Unfortunately, cultivating coffee in full sun also requires more pesticides, more water, more fertilizer and causes greater erosion. Deforestation is much greater with this method, as well. Traditional shaded methods are more environmentally friendly, and can help preserve the local land and water. This is why more people are starting to look into shade grown and “bird friendly” organic coffees, which are sustainably grown and harvested.

While shade growing compares poorly to native forest in terms of habitat value, it allows coffee growing to have a lower impact on the environment, producing a crop that’s less damaging to the world around us and healthier to consume, too. Shade grown coffee farms provide a moderate climate for plants and fertilizer for the soil from their dropped leaves. Organic shade grown coffee often uses composted coffee pulp and crop rotation to enrich the soil, providing a more sustainable method of growing.

There are many different methods of growing coffee in the shade. For instance, in small rustic farms, the forest is hardly altered at all, providing seventy to a hundred percent shade cover. Using traditional polyculture methods that mix planted and natural trees, cover is about sixty to ninety percent. However, commercial polyculture offers only thirty to sixy percent shade cover, in order to grow more coffee on less land, while shaded monoculture can offer only ten to thirty percent shade cover. Even these are more environmentally friendly than a sun farm, which offers none of the trees that migratory birds and other animals rely on.

Shade grown organic coffee is also better for workers who, with the help of the shade, don’t have to work in high temperatures and direct sun. Heat related health conditions are less likely to occur, and work on the farms is more pleasant. Most shade growing operations are also organic and/or Fair Trade, providing plenty of other benefits, too. Chemical use is reduced or eliminated, and wages high enough to support local communities are offered, making shade grown organic coffee an excellent choice. If you love coffee, take the time to check out shade grown types. They’re definitely worth your while.

Recently, Organic Coffee Review has been receiving some excellent questions from its readers. Many people really don’t know what they are putting into their bodies, even with a simple cup of coffee. This question was asked by Jayme, who is really trying to limit the chemicals associated with regular store bought brand coffee in her diet. She has made the switch to organic coffee (good for you, Jayme!) but has another interesting question I thought I would share with you. It would be great to get some of our readers views on this question.

Coffee lends an interesting, aromatic note to lots of different foods including some you wouldn’t associate with coffee at all. There are excellent recipes out there for using coffee in main dishes, sides, and all kinds of other foods. Savory dishes made with a judicious use of the brew will have a robust depth of flavor, a little acidity, and some delicious roasted undertones, all without tasting like a cup of joe. Desserts are more likely to promote the flavor of the coffee itself.

Use powerfully flavored foods when cooking with organic coffee, like game, pork, lamb and beef, as well as dark meat poultry like chicken thighs and duck. Tomato sauces perk up beautifully with coffee, and sweet spices do well with it, from ginger and anise to nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Fruits, like pears, oranges and apricots, are excellent companions to coffee cooking, and we all know that nuts are great with it. The plethora of hazelnut flavored coffees on the market tells us that much. Try pumpkin seeds, almonds and sesame, as well.

Flours to use in organic coffee recipes are among the most robust, such as buckwheat and whole wheat or rye. If you decide to use mushrooms, they should be meaty and strong like portabella and shitake, not delicate. Try sweet potatoes and Asian sauces like hoisin along with this type of cooking, too. The usual method is just to brew up a very strong cup, and use it in place of some of the liquid ingredients in one of your usual recipes. Coffee pot roast is nothing short of amazing. You can even use the ground organic coffee beans as part of a spice rub. Espresso is a popular choice in baked goods, offering a lot of flavor for a little liquid.

So just remember – use strong organic coffee with red meat and milder brews for fruit and poultry. Pick organic coffees that’ll go well with your other ingredients – not all of them are the same, after all. Check out online recipe sites or specialty cookbooks for specific organic coffee recipes while you’re getting started, then branch out into creating your own. A little experimentation can convert a regular recipe into a great organic coffee dish!

Coffee Braised Lamb

The Roselius process, an old fashioned method using benzene, is no longer in use, but chemicals such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate, triglycerides, and other unpleasant substances are still being used for decaffeinating conventional coffee. These are the subject of health concerns, and are not permitted for removing the caffeine from organic coffee. For decaffeinating organic coffee, one of two methods is generally used.

The Swiss Water Process was developed in the 1930s in Switzerland, but the only facility currently processing coffee this way is actually based near Vancouver, in Canada. The Swiss Water Process involves soaking beans in hot water, releasing caffeine. The beans are then discarded (after all coffee solids and caffeine have been released into the water) and the liquid is passed through a carbon filter. The caffeine is trapped, but coffee solids are passed through.

The resulting solution is called flavor charged water by the company, and is filtered again. Then, new coffee beans are added. This water can’t accept any more coffee solids, being completely saturated with them, but it can accept caffeine, so only the caffeine is removed from these beans. The process is repeated until the beans are almost entirely caffeine free. They retain most of their smell and flavor, and have no solvent residue, since no solvents are used.

Another process uses carbon dioxide. Called supercritical fluid extraction, it involves steaming the beans, then soaking them in supercritical carbon dioxide at high pressure. After the beans are soaked, the pressure is reduced and the CO2 evaporates, taking the caffeine with it. The pressurized CO2 may also be run through a charcoal or water filter to remove the caffeine. This liquid is somewhat more effective than water, requiring fewer filtrations, and also avoids the use of solvents, resulting in a safe, nearly caffeine free bean.

First, you’ll need to understand how conventional coffee is grown. Generally, a number of practices are used that are not terribly environmentally friendly or good for coffee plantation workers. Pesticides and fertilizers used to increase yield are prone to leaking into groundwater and surface water supplies, and may cause the overgrowth of local greenery, as well.

