Caffeine and Climate Change: Kin Coffee Bar

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Maddie Gorsage

Photograph by Maddie Gorsage

As a foodie and a coffee connoisseur I feel as though it is my duty to share with you my favorite coffee joints. I am pretty well traveled and go to coffee shops everywhere I go. All of which, have incredible food, coffee and most importantly sustainable and environmentally friendly options.

The first location that I have chosen to share with you all happens to be in my college town of San Luis Obispo. It is called Kin Coffee Bar and it has a location on Higuera Street and another location opening shortly closer to Cal Poly.

Kin is known for their matcha bar and unique flavors in all of their drinks. For those of you who do not know what matcha is, matcha is a Korean powder made from special green tea leaves. They also have amazing food which have a lot of options for my friends who have sustainable diets.

Kin has a very chill and hip ambiance as the coffee bar is decorated with many plants and other trendy items. There is both indoor and outdoor seating available for those who want to stay a while. They sell Kin themed merchandise and other items that are popular in the coffee world.

The service is fast and the staff is extremely friendly. They are all super knowledgeable in the making of coffee and matcha drinks. They never fail to crack a good joke and put a big smile on their customers’ faces.

I know what you are thinking, how is it possible to make a coffee or matcha more sustainable. Well my friends, it’s all about the milk! Today, we have so many different options when it comes to milk and what it is made of. Most alternative milk options are made of nuts because they can mock the richness and consistency of cow milk.

The dairy industry not only treats their dairy cows with little care, but also are a big contributor to the yearly greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2017, the dairy industry emits 83.5 Mt of carbon dioxide. Kin has many milk alternative options such as: almond, hemp, coconut, soy and oat milk.

Kin, like many other coffee shops, now have reusable cups available along with caps that do not require straws. This is also a good and sustainable options that allows individuals to reduce their carbon footprint.

Kin coffee Bar Menu

Sustainable Diets with Mikaela Santiago

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Maddie Gorsage

Mikaela Santiago is a first-year student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is studying Forestry and Fire Science. Santiago accepted her admission to Cal Poly with the intentions of gaining knowledge in fire fighting and, someday, becoming a city fire fighter.

All of Santiago’s daily life choices are made consciously so they align with her future goals. Mikaela is an avid gym goer as well as an active member of the vegetarian community.

Photograph by Mateo Livingstone

Being a female entering a profession that is dominated by males, Santiago has to be in the same if not better shape than all of the boys. Her choices are driven with the intent of being better than any male in the fire fighting profession, and this all starts with her health.

Santiago engages in daily activities to stay fit and stay on top of her game to be the best. She practices extensive weight training at the gym everyday to keep up her core and upper body strength. She also does this to maintain good bodily health. She is an avid user of BEAM vegan protein powder, especially the peanut butter flavor.

BEAM carries many different flavors of protein powders that are vegan and not made from whey protein. They also have many different types of supplement powders to keep everyone’s diets balanced.

Her strenuous daily activities require extra amounts of protein consumption than a normal person, so Santiago takes protein supplements to balance out the lack of protein in her vegetarian diet.

As well as being a “gym bro,” Santiago is also involved in a lot of outdoor activities to improve her fitness. Santiago part of the Cal Poly’s Plants, Peaks, and Pals Club and participated on hikes all over the community to take in the natural beauty.

Mikaela Santiago’s love for fire fighting, fitness, and the environment has also taken her on the biggest journey of all, becoming a vegetarian.

Photograph by Mateo Livingstone

Her vegetarian journey started about four years ago when she was a freshman in high school. Santiago was an avid meat-eater because that was what she was fed growing up in a Mexican household.

Her switch to vegetarianism was a shock to her family, but they were supportive of her decision to take action in her life. For her, this lifestyle change was not just a moral thing, but also she recognized a greater issue at hand.

While Santiago was not too thrilled at the killing and mistreatment of animals, she also knew that these animals contributed to a great amount of environmental destruction.

Cows in the livestock and dairy industries require a great deal of space and natural resources in order to provide for a carnivorous human population. Water and land are used in an unsustainable way. In addition, cows are also a large contributor to methane emissions, which primarily come from their waste.

Infographic by Christian Guthier

Caffeine and Climate Change: Sally Loo’s Wholesome Cafe

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Maddie Gorsage

Photograph by Maddie Gorsage

For this addition of Caffeine and Climate change I have chosen a location that is near and dear to my heart for many different reasons. Sally Loo’s Wholesome Cafe is one of my favorite places in San Luis Obispo to grab a bite and to sip some much needed caffeine.

Sally Loo’s was the first place that my “big sister,” in my sorority took me when we were still getting to know one another to see if it would be a match. On our visit there we instantly bonded and I knew after she dropped me off after that she was the one. I would not have found my perfect match if the two of us had not been craving avocado toast.

This little coffee shop is located by in the old historic district of San Luis Obispo and the neighborhood could not be more charming. There is seating both indoors and outdoors, which is perfect for when there is a little chill in the air. There are many large tables located everywhere and has the perfect ambiance for a place to study. The staff is so friendly and are very quick to help you in any way possible. Every person I have met there all share the same love for Sally Loo’s that I do.

Now, you may be wondering why this cute little joint made the cut for Caffeine and Climate change, well Sally Loo’s is incredibly sustainable.

Photograph by Maddie Gorsage

Sally Loo’s gets much of their produce and other organic items from local farms and businesses. So, not only are they supporting other businesses in the community, but they are also being more sustainable.

By sourcing locally, Sally Loo’s knows how all of their ingredients are being produced and transported. This way, they are in control of their carbon footprint because of a lessened distance from farm to plate. In addition, it also pays to know your farmers and their practices when producing vegetables etc.

Photographs by Maddie Gorsage

My go-to at Sally Loo’s is their amazing avocado toast and iced hazelnut latte with oat-milk (both pictured above). Both of these two items are sustainable. Ingredients for the toast are locally sourced as mentioned before and there are no animal-based products being used.

Amongst these two options, there are also many other items at Sally Loo’s that are delicious and sustainable.

Sally loo’s menu

Environmental Foodie Takes Instagram!

Hi friends, I am very excited to announce that Environmental Foodie also has an Instagram page! The page was originally created by me over quarantine to share environmentally friendly recipes and fun places with sustainable options for everyone.

I originally made the Instagram with the intentions of spreading what my knowledge with others, but on Instagram it is harder to reach a wider range of people. I am hoping that with this blog, I can take my passion to the next level.

My passion for sustainable eating really started over the pandemic with the introduction of the Cowspiracy documentary. The documentary completely changed my perspective and made me what to be better in my daily habits.

This made me take to the kitchen and explore different flavor combinations along with what would be considered best for the environment.

I am so proud that my love for food and the environment have met in the middle to start as an Instagram and now into a blog. On the Instagram page I have featured some of my favorite healthy snacks along with places I have been to that have sustainable options.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CK4oJRwjq8A/

Some of my favorite recipes on my Instagram will be linked in the Sustainable Recipes Tab in the sidebar along with new recipes.

Sustainable recipes