Coffee Reduces Liver Cancer Risk
We have written time and again about the health benefits of coffee and especially about how coffee consumption reduces cancer risk. Now there is new information about how coffee reduces liver cancer risk. Newsweek reports the story.
Scientists have discovered a link between drinking coffee regularly and a reduced risk of developing one of the most common types of liver cancer. Scientists found people who drink five cups per day were 50 percent less likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, with the researchers saying their findings add to evidence showing coffee can be “a wonderful natural medicine.”
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Southampton, U.K., analyzed data from 26 studies-amounting to over 2 million participants. They looked at the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the second leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide, and the incidence rates based on how much coffee people drank.
The researchers report that drinking a cup of coffee a day was associated with a twenty percent reduction in hepatocellular carcinoma, two cups a day with a 35 percent reduction and five cups a day with a reduction of 50 percent. Even decaf drinkers had a fourteen percent risk reduction.
The study about the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma was a review of other research and was published in the British Medical Journal.
We found 18 cohorts, involving 2 272 642 participants and 2905 cases, and 8 case-control studies, involving 1825 cases and 4652 controls. An extra two cups per day of coffee was associated with a 35% reduction in the risk of HCC (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.72).
In other words this study included more than two million people and showed a statistical relationship between how much coffee these people drank and the reduction in liver cancer risk that they experienced.
The researchers note that this effect carries through even with people who had pre-existing liver disease that would tend to predispose to the development of liver cancer. That is to say, that coffee has a cancer preventative effect even in people who were more likely than average to get liver cancer.
Organic Coffee
This study in question did not specify if people drink organic or regular coffee. However, there are extra health benefits to drinking organic coffee. Primarily they have to do with reducing impurities that you otherwise would consume. Organic coffee certification guarantees that a lot of bad things are not in the coffee you drink.
The soil in which organic coffee is grown must have been verified as free from prohibited substances for at least three years. In addition there must be distinct boundaries between land on which organic coffee is grown and land where pesticides, herbicides, and prohibited chemical fertilizers are used. This guarantees that drift of substances sprayed or otherwise applied on adjacent land will not contaminate the organic plot of land. Organic coffee certification includes the adherence to a specific and verifiable plan for all practices and procedures from planting to crop maintenance, to harvest, de-husking, bagging, transport, roasting, packaging, and final transport. Along the way procedures must be in place at every step to insure that there is no contamination of the healthy organic coffee produced in pristine soil with regular coffee produced on soil exposed to herbicides, pesticides, and organic fertilizers.
Coffee is not only morning wakeup drink but also beneficial to our health. Go the extra step and drink only organic coffee to move other risks from the impurities in regular coffee.
Organic Coffee for Sale Philippines
The Philippines were once the fourth leading coffee producer in the world. But that was a couple of hundred years ago when it was a Spanish colony. Today the Philippines rank number 110 in terms of coffee production for export at 25,000 tons. However, 100,000 tons of coffee is consumed locally. What kind of coffee is for sale in the Philippines and can you find healthy organic coffee there?
The Four Viable Coffee Varieties
The Philippines are one of the few countries where you can find all four commercial coffee varieties.
- Arabica
- Robusta
- Liberica
- Excelsa
Arabica coffee is the best tasting and aromatic coffee. Robusta is a hardy coffee variety that produces more than Arabica and is the source of caffeine in soft drinks. Liberica and Excelsa are similar to Robusta.
Liberica Coffee
Liberica coffee is, like Robusta, more resistant to coffee leaf rust than Arabica. It was imported from Africa to Indonesia in the 19th century to replace plants devastated by the fungus. Today a major producer of Liberica coffee is the Philippines although it can be found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and throughout Central America. Liberica coffee is also, like Robusta, less flavorful than Arabica.
