NBC25 NEWS - It's the world's most commonly traded commodity after crude oil: 57% of American adults drink it everyday.

A cup of Joe, a jolt of Java or a frosty Frappaccino... whatever you want to call it, it's coffee.

Without question our morning fix has an impact on the environment.

Some like it hot while others like it cold.

No matter how you take your coffee, statistics show as Americans - you want it.

"When I wake up in the morning I'm very, very quiet, and I'm not talking or smiling.  And once I get my coffee then I'm talking and smiling," says Brandi Love, a coffee drinker.

She's not the only one.

On average, each coffee drinker has a little over three cups a day.

In fact, coffee is the United State's biggest import.

So when it comes to protecting the environment, coffee drinkers have big cups to fill.

"They will let you bring your coffee mug here and refill it, so you can just use the same cup over and over," says Julie Thompson, a coffee shop manager.

Investing in reusable coffee filters or using coffee grounds as plant fertilizers are other good ideas.

But when it comes to buying the actual beans, what do consumers need to know?

You might want to be on the lookout for a fair trade coffee seal.  It’s given by a group known as Transfair USA.

Fair trade certification means the product meets strict social, economic, and environmental standards.

Starbucks is North America's largest purchaser of fair trade certified coffee.

But smaller coffee shops face some difficult decisions because sometimes green isn't cheap.

Thompson explains, "When they come in here we encourage them to use the mugs.  For one thing they don't cost us as much, and any little bit we can save we pass on to them."

So ultimately, it's up to the coffee drinkers to make those small changes.

In 2004 Starbucks bought about five million pounds of fair trade coffee.

In 2005 the franchise upped that to 11.5 million pounds.  However, fair trade coffee remains only a small percentage of their total sales.