Sweet Maria’s offers Organic Certified coffee! Want to know more about our approach to Organics? … read on:
Sweet Maria’s buys coffee based on the taste quality, our (often long-standing) direct relationships with farms, cooperatives and exporters, and based on social and farming practices.
While the majority of our coffees are organically grown, we do have certified organicGrown without the use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides, etc.: Organic coffee has been grown according to organic farming techniques, typically without the use of artificial fertilizers. Some farms... ...more coffees as well. They have “Organic” or “FTO” (fair tradeFair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability.: Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach... ...more and organic) in the coffee’s name. Sweet Maria’s warehouse and stocks are audited by an organic certifier (called, not surprisingly, Organic Certifiers!) on a regular basis. You can view our current organic offerings here.
Certified Organic and The Rest Of Our Green Coffee
Much of the coffee we source is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticide or fungicide. We know this because we travel to originIn coffee talk, it refers to a coffee-producing region or country; such as, "I was just at origin." Of course "Origin" for most product we use is not... ...more and we see the farming practices personally. We are the certifiers of our coffee, so to speak.
Certified organic coffee, however, is a different matter. While there are many cases where organic certificates benefit farmer groups, we’ve probably seen as many cases where it doesn’t. Certifications are not a guarantee of stewardship of the land.
High quality, directly-sourced green coffeeGreen coffee refers to the processed seed of the coffee tree fruit. Coffee is a flowering shrub that produces fruit. The seeds of the fruit are processed, roasted,... ...more (what we sell through Sweet Maria’s) from small-scale farmers is grown using long-standing traditional methods that do not involve agricultural chemicals. We have seen more use of pesticides and fungicides in large scale operations for the most part: Those large-scale farms grow commercial coffees that we do not buy!
Many farmers grow coffee organically, but aren’t certified. Why is that?
A lot of coffee farmers are essentially organic farmers. In many cases, they simply can’t afford the high cost of fungicides or pesticides. In other cases, the use of chemicals or NPK type fertilizers are not in the local coffee farming tradition. Thinking of a coffee farmer in a place like ColombiaColombian coffee is highly marketed and widely available in the US. They have been largely successful at equating the name Colombian Coffee with "Good" Coffee. This is half-true.... ...more or EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie, was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from... ...more as you might a grain farmer in the US midwest is going down the wrong path. In terms of scale, practices, economics and power, they are in no way similar.
But one of the main issues coffee farms and coops face is they can’t afford the official organic certification. Organic certification is expensive, and if there aren’t large buyers like Starbucks seeking to pay the Organic premiums, the coop can lose money. I have spoken first hand to coops that have lapsed in certification because it just didn’t pay, versus focusing on better cup quality and getting better prices.
Where are Pesticides and Fungicides used most in coffee farming?
I can’t speak generally about places we don’t buy coffee, large commercial farms, those controlled by families and corporations that do have the economic power and farm management practices that would include non-organic treatments. We just don’t buy there, so we don’t visit there.
Most of the coffees we source first hand, with direct visits to the farms, are using organic methods for fertilization of coffee trees. The main method recycles the coffee skins and pulp to the trees by creating natural organic fertilizer. This practice is widespread.
There are exceptions, and these are often temporary and localized treatments for a particular problem. If an agricultural chemical is used, just factoring in the cost, it is used carefully and reservedly. A coffee farm doesn’t spray like a corn or wheat farm! For small scale farmers, here are some observations:
KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... ...more: I see more use of inputs in Kenya due to coffee leaf fungus, and other plant issues. Small farmers trying to address this will use some of these inputs, in particular copper leaf spray. This is fairly benign and you can see it available in US for use on vegetables, such as Bonide Copper Fungicide. Aside from parts of TanzaniaIn terms of the Tanzania coffee character, it belongs to the Central/East African family of washed (wet-processed) coffees, bright (acidy), and mostly aggressively flavorful of which Kenya is... ...more, I don’t see this used anywhere else in Africa
Central and South American: Even some small family coffee farms will use some fungicides due to Roya, AKA coffee leaf rust, but such use is targeted and occurs long before any fruit begins to grow on the tree. There are a host of practices they also use, like pruning and collecting leaf litter to control RoyaCastillo is a selection of the Colombia cultivar that has become the most commonly grown coffee in Colombia. It is preferred to the older resistant variety, Variedad Colombia... ...more. MexicoMexican coffee originates from South-central to Southern regions of the country. For that reason, coffees from Coatepec and Veracruz are much different from Oaxacan Plumas, which are in... ...more, HondurasHonduran coffee was absent from the top ranks of the Specialty market, but that has changed. It has all the environmental factors on its side: soil, altitude, climate.... ...more and GuatemalaGuatemalan coffee is considered a top quality coffee producer in Central America. Due to our proximity to Guatemala, some of the nicest coffees from this origin come to... ...more have been impacted, but Roya is in HawaiiThe Kona district on the big island of Hawaii produces the best coffee from this state - clean, sweet and mild. : Ah, Hawaii... what a nice place.... ...more too.
