If you love great coffee you want coffee that is free of impurities. If you love the environment you want coffee that is sustainably grown. If you love great coffee you probably want organic coffee. So, is it organic coffee? Organic coffee is coffee that is free from as many as 150 impurities that have been discovered in regular coffee. Organic applies to roughly three 3% of all coffee produced commercially. You know that coffee is organic when it has the USDA organic seal on the container. However, there is a lot of coffee that is not certified but nevertheless organic!
Organic Versus Regular Coffee
There are two basic things that make organic coffee different from regular coffee. The first is what it lacks. Organic coffee grow and processed under strict conditions does not contain residues of synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, or a whole host of other unwanted ingredients. Organic coffee is grown under special conditions and processed separately from regular coffees. The second part is that organic coffee is generally excellent coffee of gourmet quality. Coffee farmers do not go to the trouble and expense of growing and processing low quality coffee to get an organic product. However, organic coffee does not have any more or less caffeine than similar coffee that is not produced by organic means. In general, the same coffee variety produced by non-organic processes does not necessarily have any fewer antioxidants, worse flavor, or inferior aroma just because it is not certified as organic.
Organic Coffee Certification
How do you know that your coffee is organic? You know because it says so on the bag of coffee you are purchasing. In the USDA the certifying authority is the Department of Agriculture. As noted by the Organic Trade Association, organic standards include growing and processing without using synthetic or toxic fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, genetic engineering, artificial flavors, synthetic growth hormones, preservatives, colors, radiation, or sewage sludge.
In order to demonstrate that coffee is organic coffee farmers and others along the supply chain need to provide traceability from the coffee farm itself to the cup of coffee on consumes. This is a multistep and rigorous process that is carried out by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) within the USA itself and by assigned proxies elsewhere across the globe. Because only Hawaii produces coffee in the USA the USDA outsources certification across the coffee belt to local authorities.
No matter who does the actual certification process on behalf of the USDA, certified organic coffee has the USDA organic seal.
Specifics of Organic Coffee Certification
As with most things in life, the truth is in the details. In regard to organic coffee, land has to be free of pesticides, herbicides, etc. for more than three years to be certified and to maintain organic certification. Furthermore, organic coffee cannot be produced right next to regular coffee. There needs to be a meaningful buffer or space between the two. This has be verified by the certifying agent. Processing and storage facilities also need to be physically separate for organic and regular coffee as well. The same applies to shipping.
Is Organic Coffee Expensive?
It costs more to produce organic coffee than a non-organic version of a comparable coffee of the same variety. The care and attention to growing organic coffee are comparable and often greater than for gourmet coffee that is not organic. Thus, it should not be surprising that organic coffee generally carries a premium price of at least fifty percent more than non-organic. Beyond that price differences have more to do with marketing than with quality.
Organic Coffee At the Best Price
The best coffee and the best organic coffee at the best price comes from the coffee growing district of Colombia. If you are interested in high quality coffee, organic or not, at reasonable prices, contact us at admin@buyorganiccoffee.org.