So, yesterday I bumped into this insightful article from Stick-production.com and I am now becoming more aware about not using plastic coffee stirrers.
There are several harmful health side effects on human body as well as environmental degradation issues that are caused by our regular use of plastic products in our life.
After giving a long thought to what this article says, I decided to write this comparison article.
Today, I am going to explain you the basic differences between wooden vs plastic coffee stirrers.
Here, you will know why you should use wooden coffee stirrers more than the plastic one.
Plus, in the end I will also tell you few more Eco-friendly stirrer options that you can use in your daily life so that you can save our valuable planet from onslaught of plastic products.
Table of Contents
- Comparison of Wood vs Plastic Coffee Stirrers – 7 Main Differences
- Most Frequently Asked Questions Related to Plastic vs Wood Coffee Stirrers
- What are Coffee Stirrers Called?
- 3 Primary Types of Coffee Stirrers
- Are There any Non-Toxic Plastic Coffee Stirrers Available?
- Are Wooden Coffee Stirrers Environment Friendly?
- What are the Best Wooden Coffee Stirrers?
- Final Thoughts
Comparison of Wood vs Plastic Coffee Stirrers – 7 Main Differences
| Wooden Coffee StirrersPlastic Coffee StirrersWood can handle hot coffee temperatures without transferring any wood taste in the coffee. | At higher coffee temperatures, plastic coffee stirrers can release harmful bonds and toxic elements like Styrene, Melamine, Benzene, Toluene, etc. in the coffee. |
| Wood stirrers are easily bio-degradable and can be thrown out with food waste in the nature without any risk of environment pollution. | Plastic stirrers contain several environment polluting toxic elements which are not easily degradable by nature and cause serious environment pollution when thrown out in the open. |
| They are very economical and easy to use and they don’t cause any alternation in the taste and flavor of your coffee. | Plastic stirrers are usually responsible for changing the taste and flavor of your coffee when exposed to high coffee temperature. |
| Visually and aesthetically wooden coffee stirrers look more attractive and pleasant to our eyes. | Plastic stirrers are not aesthetically and visually appealing to human eyes by design. |
| Most wood coffee stirrers are made from eco friendly and bio-degradable birch wood and bamboo. | Most plastic coffee stirrers are made by highly toxic polystyrene plastic material. It is not easily recycled and can not be burned in the open. |
| Their surface is usually very smooth and they do not bend easily which makes stirring coffee very comfortable. | Plastic stirrers can be bent very easily and, in most cases, their surfaces come with some uneven pointed plastic parts which can be nuisance while stirring your coffee. |
| Very durable and cannot easily be snapped. | Can be easily breakable when exposed to higher temperature. |
Most Frequently Asked Questions Related to Plastic vs Wood Coffee Stirrers
What are Coffee Stirrers Called?
Coffee stirrers are basically small sized wooden or plastic sticks that are used to stir and sip hot drinks such as tea, coffee or milk.
On the other side, large sized sticks made up of plastic or wood; are used to stir cocktails and soft drinks.
Sometimes coffee stirrers are also called as stirring sticks. And large sized sticks are also known as swizzle sticks.
3 Primary Types of Coffee Stirrers
There are basically 3 main types of coffee stirrers or stirring sticks available in the market.
1. Wood Coffee Stirrers
2. Plastic Coffee Stirrers
3. Stainless Steel Coffee Stirrers.
Out of these three, plastic stirrers are the most harmful for our environment.
The second best choice is wooden coffee stirrers. They are eco-friendly in nature and highly bio-degradable by design.
But if you ask me what is the best coffee stirrer among the above three, then my answer would be a stainless steel coffee stirrer.
They are highly durable, reusable, easy to clean and very eco-friendly by construction.
One of the most important benefits of using stainless steel coffee stirrers is they do not affect or alter the flavor or taste of your hot coffee.
They are corrosion resistant and dishwasher safe too.