IndonesiaUSDA is (obviously) the United States Department of Agriculture. USDA also had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and one variety they distributed to Indonesia and was... ...more: Coffee isn’t the main concern here: I am concerned about interplanting of market vegetables with coffee. Some of these vegetables like cabbage, potato, onion, peppers, strawberries and various fruits, are sprayed for insects and fungus. This generally does not impact us, because we are buying from farms and coops that do coffee only, and intercropping like this is discouraged. Sadly, the local workers and consumers of that produce, some of which is eaten directly like strawberry, are the ones truly impacted.
Commercial Coffee: High quality and low quality coffee are totally different things, when seen from the viewpoint of a traveling coffee buyer, i.e. my perspective. I have seen some disturbing practices on low grade commercial coffees. The worst I have heard of are artificial ripeners used for low grade commercial Indonesia coffee, and people trying to “color” old coffee in BrazilBrazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra sang, "they grow an awful lot of coffee in Brazil".: Brazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra... ...more to look greener and fresher using graphite! I have also seen the quality of beans that go into low grade coffees, and they are scary. If you have concerns about contaminants in coffee, don’t buy from the bottom of the barrel. That said, I still believe that roasting likely sanitizes even the worst coffees, but that’s not a chance I want to take.
Health Concerns from Residues on Green Coffee
Personally, I refer to lists that rate “Produce to Buy Organic” for people with concerns about chemical residues. Peaches, Pears, Spinach, BlueberryBlueberry flavors in coffee take different forms. Dried blueberry was something we first encountered in natural Harar coffee from Ethiopia. It seemed to be most potent in fresh... ...more, etc.
Coffee is never on any “warning list” I have seen, nor should it be. (Although low quality commercial coffee should be, perhaps!)
If there were chemicals used, in terms of how much residue would reach the cup – we think roasting, grinding and brewing could eliminate almost all traces of pesticide. It’s much more likely you could be exposed to pesticides via fresh produce like beans or tomatoes if those are not organic.
We don’t want to minimize the importance of organic farming – it is a real concern for the health of the farm workers and the environment of the farms, but certification isn’t necessarily the best way to identify good farming practices.
My Concerns with Agricultural Chemicals and Coffee
As a traveling coffee buyer, my primary concern is to see workers exposed to pesticides and fungicides they are applying. This is not something I see with coffee crops generally … but it is something I see with other food crops. Heck, you don’t have to leave the USA to see this glaring issue, and how it endangers people at the base of the economic hierarchy.
When I travel to coffee areas where this is an issue, I do see people wearing protective gear. But I doubt with long term repeated exposure that it is sufficient protection. Repeated direct exposure to these toxins, to the worker and to their communities, is something I care about deeply. For me, this drives my primary interest in seeing minimal, or no use of fungicides and pesticides in coffee, more imporantly, in crops consumed directly,
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8 Responses
Thank you for your comments here about organic coffees.
What you say about certification not necessarily being the best way to identify good farming practices makes sense given the stringency and potential cost of the certification process to growers.
I want to buy my coffee from growers that care most about ecological concerns, who love the plants and animals that, hopefully, thrive on their lands. My favorite coffees come from Guatemala, from Central/South America. Are there any growers in particular you offer green beans from who prioritize my concerns? Thank you, Jon
Hi Jon,
I think it’s safe to say that most of the coffee farmers we buy from directly are small-scale, and not using chemical pesticides, or herbicides like Round Up on their crops. These are implements you’d likely see at the large scale estates, who have more resources at their disposal. Small producers we buy from in Colombia and Guatemala for example are mostly using organic inputs like recycled coffee pulp for fertilizer, and reserving treatments such as fungicides, calcium, etc for shrubs with leaf rust, and other types of fungus that affect the health of the plant. But that is very localized, and should have minimal impact on the ecosystem.
Off the top of my head, most non-certified organics will include most Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Flores coffees. Small farmer projects we have in Guatemala (Huehuetenango/Xinabajul for example), Colombia, and Peru come to mind for Latin American coffees that use low to no synthetic inputs.
