coffee tips to share?