The only downside is they are bit costly as compared to the plastic or wood coffee stirrers.
If you want to buy a good quality stainless steel coffee stirrer for your family, then I will recommend you to get the stainless steel stirrers made by Jsdoin.
Are There any Non-Toxic Plastic Coffee Stirrers Available?
If you are currently looking for better quality and non-toxic plastic coffee stirrers then you can find few reliable brands on Amazon for the same.
One of them is Comfy Package Store which is providing BPA free, non-toxic and food-safe plastic coffee stirrers.
These are just okay and slightly better than your regular plastic coffee stirrers.
They are good for stirring and sipping your cup of coffee without much change in the original taste.
Click Here to Check out These Easily Disposable Food-Safe Plastic Coffee Stirrers.
Are Wooden Coffee Stirrers Environment Friendly?
Yes, definitely wood coffee stirrers are eco friendly by nature.
Because the material used in making these stirrers come from either birch wood or bamboo.
Bamboo and birch wood both are extremely bio-degradable and free from any chemicals unlike your regular plastic stirrers.
They are more robust, versatile in usage and aesthetically very pleasant for human eyes.
Once you use them for your coffee, you can just throw them in the dustbin and done with them.
By using wooden coffee stirrers, you are ultimately helping in saving your environment from plastic pollution.
What are the Best Wooden Coffee Stirrers?
If you want to use good quality, durable and stylish looking wooden coffee stirrer at your home, then I would recommend you the three best brands that produce such types of wood stirrers.
Those 3 brands are as follows.
No. 3: Kivwi Natural Birch Wood Coffee Stirrers
These ones are made from food safe, bio-degradable and BPA free birch wood material.
The birch wood used to make these stirrers is completely natural and of premium quality.
The thickness is 30 percent more than your regular wooden stirrers.
These stirrers are best suited to use for home, outdoors, restaurants and coffee shops.
Click Here to Get Kivwi Natural Birch Wood Coffee Stirrers.
No. 2: Culinware 7 Inches Birch Wood Coffee Stirrers
This is also one of the best rated brands on Amazon.
And it is perfectly suited for stirring and sipping coffee, milk, sugar and coffee creamer from your favorite latte, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
These stirrers can easily withstand high temperature of your hot coffee and does not alter the final taste or flavor of your coffee while stirring it.
Plus, they are eco-friendly and bio-degradable as well.
There are no splinters or wood pieces that you will see in your coffee after you stir it with these stirring sticks.
Click Here to Get Culinware 7 Inches Birch Wood Coffee Stirrers.
No. 1: Royal Wooden Coffee Stirrers
This is my favorite and one of the top consumer rated coffee stirrer brands on Amazon.
It is made from premium quality birch wood material.
It is durable and comes with no splinters.
You will not see a single piece of wood after you stir or sip your coffee using this wooden stirrer.
It is bio-degradable and environment friendly in nature.
Plus, they are very affordable as compared to their bamboo stirrer counterparts.
One more benefit of using these wooden stirrers is you save a good amount of water and time by not washing them under your tap water.
Once you use them, you can just throw them in your dustbin and you are done.
Click Here to Get Royal Birchwood Coffee Stirrers Online.
Final Thoughts
Using a coffee stirrer to stir and sip your hot coffee is completely optional.
Some people do like to stir their coffee while some don’t.
But if you love stirring your coffee to make the mixture homogenous, then the best stirrers I would recommend is either wooden or stainless steel.
In wooden stirrer, you can either use the one made by birch wood or by bamboo.
Both are highly eco-friendly and bio-degradable by nature.
There are several downsides of using plastic stirrers and we all should unite together to save our earth from plastic waste.
If you are still using plastic coffee stirrers then I would definitely suggest you to stop using them and start using either wooden or stainless steel ones.
Good luck!
References:
https://www.stick-production.com/en/news/beware-plastic-stirrers/