Clearing local forest, including rainforest, decreases the available number of trees and results in increased erosion, plus it displaces wildlife and increases the threat to many species. In countries where the chemicals used are unregulated, they can be extremely dangerous to the workers.

How is organic coffee different? To be labeled as organic, no chemical fertilizers or pesticides may be used. Generally, these plantations involved crop rotation and shade growing methods that involve less deforestation, and thus less loss of habitat and erosion. The danger to workers is much lower with organic coffee as well. These coffees are often richer in flavor than conventional types.

Organic coffee is often, but not always, Fair Trade certified as well. This means that the low pay and long hours traditional in coffee production have been replaced by fair wages and improvements in the local community. Certain standards of pay and treatment of workers apply to Fair Trade certified coffee.

If the quality of your coffee and the conditions in which it is grown are important to you, it might be worthwhile to check out organic coffee varieties available near you. If you don’t have access to a good selection, try looking online. There are plenty of great specialty retailers on the Internet who can offer an incredible selection of organic coffees. You’re sure to find the one you prefer. It’s worth it for coffee this good.

The good news is that you have other options. Even if there are only a few types of organic coffee at your grocery store, or there aren’t any at all, there are a number of options that can help you. First, start checking out specialty stores in your area. Organic food co-ops, small cafes, and other places where good coffee and environmental responsibility are a priority may be able to offer you more varieties of organic coffee than your local large chain. You may be surprised by all the options available.

Of course, not all areas offer specialty coffee shops. In some places, there’s no organic coffee to be found at all. When this is your situation, the best place to turn is probably the Internet. The costs of operating a business online are far lower than those of a brick and mortar store, so it’s a place where specialist stores can flourish. Great coffee retailers are remarkably easy to find online, and they can carry just about every kind there is. That means that the organic coffee you’ve been looking for will be easy to find.

Whether you live somewhere that organic coffee isn’t available, or you’re simply not happy with the selection you can obtain, online shopping is a great solution. There’s no reason to sacrifice quality if you don’t have to. Look on the Internet to find unusual varieties and the highest quality beans – all grown organically.

This results in coffee production that, unlike conventional methods, doesn’t pollute the water, is safe for workers, and produces a better coffee bean. Currently, sales of organic coffee account for about a hundred and ten million dollars, and the amount is growing. In 2008, over eighty-one million pounds of organic coffee were imported into North America. That’s about three percent of total coffee imports. The industry is growing at a rate of about thirty two percent a year – far more than the one to two percent growth of conventional coffee.

Organic coffee is currently being grown in forty different countries, located in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia and Africa, as well as in the US. The current leading producers of organic coffee are Ethiopia, Mexico, and Peru, however. You can find organic coffees on the market in nearly every form, from plain roasted beans to flavored, decaffeinated and instant coffees, organic chocolate covered coffee beans, candy, and many other coffee-related products. Coffee with the organic label can be found locally, or bought online, where even better selections are available.

In addition to the organic certification, coffee may carry a Fair Trade label (not all Fair Trade coffee is organic, but much of it is, and some basic environmental rules apply) and the Bird Friendly label, which indicates that the coffee is shade grown and promotes local biological diversity. All Bird Friendly coffee must be organic.

Organic Coffee Beans

Whether you have no access to organic coffees at home, or you’d just like a better selection than you can get at your local grocery store or cafe, there are stores online to help you. They’ll sell whole or preground beans, loose or vacuum packed to preserve freshness, and you’ll get a chance to look at a truly incredible selection. Most local stores can’t afford to carry all the different kinds of organic coffee you’ll find online. However, there are a few things you’ll need to do to make sure you’re getting the coffee you want at the price you expect.

First, make certain that you’re really buying organic coffee. If you don’t see any kind of seal or other certification by a certifying body, there’s a good chance the coffee’s not really organic. You want to make sure you’re buying from someone you can trust. The good news is that most specialty stores online offer real organic coffee. The next thing to do is to check shipping and handling charges. That’ll tell you if the coffee that looks inexpensive really is as good a deal as you think it is. Beware of hidden or non obvious charges.

Once you’ve checked things out, all you need to do is pay and wait to enjoy your fresh, organic coffee. Shipping time can be remarkably fast, so you may be surprised by how quickly it arrives. Organic is the better choice, and buying online lets you get the coffee you want without compromises.

The most basic definition of organic coffee is that it’s been grown according to the principles of organic farming. This means it was produced without the use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. However, there are a host of other activities usually associated with organic farms, too. These include responsible environmental stewardship, composting, recycling, and working to improve the overall health of the soil. Not all organic coffee growers do this, but many go beyond the letter of the law.

Currently, the majority of organic coffee producers are located in Mexico, Peru, and Ethiopia. In order to be labeled for sale as organic coffee in the United States, a coffee must gain organic certification (the characteristics listed above). It must also be grown on land that has been without pesticides or other unallowable substances for three years or more, have a large enough buffer between the organic coffee and a traditional crop to prevent cross contamination, and be grown using sustainable crop rotation methods. This allows for better pest control, prevents soil nutrient depletion, and keeps erosion to a minimum.

Buying organic coffee helps the environment control pests and diseases. The majority of this type of coffee is grown in the shade, preserving forest that might otherwise be cut down in traditional growing, and further helping reduce damage. Bird and animal habitats are preserved and natural fertilization processed continue. It’s also less costly to start an organic coffee crop, though yields are smaller and farms make less money per acre.