Excelsa Coffee
Excelsa coffee should not be confused with Café Excelso from Colombia. In Colombia Excelso refers to bean size. Excelsa is produced in the Philippines and is more leaf rust resistant than Arabica. It was during the 1950’s that a coffee revival occurred in the Philippines with the planting of leaf rust resistant strains such as Excelsa. This was after a 60 year hiatus. The Philippines were a major worldwide coffee producer until leaf rust hit in 1889. This was coupled with insect infestations in the Batangas area, the major coffee region in the Philippines. Slowly but surely the Philippines are increasing their production of coffee for export using leaf rust resistant strains.
Organic Coffee from the Philippines
There are organic coffee producers in the Philippines. You can find them online.
Negros Island Rainforest Organic Coffee is organically grown without the use of Chemicals and Pesticides. Farmers help in building healthy soils and preserves biodiversity in the rain forest. The Organic Coffee is made from selectively handpicked ripe red coffee cherries by the rural forest dwellers in Negros Island, Philippines. Exceptionally great tasting as the coffee beans mature more slowly in the shade natural sugars increase and enhance the flavor of the coffee.
Due to the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Kalinga, coffee farming in this province is becoming organic. The project will be started in three areas. It is in line with the “one town, one product” program of the government answering the high demand for organic products. As Noryn Bagano of DTI Kalinga coffee stated towards the “Sunstar”, markets in Europe, the US and other parts of the world are waiting for this coffee, as soon as it is certified as organic. The certification will be done by EcoCert and the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines. Coffee is one of Kalinga’s main crops. 2.460 tons (70 % of the Cordilleras’ total production) were produced in this province in 2003. Almost 8,350 ha are used for the plantation of coffee, and still there is a large area available to increase this.
Watch these folks as they grow.
Starbucks Pays $100,000 for Woman’s Hot Coffee Burns
Everyone likes a cup of hot coffee, especially healthy organic coffee. But be careful when you prepare or drink very hot coffee. A warning from WHO is that very hot beverages are associated with a higher incidence of esophageal cancer. It’s not what you drink but how hot it is served that increases the risk of cancer of the esophagus.
In reviewing the most recent scientific evidence over the past 25 years since its last analysis on the matter, the WHO concluded that coffee should no longer be considered a carcinogen and that it may actually have positive effects for your body when it comes to two types of cancers – liver and uterine cancers.
There was another significant finding: “Very hot” beverages “probably” cause cancer. This is mostly based on studies related to the consumption of a traditional drink called mate or cimarrón in South America where the tea can be taken at temperatures around 158 degrees Fahrenheit (or 70 degrees Celsius). That’s significantly hotter than people in North America or Europe usually consume their drinks.
So, if you are used to drinking your boiling hot coffee before it cools think again.
And when buying coffee house coffee you should also be aware of how hot it might be and if the lid is on tight when you buy for takeout.
In 1994 there was a famous lawsuit against McDonald’s brought by a 79-year-old woman who suffered 3rd degree burns when coffee she had just purchased at a McDonald’s drive through. She asked McDonald’s to pay her $20,000 which was the amount for medical expenses which included hospitalization and skin grafting as well as other expenses related to the injury. McDonald’s offered $800. When the woman engaged an attorney and sued her lawyer asked for $300,000 in damages and McDonald’s offered $90,000. Settlement was not reached and the case went to trial where the jury awarded the woman $160,000 for medical expenses and $2,700,000 in punitive damages.
One would have thought that the McDonald’s experience would have taught large restaurant and coffee house chains to be careful of how hot their coffee is. But apparently Starbucks has not caught on. USA Today reports a Florida woman severely burned by Starbucks coffee received a $100,000 award from a jury at trial.
A Florida woman who was severely burned after the lid popped off a cup of Starbucks coffee and spilled on her lap was awarded $100,000 for her injuries Thursday.
Joanne Mogavero, a mother of three, sustained first and second degree burns on her mid-section after the lid popped off a 20-ounce cup of coffee in 2014, pouring 190-degree liquid in her lap.
