Why Would You Buy Shade Grown Coffee?

B Y W W W . B U Y O R G A N I C C O F F E E . O R G

Why Would You BuyShade Grown Coffee?

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

The most common arguments for shade grown coffee

are the ecological benefits.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

But there is more to why you would buy shade grown

coffee.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Let’s start with ecological benefits of shade grown

coffee as reported by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

By reviewing more than 50 studies on shade-grown

coffee farms in regions ranging from Central and

South America to Indonesia over the past 15 years,

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) can

now make the case that shade-grown coffee

production is the next best thing to a natural forest,

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

and put to rest any arguments about the sustainability of a sun-coffee system.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

In study after study, habitat on shade-grown coffee

farms outshone sun-grown coffee farms with

increased numbers and species of birds as well as

and improved bird habitat,

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

soil protection/erosion control, carbon sequestration,

natural pest control and improved pollination.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

While sun-grown systems can have higher yields, the

shaded farms easily outperform them in sustainability

measurements with the trees providing an array of

ecological services that offer both direct and indirect

"income/payback" to farmers and the environment.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

The "hidden yield" in the shade vs. sun comparison is

that of the non-coffee products and opportunities

coming from the shaded system.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

In addition to ecotourism on several shade coffee

farms, firewood, fruits, building materials and

medicinal plants are all resources harvested to varying

degrees by shade coffee farmers and used and/or sold by farmers.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Shade grown coffee is coffee grown the natural way

that coffee evolved.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Although sun grown coffee out produces shade grown

coffee in the short run, it is shade grown coffee and

the preserved ecosystem that it entails that wins in the end.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

The Taste of Shade Grown Coffee

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

As noted in a Grounds for Change article, shade

grown coffee simply tastes better than the sun grown variety.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Experts agree that the flavor of shade grown coffee is

superior to that of full-sun coffee and that it is

significantly less bitter. Shade grown coffee shrubs

mature more slowly and produce fewer coffee cherries

so the flavor is more concentrated and mellowed in the resulting harvest.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

If your goal is to buy the most flavorful coffee buy shade grown.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Coffee for the Birds

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

A few months ago we wrote about coffee for the

birds. If you are going to preserve habitat for local and

migratory birds you need to go with shade grown coffee.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Many birds that spend their summers in the USA

spend their winters in Mexico, Central America and

even South America.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

They live in mountain forests in these regions, the

same places that coffee is grown. As sun-tolerant

varieties of coffee have been developed, coffee

farmers have cut down upland tropical forests and

planted coffee.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

They may have planted the occasional plantain to help

prevent wholesale soil erosion but have removed the

habitat for local and migratory birds.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

The question is, if you want to limit your coffee

purchases to growers who maintain bird-friendly habitats how do you proceed?

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

Good choices include Rainforest Alliance, USDA

Certified, shade grown, Fair Trade and sustainable.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/

In the end it turns out that the Smithsonian Migratory

Bird Center has the strictest certification followed by

Rainforest Alliance for coffee farming that is kindest to the birds.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1581/why-would-you-buy-

shade-grown-coffee/