High quality organic coffee has great taste and aroma. It is free of more than a hundred impurities that can be found in regular coffee. And organic coffee is more expensive than regular coffee. Is organic coffee worth it? What qualities distinguish organic coffee from regular coffee and what are those qualities worth to you?
High Quality Arabica Coffee
On Amazon you can find a 14 ounce bag of medium roast Kona coffee for $31.34 if you buy several bags. And you can get a one pound (16 ounce) bag of organic coffee from café solar for $14.50. It would appear that organic coffee is worth it when you can get a high quality organic coffee for less than a well-known regular coffee brand.
What Is Your Health Worth?
If you want to do a health benefit-related cost benefit analysis of coffee you will find that healthy organic coffee and regular coffee both have substantial health benefits. That is providing that both coffees are fresh. Most of the health benefit aspects of coffee come from the antioxidants. Unfortunately antioxidants don’t last forever; in fact they oxidize when exposed to the air. Green coffee beans when properly stored are good for two years and roasted coffee beans when properly stored are good for 6 months. Ground coffee is good for as long as it lasts which is a short time. If avoiding diabetes, various forms of cancer and more are worth it to you buy fresh organic or regular coffee.
How about Those Impurities?
“produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled ‘organic,’ a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.”
If it is worth it to you to avoid drinking pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and synthetic fertilizer residue perhaps you would like to drink organic coffee.
What Is a Healthy World Worth?
Sustainable coffee production is the basis of organic coffee.
Does sustainable coffee production mean that the coffee produced is healthy organic coffee? Organic coffee certification tells the consumer that their coffee was grown, harvested, processed, stored, and roasted in accordance with rules of the United States Department of Agriculture. But, does coffee need USDA certification to be organic coffee? The answer is obviously no. Many growers find the yearly $500 needed for USDA certification to be too expensive and many find that being certified does not bring them any more customers or customers who pay any better. Although organic coffee grown and certified by the USDA is the result of sustainable coffee production so is coffee that is UTZ certified or Rainforest Alliance certified.
Sustainable agriculture builds up nutrients in the soil and protects the water table from contamination. Sustainable agriculture means that farmers can produce crops on the same soil generation after generation. If this is worth something to you buy organic coffee!