A Starbucks representative testified during the trial that the coffee company receives 80 complaints a month about issues with lids popping off or leaking.
In our article how, How Hot Is Starbucks Coffee, we cited expert opinion about hot coffee and burns.The Burn Foundation discusses hot liquid burns.
When tap water reaches 140º F, it can cause a third degree (full thickness) burn in just five seconds.
Hot Water Causes Third Degree Burns…
- in 1 second at 156º
- in 2 seconds at 149º
- in 5 seconds at 140º
- in 15 seconds at 133º.
How hot is Starbucks coffee? If the lady actually suffered 3rd degree burns the coffee was probably at least 140 degrees and more likely 150 or above.
Be careful with hot coffee and before you leave the takeout window make sure that your coffee is securely in the drink holder with the lid firmly attached. Then let your coffee cool just a bit before drinking.
Nitrogen Infused Coffee from the Tap
Imagine asking from something from the tap on a hot summer day. Now imagine that what you get is cold coffee with a creamy feel to it. That would be nitro coffee. Esquire says that if you drink this it will be best iced coffee you have all summer.
How It’s Made
Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas is released through a pressurized valve with tiny holes. As high pressure forces the cold brew past a disc, it creates a creamy, stout-like effect.
How It Tastes
“Smooth, clean, lovely cold coffee,” Aylsworth says. Sandler’s take: “There’s a cool factor to a nitro pour when you see the coffee cascading. It also creates a much silkier mouth feel when you drink it.”
How It’s Served
Straight from the tap and not over ice, which ruins the Guinness effect. “The whole cascading of [the coffee] is just beautiful, really,” Aylsworth gushes.
What It Costs
Where a regular 12 oz. cup costs $3.50 at Stumptown, the same size of nitro coffee costs a dollar more. Put simply, this stuff is expensive.
Who Should Try It
Black coffee die-hards. If you “don’t care about it being iced cold-and don’t put milk in it-you’ll probably love it,” Sandler says.
If you have any concerns about them putting nitrogen in your coffee please remember that the atmosphere contains about 78 percent nitrogen. So whatever nitrogen fizzes off your coffee will quickly mingle with that in the air we breathe.
Why Nitrogen Infused Coffee?
As we noted in an article about nitro coffee a couple of years back nitro coffee is different.
Nitro coffee is different. If you are tired of the usual coffee house coffees, nitro coffee may be a pleasant change of pace. But, if you like the aroma and taste of freshly roasted, freshly ground Arabica coffee you may be disappointed. The point of drinking freshly roasted, freshly ground and freshly brewed coffee is that it is in fact fresher. Regular and organic coffee antioxidants provide much of flavor as well as the health benefits of drinking coffee.
Canned nitro coffee is convenient. And we won’t complain if you would like to try something different. But our preference is coffee from Colombia, recently roasted, freshly ground and served black or with cream and sugar. Other ways to jazz up coffee include adding liqueur. Here are a couple of examples.
Making Gaelic Coffee
Ingredients:
3/4 oz Irish whiskey
3/4 oz Irish cream
1 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao
2 oz milk
1 tblspful espresso
A few drops of green crème de menthe
Add the whiskey, crème de cacao and milk to a warmed coffee liqueur glass and mix
Sprinkle in a few drops of crème de menthe for color
Pour slightly whipped cream over a spoon into the cup to create a layer on top
Add another few drops of crème de menthe if you like
Making Calypso Coffee
Ingredients:
1 oz TiaMaria coffee liqueur
5 ounces of strong black coffee
1 ½ ounces of whipped cream
1 tsp sugar
Mix the liqueur sugar in the bottom of a liqueur coffee glass
Add the coffee
Pour whipped cream to layer out over the top
What Is Yuban Organic Coffee
A commercially available and decent organic coffee named Yuban is made by the Yuban Coffee Company, a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz conglomerate. The name, Yuban, is derived from “yuletide blend” and dates back almost a hundred years. Kraft Recipes describes Yuban Organic coffee.
