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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/