Coffee beans

Organic? What is organic?

The question of organic food became very popular in the 21st century. In the developed countries the agriculture is based on the farming and breeding organic plants and animals. The demand for organic food is very high due to a realization of GMO products. The people are willing to pay the double, even triple amount of money in order to have an organic product on their plates. The countries are carefully monitoring the production of organic food and there are a lot of regulations in order to make the production of the organic food more transparent.

For example, in the USA, you have USDA (the United States Department of Agriculture) that is setting the standards that the producers must match in order to have the permission for the production. All the products that match these qualifications have a special label and only that products will reach the customers.

What does the word organic refer to? It means that the whole process of production (whether plants or animals) is done without the herbicides, pesticides, insecticides and fertilizer (in other words, everything is done the old-fashioned way, like in the mid-century).  The fertilizer must be also organic. The price is higher on these products because of the above-mentioned process of production, and because of the exposure to the plant diseases that are present because the producers aren’t using the pesticides. It is said that the organic coffee is free from the roughly 150 impurities that can be found in regular coffee.

Positive and negative side of organic coffee

So the end product is an organic coffee bean, grown with only organic fertilizers, without the pollution to the ground and water (because of the clean process of production there is no harmful residue that can contaminate the surrounding). Organic coffee is produced in the natural surrounding, without cutting down forests in order to make plants with production lines. Around 75 % of organic coffee comes from Latin America so the natural friendly process of production is very important if we have in mind the consumption of trees in Amazon rainforest and also the pollution of the rivers caused by the modern factories.

Because of all of this, the ecosystem remains healthy, the animals living close to the coffee fields are not endangered.

So if you think, by drinking a cup of organic coffee you are not only doing something good and healthy for yourself but also to nature. On the acre of South American rainforest that is saved doesn’t only include the salvation of trees, but also insects, birds and other animals that use them as a home and shelter and also this prevent the ground erosion. We can use a metaphor and say that by drinking an organic coffee you are some kind of a good Samaritan.

Like in any other job, there are pros and cons in this one. All of the above mentioned are more than enough for you to consider to drink organic coffee, but unfortunately, that will cost you. We are living in a society which looks at the thighs through the eyes of money, but it is what it is. Because of the organic fertilizers, the organic coffee is growing slower than the non-organic and a lot of farmers need to switch to the non-organic production in order to get a sustainable job because in another case they would be pushed out of the market from other producers. And also, some small family-owned coffee farms are unable to pay for the certification programs in order to be labeled as organic (the most common third party that gives certification for organic coffee manufacturers is the Organic Crop Improvement Association and they charge up to 350$ for the certification). And at the end, the cost of organic coffee is a bit higher than non-organic.

So, yes you will need to get a bit more money in order to buy organically produced coffee, but that money will include the benefits for your health and also the health of the planet and her residents in the animal kingdom. Also, the facilities in which organic coffee is produced receive annual onsite inspections that are that are rigorous in order to keep their certification of an organic coffee producer.

Coffee plantation

Who produces this kind of coffee

So, if you were questioning, let us look at the top rated organic coffee brands. Most of them are medium and dark roasted. In the brackets is the origin.

–    Don Pablo Gourmet coffee (Honduras),

–    Death Wish coffee (blend),

–    Jungle coffee (Costa Rica),

–    Camano Island coffee (Papua New Guinea),

–    JO Espresso (blend),

–    Two Volcanoes Gourmet coffee (Guatemala),

–    Trader Joes Five Country Espresso (blend),

–    Ethical Bean coffee (blend),

–    The Bean coffee (blend),

–    Larrys house blend,

–    Audubon (blend),

–    Coffee Bean Direct (Ethiopia).

All of them are available to buy online and they are in a lot of cases very reasonable priced.

Also, if you want to be sure that the producer you chose is certified as the organic coffee retailer you can visit the web page of Organic Trade Associaton. When it comes to the certificates that a producer can get, there are a lot of them and some of them are Bird-Friendly certificate (it is given by the Smithsonian Migratory bird center), Rainforest Alliance certificate (given by various NGOs), USDA Organic (one of the most common and mentioned above), Fairtrade certificate (the carrier of this certificate is a part of organization that cares about equity in international trade), UTZ Certificate (it means that the producer is transparent and has a traceability in the supply chain and efficient farm management).

Conclusion

The organic coffee is better for your health because in the process of making there are no chemicals that can harm your health.

The production of organic coffee has a lower impact on nature because it uses methods that preserve the environment.

By the words of all the people that tried it, this coffee tastes better than the regular coffee.

But unfortunately for the harmony of tasty and healthy, you will need to pull a bit more bills out of your wallet.

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