Our Yuban organic coffee blend is USDA organic certified and made from beans that are carefully selected from Latin and South American farms for their superior quality, rich aroma, and distinctive taste. Yuban’s coffees also come in original, decaffeinated, and dark roast.
Did you know that our Yuban organic coffee helps support the use of renewable resources, conserve the environment, and comes in a canister made from more than 50% recycled materials? It’s our way of showing our commitment to a healthier and more sustainable environment for all. So take a sip in the right direction and know that you’re doing something good for yourself and the planet.
Leaf TV has a nice history of Yuban coffee.
Yuban is an inexpensive brand of South American coffee. Its discovery is attributed to John Arbuckle, famous coffee roaster of the 1860s.
Arbuckle invented the original Yuban blend in 1905. The name “Yuban” derives from Arbuckle’s Yuletide Blend, in which he used only the best South American beans. According to Yuban Coffee Company, Arbuckle put careful consideration into choosing the beans for his Christmas coffee by looking among the newest shipments so the coffee would be fresh. This holiday blend was only available to dinner guests and as a gift to close friends until 1912, when it was finally made available to the public after Arbuckle’s death.
Yuban coffees have recently been certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
An alternative to organic coffee certification is for a grower to be Rainforest Alliance certified. The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization that works to conserve biodiversity. It does so for agricultural products by influencing consumers to buy what is good for the environment and good for small farmers. Rainforest Alliance certified means that the coffee that you buy was produced using good land use practices. Rainforest Alliance certified coffee is part of a broader sustainable agriculture program of tropical crops, including coffee, bananas, cocoa, oranges, cut flowers, ferns, and tea. Certified coffee farms meet a strict set of environmental standards that include preservation of the ecosystem and reduction in use of synthetic chemicals of all sorts.
Besides promoting sustainable agriculture and organic products the Rainforest Alliance insists on strict safety and health requirements. They also help their certified growers find buyers, in this case Yuban Coffee.
USDA Certification
Besides being certified by the Rainforest Alliance Yuban organic coffee is certified by the USDA.
According to the USDA, the following applies to USDA organic coffee as well as to all organic food production. “… Organic food is 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 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.”
You can find this coffee in the supermarket and online.
Organic Coffee for Weight Loss
Organic green coffee is back as a weight loss tool. WebMD says that green coffee contains chlorogenic acid which is
thought to affect how the body handles blood sugar and metabolism.
Is organic coffee for weight loss a plausible approach? You would think so from looking at the ads on Amazon. To get an unbiased opinion we looked at what the respected Mayo Clinic has to say because these folks are not trying to sell organic green coffee beans. Here are a few of their thoughts on weight loss from green coffee extract.
| Green coffee extract | Reduces absorption of sugar (glucose), increases calorie and fat metabolism | Possible modest benefit | Excessive use: anxiety, agitation, insomnia, nausea, irregular heartbeat |
Limited research also makes it difficult to judge the safety of a weight-loss supplement. And a product isn’t necessarily safe simply because it’s natural.
We looked at a bogus green coffee extract claim a couple of years ago.
The Federal Trade Commission has levied a fine of $3.5 million on Applied Food Sciences, the company that sponsored the study claiming that green coffee extract resulted in weight loss. Here is a quote from the FTC.
…the study’s lead investigator repeatedly altered the weights and other key measurements of the subjects, changed the length of the trial, and misstated which subjects were taking the placebo or GCA during the trial. When the lead investigator was unable to get the study published, the FTC says that AFS hired researchers Joe Vinson and Bryan Burnham at the University of Scranton to rewrite it. Despite receiving conflicting data, Vinson, Burnham, and AFS never verified the authenticity of the information used in the study, according to the complaint.
