When we 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 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. You can view our current organic offerings here.
Much of the coffee we source is grown without fertilizer 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. 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.
Specialty coffee
Specialty coffee was a term devised to mean higher levels of green coffee quality than average "industrial coffee" or "commercial coffee". At this point, the term is of... ...more of the arabicaArabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the taxonomic species name of the genus responsible for around 75% of the worlds commercial coffee crop.: Arabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the... ...more variety
Hibrido de Timor abbreviated HdT is the interspecies hybrid of C. Arabica and C. Canephora (Robusta) that was found in Timor Leste in the 1940s. It has been... ...more (what we sell through Sweet Maria’s) is generally traditionally grown – so sparse use of pesticides, if any. It is the robustaRobusta usually refers to Coffea Robusta, responsible for roughly 25% of the world's commercial coffee. Taxonomy of Robusta is debated: some sources use “Robusta” to refer to any... ...more variety coffee grown in the mega-agri-business coffee areas like 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, Vietnam, and China that are more worrisome.
A lot of coffee farmers in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee: it is in the forests of the Kaffa region that coffee arabica grew wild. Coffee is "Bun" or "Buna" in Ethiopia, so... ...more and YemenYemen has a coffee culture like no other place, and perhaps some of what we enjoy in this cup is due to their old style of trade...: Technically,... ...more are essentially organic simply because the farmers are too poor to afford pesticides, but on the other hand, they also can’t afford the official organic certification. 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 is a different story – while still not mega-agribusiness style farms, they do use pesticides and other more western methods of pest and weed control and so it is rare to find an organic Kenyan. Most Central and South American coffeeSouth American coffee varies widely from country to country, from chocolaty, nutty, low acid Brazils to brighter Colombias, Peru coffees to high grown Bolivia and Ecuador. Venezuela was... ...more farms will use some fungicides due to Roya
Castillo 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, the coffee rust disease, but such use is targeted and occurs long before any fruit begins to grow on the tree.
In terms of how much pesticide reaches 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.
2 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