Cup of Coffee, Ocean of Water: The Hidden Footprint Behind Every Sip

A standard cup of coffee is said to require about 140 litres of water—mostly to grow the beans (green water)—while the water you pour into the kettle is only a few hundred millilitres; the 140‑litre figure blends green, blue and gray water and can obscure where and how water stress occurs, so the real takeaway is to consider upstream farming context and sourcing when judging coffee’s environmental impact.