Despite the study’s flaws, AFS used it to falsely claim that GCA caused consumers to lose 17.7 pounds, 10.5 percent of body weight, and 16 percent of body fat with or without diet and exercise, in 22 weeks, the complaint alleges.
The point of all this is that researchers in India fudged the results of their study and no one followed up. This was a bogus green coffee extract claim and should be ignored. If you purchased any green coffee extract for the purpose of losing weight you may want to ask for, or demand, your money back.
There are a lot of possible uses of various chemical substances for health benefits. But in order to know if something works and does not hurt you it needs to be tested by reliable researchers. The problem is that when a company wants to make money on a product it becomes all too easy to skimp on the research and report dishonest results. People lose weight when they consume fewer calories than they expend. Weight loss pills that work in the short term like amphetamines do not confer any long term benefit. Green coffee, unlike amphetamines, is not dangerous, but why not drink roasted coffee and enjoy its flavor and aroma. Coffee has lots of benefits like preventing diabetes and various forms of cancer. Drink your coffee and watch your caloric intake and you will be OK.
How Is Organic Coffee Decaffeinated?
There are four ways to decaffeinate coffee. Only one of them is certified organic. Here are the details.
Decaffeination Using Solvents
There are two methods for removing caffeine that use solvents. The direct solvent method soaks coffee beans in the solvent and the indirect solvent method beans are soaked in water and the caffeine rich water is treated with a solvent. The two commonly used solvents are methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. Both of these are very volatile chemicals so that whatever minute quantities persist in the final decaffeinated bean they are removed with roasting and then brewing.
Indirect Solvent Method
Coffee beans are soaked in hot water (just under the boiling point) for several hours. This removes caffeine as well as other chemicals that give coffee its flavor and aroma.
Water is drawn off to another container and the solvent is added. The solvent binds to the caffeine. Then the mixture is heated and the volatile solvent and caffeine evaporate. Then the beans are added to the remaining mixture to reabsorb the remaining chemicals restoring part of the flavor of the coffee.
Direct Solvent Method
In this case the beans are briefly steamed, about half an hour. Then they are rinsed with the solvent repeatedly for about 10 hours. The solvent is drained off and the beans are steamed one more time to remove remaining solvent.
Non-Solvent Methods
Swiss Water Method
Although this way to decaffeinate coffee was discovered in the 1930’s it took another half century to find a way to make the process cost effective. Despite the Swiss name the company is based in Vancouver, B.C. This is the process whose facility has organic certification.
Coffee beans are soaked in hot water to remove caffeine. The water passes through an large-pore activated charcoal filter. The pore size is such that larger caffeine molecules are trapped and smaller molecules (oils, antioxidants) pass through. The remaining water contains flavor elements but not caffeine.
Then the first batch of beans is discarded! New beans are then soaked with the flavor rich but caffeine free water. Osmosis takes caffeine out of the beans to until its concentration is the same in the bean and in the water. But the flavor elements are already equally concentrated in bean and water so they are not removed. The company tests their product to guarantee that their coffee is 99.95% caffeine free. Decaf coffee made with this process is always labeled as Swiss Water decaf.
CO2 Method
This high tech approach to making decaf coffee is relatively new. Coffee beans are placed in a very strong stainless steel tank. Then liquid CO2 (carbon dioxide) is introduced until the pressure in the tank is 1,000 pounds per square inch. Air pressure on the earth’s surface at sea level is 14 pounds per square inch so the coffee is subjected to a lot of pressure. The carbon dioxide selectively dissolves caffeine and leaves the other constituents behind. The CO2 is drawn off and allowed to return to a gas form releasing the caffeine which allows the re-liquefied CO2 to be used again and again.
This is an expensive process that is most economical on a very large scale. Thus it gets used for processing of huge quantities of ordinary decaf coffee for grocery stores.