In all cases, you’re just not going to see indiscriminate spraying like you do in high value crops such as leafy greens, passion fruits, etc. Coffee just doesn’t have the same return to offset such costs for the small farmer.
I hope this helps!
Dan
Organic is increasingly important to us in the food we consume. I understand that certification is expensive for small scale farmers. But given our growing awareness of the need to minimize intake of pesticide residues, can you update Sweet Maria’s statement on organics? Have there been any changes in the last few years? Are there any other markers your customers can look for to help reduce the pesticide content of the coffee beans they select for roasting?
Thanks.
Thanks for the comment. Pesticides are not used in most coffee growing areas. I can’t think of the last time I have seen / heard of pesticides used on coffee. Some coffee pests (Broca, Antestia) are controlled by alcohol traps, and by harvest/pruning practices, i.e. organic methods. My concern is where coffee is grown interplanted with local market vegetables or fruits that are sprayed. This isn’t something we see in farmers / groups / suppliers we buy from. But I have seen it in some coffee areas from other suppliers, mainly in Indonesia. Fungicides are a concern and are used in some coffee areas. Copper sprays are used as foliar spray in Kenya for example. You can look up copper sprays for bacterial and fungus, sold at garden stores etc for vegetables etc. When people rate things you should buy organic, (berries, potatoes etc etc ) and things that are not as critical, I think coffee would be extremely low in terms of health concerns and farm practices. But everyone should research and decide for themselves. As I said, the main issue I see in travels to certain areas is the OTHER crops, not coffee. And generally coffee is NOT interplanted with those market vegetables. But it does happen.
Hi Thompson,
I looked in your library for information about organic coffee because my memory said that years ago Sweet Maria’s offered more organic coffees and now there seem to be fewer. In the article you mention areas that use organic practices but can’t afford the certification process. Is there a way you could label these coffees on your lists? But looking at this article, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9681499/, I have second thoughts about trusting someone’s opinion that some farmers are growing a product that could be considered organic, but just can’t afford the certification. Growing up on a farm in Illinois, I know how chemicals were used back then and believe it contributed to my having Hairy-cell leukemia. Saying that a plant can be treated before fruit is present, which means the crop won’t be compromised, is a statement you can only make if you have tested the fruit.
So far, buying organic coffee hasn’t had cost related drawbacks like other food items. In grocery stores organic is always higher priced. As a home roaster, I would have no problem paying more for organic, and have. I stopped buying form Dean’s Beans because they had limited offering and high shipping costs. Burman Coffee Traders have more organic options, reasonable prices for coffee and shipping, just like Sweet Maria’s. If the coffee industry really cares about the product, growers and health, then help growers switch to best practices by raising costs just like every other food producer has done. Trying to justify practices and lack of proof by certification by saying the process to show organic certification is too costly or convoluted will not change anything.
Sweet Maria’s has a huge offering of coffees and some are from parts of the world where regulations of harmful practices are not closely watched. I hope you are aware of this and are very selective when buying from growers in those countries. You have done a great deal of research into coffee and I hope you continue to do so. Whatever voice or influence you have to make the growing process and the product safer will be appreciated. And if that means my part is to pay more, then go for it.
Thanks for your thoughts and I appreciate your views on this. I do want to see organic practices spread, or other sound management practices. What I dont talk about in this article is all the other initiatives out there that are changing the awareness at the farm level. RFA certification is especially attractive, as is 4C and Starbucks own CAFE practices. All of these are active programs and there are others, all having an effect on farmer training, methods to avoid or reduce non-organic inputs etc. On top of this is the recent EU regulations for preventing deforestation, which requires certification/verification to sell into the EU.
For us, we visit the farms and see the practices. For all it’s lack of uniformity, “direct trade” is very effective at our scale. For green coffee sellers who buy from importers offer sheets its better they source certified coffees if this is something they or their customers are concerned about.
Do you have input about what happens when coffee is imported into the U.S.? I have spoken to a coffee farmer in Nicaragua who says they don’t believe organic certification is realistic because all imported coffee is treated upon entry into the U.S. with substances which would negate the organic certification. What is Sweet Maria’s experience with what happens during the importation of the coffee?
I believe that if there was an issue like live insects, it could be fumigated in the US. There is an organic treatment if there were live insects, which is freezing the green coffee and then recleaning it. But this is the domain of commercial coffee / low grade coffee. I am sure Dunkin Donuts has a protocol for this if it arises. But for what we do and specialty, no there is no general “treatment” in the USA. And organic is even stored separately from non-organic green coffee. If it wasn’t it would lose certification.