Organic Coffee without Mycotoxins
Yet another fear factor has been introduced into our lives. This is the fear of mycotoxins in our coffee. Mycotoxins are produced by fungi and the current concern is that fungus on wet coffee beans produces mycotoxins that will hurt you. Recently Bullet Proof Coffee has promoted their coffee is mycotoxin free due to how the coffee is processed. They, of course, charge a premium for their coffee. How dangerous are mycotoxins? What is your risk when you drink organic or regular coffee? And can you get organic coffee without mycotoxins?
Health Effects of Mycotoxins
The National Institutes of Health provide an overview of the health effects of mycotoxins.
Scientific literature revealed a linkage between ingesting mycotoxin contaminated food and illness, especially hepatic, gastrointestinal, and carcinogenic diseases. Issues related to mycotoxin exposure.
Although there is agreement that diet is the main source of mycotoxin exposure, specific health effects and risk assessment from indoor nonagricultural exposure are limited by the paucity of scientific evidence currently available.
There are many mycotoxins but the one most often mentioned in regard to coffee is ochratoxin A (OTA). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations discusses ochratoxin A contamination in coffee.
OTA is one of several naturally occurring toxins, known as mycotoxins, which are produced by molds that grow on crops in the field or in storage. OTA present in green coffee is not completely eliminated during the coffee roasting process.
This issue was studied and guidelines for the prevention of mold formation in coffee were developed. In general the recommendations are for healthy and sustainable agricultural practices such as cleaning up fallen fruit, avoiding overhead irrigation around flowering of the coffee plant, weeding and pruning to maintain healthy plants and not composting with substances likely to promote mold growth around coffee plants.
How coffee is harvested is also an issue. We wrote about this in regard to the small organic coffee farmer versus large commercial operations. When overripe fruit is harvested or when fallen fruit is harvested it increases the risk of mold contamination. Thus you are more likely to get organic coffee without mycotoxins from a dedicated organic grower than from a large regular coffee producer.
Moldy Coffee Tastes Worse
Coffee with bad, moldy beans tastes bad. If you are buying cheap coffee and don’t like the taste, part of the issue might be mold contamination.
What Should You Do?
Freshgroundroast.com offers their opinion on the subject of mycotoxin free coffee and they say don’t buy the B.S! They note that the many studies of the health benefits of drinking coffee do not specify what kind of coffee and certainly not which brand. Coffee is good for you over the years no matter what kind you drink and this is based on caffeine content and antioxidants.
Companies that offer “mycotoxin free coffee” say that using a wet processing method reduces or eliminates mycotoxins. The problem with this argument is that mycotoxins are ubiquitous. They are found in dark chocolate and wine, raisins and peanuts and it beer. Most grains contain trace amounts of mycotoxins as do many water supplies.
It would appear that the tiny amounts of these chemicals to which we are routinely exposed do not create a great health risk. If you want to avoid the risk of higher amounts of mycotoxins in your coffee stick with high quality organic coffee and avoid any cheap and bad tasting brew.
How Is Organic Coffee Harvested?
Organic coffee is good for you and good for the environment. From planting to harvesting to storage and transportation organic coffee is kept separate for regular coffee. That having been said the harvesting of organic coffee is similar to that of regular.
Harvesting Coffee in the Eje Cafetero of Colombia
The coffee harvest in Colombia has more in common with picking fruit in Southern California than combining soybeans in Iowa. Coffee is most commonly picked by hand. And coffee grows on slopes up of up 60 degrees. Coffee pickers go out with a bag, sometimes rappelling down a mountain side and then filling the bag with picked coffee beans on their way back. This is selective picking of coffee. When coffee berries are ripe they have a distinctive and somewhat offensive odor. Pickers remove ripe berries by hand. This method is the only way to pick coffee on slopes and is the only way to pick shade grown coffee among the trees.
Sun Grown Coffee in Brazil
The alternative on flatter land is called strip harvesting which can be manual or mechanical. This method is used on large Brazilian coffee farms which are typically not organic. Casa Brazil describes methods of coffee harvesting.
Selective harvesting is the picking of only ripe coffee fruit by hand. Unripe coffee is left on the tree for future harvesting. Overripe coffee can either be left on the tree (not recommended) or picked and kept separate from the ripe fruit (recommended). After several weeks the picker will go back and again pick only ripe fruit. This process is repeated until the producer determines that it is no longer worthwhile to harvest.
Manual Stripping
In the first method, pickers place a canvas on the ground. They then grab the branch next to the trunk with their hands and pull outward, knocking all of the fruit onto the ground. After doing this with all branches and trees for the length of the canvas, the pickers then collect the coffee in bags and take it to be weighed. Pickers are usually paid by weight or volume.
Mechanical Stripping
The second strip harvesting method is similar to the first but with some mechanical assistance. Here pickers use derricadeiras, mechanical strippers that look like Freddie Kruger’s hands attached to a weed whacker. As with the previous method, the pickers first put down a canvas. They then use the mechanical strippers to knock all of the coffee onto the canvas. The accumulated coffee is then put into bags, which are weighed at the end of the day.
For the farmer the advantage of stripping that he only needs to send the pickers through the field one time. The down side is wasting unripe coffee beans that would have been good in another week or two.
Stripping works on flat areas and works for large commercial operations that produce large volumes of regular coffee. How organic coffee is harvested is different because of the slopes where organic Arabica coffee is grown at higher altitude and because of the care organic coffee farmers put into their final product. Organic coffee commands a higher price than regular. This is because people like saving the planet so long as they are having a really good cup of coffee. If the quality goes, so do the customers, so high quality organic coffee is harvested by hand.
What Is Certified Organic Coffee?
How do you know if the coffee you are buying is really organic? You look for evidence of certification. What is certified organic coffee? In the USA the authority for organic coffee certification is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Just what is organic coffee certification and how does organic coffee certification insure a bona fide cup of organic coffee? Organic coffee differs from regular coffee in several aspects. The soil in which organic coffee is grown must have been verified as free from prohibited substances for at least three years. In addition there must be distinct boundaries between land on which organic coffee is grown and land where pesticides, herbicides, and prohibited chemical fertilizers are used. This guarantees that drift of substances sprayed or otherwise applied on adjacent land will not contaminate the organic plot of land. Organic coffee certification includes the adherence to a specific and verifiable plan for all practices and procedures from planting to crop maintenance, to harvest, de-husking, bagging, transport, roasting, packaging, and final transport. Along the way procedures must be in place at every step to insure that there is no contamination of the healthy organic coffee produced in pristine soil with regular coffee produced on soil exposed to herbicides, pesticides, and organic fertilizers.
The USDA is the ultimate certifying authority but they delegate the actual work to other agencies because the only place where coffee is grown in the USA is Hawaii. In Latin America much of the work of certifying organic coffee is done by Bio Latina.
Bio Latina is located in Lima, Peru. The company certifies farms, ranches, and forests for sustainable practices on behalf of organizations throughout the world. Bio Latina certifies in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua and Venezuela as well as in Panamá, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador Ecuador and Mexico.
Bio Latina certifies on behalf of the European Union, the USDA, the Japanese Agricultural Ministry, the Canada Organic Regime, BioSuisse, the Soil Association, Global G.A. P., Starbucks Coffee, Stop Climate Change, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and UTZ Certified.
How Is Organic Coffee Better Than Regular?
Organic coffee is good for you and good for the environment. If you care about the planet you will want to eat food grown with sustainable agriculture. This way of farming preserves the soil, avoids contamination of the water table and reduces the likelihood that you will be eating things that you do want like pesticide residue in your food. Regarding things you don’t want the Australian food authority tested regular coffee and found more than 130 unwanted contaminants. If you don’t want fungicides and herbicides or residue of synthetic fertilizers in your coffee go organic. Look for these images on the coffee that you buy.
