Organic Coffee Threatened
We have written previously about the dilemma that organic coffee growers face when coffee leaf rust infects their crops. Now Bloomberg has taken notice. In an article entitled Organic Coffee Threatened by Global Warming-Stoked Fungus the news organization discusses how growers are faced with spraying and losing their organic status or not spraying and losing their coffee plants.
Teodomiro Melendres Ojeda, an organic coffee grower in Cajamarca, Peru, stands at a crossroads. Neither path is attractive.
Leaf-rust fungus, known as roya in Spanish, has devastated about a third of his crop. Melendres, 48, can use chemicals to kill it, though he risks forfeiting his organic certification and the 10 percent price premium it brings. Or he can preserve the certification and watch his plants die.
What are the possible remedies for organic coffee growers to this spreading coffee plague?
Colombia Beats La Roya
Leaf rust, called la roya in Spanish, requires night time temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit to thrive. This usually kept the disease below about 3000 foot elevation. It also likes more rain. When el Nino hit Colombia in 2008 it provided the rain and higher mountain temperatures allowed the fungus to thrive at altitudes up to 6,000 feet. Colombia lost forty percent of its Arabica coffee crop that year. The Colombian Coffee Growers Association started cross breeding studies in the early 1980s and has two strains of Colombian leaf rust resistant coffee, Colombian and Castillo. The first is a cross between an old Colombian variety, Caturra, and a rust-resistant strain from Southeast Asia, the Timor hybrid. Castillo is an offshoot of further cross breeding of the first Colombian leaf rust resistant coffee strain. Replanting with Colombian leaf rust resistant coffee in Colombia has reduced the incidence of leaf rust from 40% to 5% from 2011 to 2013. However, to accomplish this, the Colombians needed to uproot forty percent of their coffee crop and replant. This is what organic growers are facing all across Latin America.
What Is an Organic Coffee Farmer to Do?
With organic coffee threatened by la roya many organic farmers simply spray and forget about their certification. But, if the infestation is severe coffee plants are lost anyway. An article in the online LaPrensa in Honduras, Los efectos roya del café en Honduras impactan en alimentación de familias pobres, notes that not only are coffee growers losing money and the economy of Honduras being affected but poor coffee workers are starving.
“Los ingresos de las familias muy pobres y pobres -afectadas por la roya del café- cayeron al nivel de la línea de supervivencia”, subraya un estudio de Oxfam al que tuvo acceso Efe, que además recomienda acciones oficiales inmediatas para auxiliar a los pobladores de las zonas azotadas. (Family incomes of workers affected by leaf rust have fallen below the level necessary to survive according to Oxfam)
The plain fact of the matter is that many organic growers are small family operations that hire local help in managing, picking and processing their crop. The forty percent or more crop losses in countries like Honduras have caused significant hardship. An interesting article in the online Times-Picayune notes that the effects of la roya are pushing people to the US border.
Meet the world’s most important coffee disease that you’ve never heard of – rust fungus, a.k.a. “la roya.”
Its spores, which can devastate entire coffee farms, forced Sri Lanka to uproot all its coffee trees in the 1860s and start growing tea. Today, climate conditions have accelerated the fungus’ growth in Central America, uprooting farmers and fueling a wave of immigration to the U.S.
Coffee, Please, No Dirt
We have found yet another reason to only buy whole bean healthy organic coffee from reputable suppliers. A recent article in the Washington Post noted that as coffee supplies diminish and prices go up some suppliers of ground coffee are adding things to their coffee. The title of the article is Dirt, corn twigs, soybeans and other fillers are appearing in coffee.
Cream and sugar may not be the only additives in your morning cup of coffee. Tough growing conditions and rising demand are leading some coffee producers to mix in wheat, soybean, brown sugar, rye, barley, acai seeds, corn, twigs and even dirt.
As we noted in our recent article Brazil Drought Drives Arabica Prices Higher there is a historic drought in Brazil, the country that produces more coffee than anyone else. The ten million or so bag deficit in production this year will amount to about a forty billion cup of coffee deficit! Looks like some folks are looking to make up for ten million missing bags of coffee by adding corn, soybeans, etc. and grinding it all up to sell. This is actually an age old trick to reduce the cost of doing business while not reducing what they sell the coffee for.
Coffee, Please, No Dirt
I suppose that you could say this at the coffee shop but there really are good ways to avoid drinking coffee with dirt in it. First of all if you buy whole bean organic coffee you can see that all you are getting are the beans. If you go to a coffee shop where you see them roasting the beans you could probably tell if they were ladling in twigs, soybeans and dirt along with the green coffee beans. And, if you buy organic coffee you are buying into a supply chain that starts with avoidance of insecticides and fungicides and ends with careful separation of organic coffee from regular coffee all the way to the roaster.
More than Soybeans to Avoid
When buying regular coffee added corn, soybeans and dirt are not all that you need to watch out for. The Australian Food Standards Authority found metals such as aluminum and zinc, pesticide residues, and many other unwelcome substances in commercially available regular coffee. It turns out that over one hundred thirty contaminants can be found in a cup of regular coffee. These chemicals can cause impairment of the immune system, liver problems, and even several types of cancer. Look for organic coffee and look for one of the three trusted seals: USDA, UTZ or Rainforest Alliance.
Certified Organic
Rather than saying coffee please not dirt just look for a certification seal on the bag. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) is the gold standard. The fact that coffee is USDA organic coffee tells us that sustainable agricultural practices were used and that the organic coffee is free of many of the pesticide, herbicide, and synthetic fertilizer residues that can be found on regular coffee products. Two other good choices are UTZ and Rainforest Alliance. These folks also certify coffee as organic but they also help small coffee farmers find buyers and teach the things that farmers need to know in order to produce good quality organic coffee.
Brazil Drought Drives Arabica Prices Higher
The worst drought in Sao Paulo state in Brazil in 84 years could leave the 9 million person city of Sao Paulo without city water within 100 days according to a report on the Weather Channel.
Brazil’s largest city could run dry in less than 100 days if the city’s government doesn’t act, Brazil’s Public Ministry said. São Paulo, a city of more than 9 million people, is facing one of its worst water shortages in years, brought on by the worst drought to hit São Paulo state in 84 years, the Associated Press reports.
Drought in Brazil
But the drought and its effects are not limited to the cities. Brazil produces a third of the coffee in the world and forty-four percent of the Arabica coffee. A Brazil drought drives Arabica prices higher. Arabic coffee futures are up on expectations of a smaller harvest in Brazil according to the Wall Street Journal.
Coffee futures prices surged more than 4% to the highest level in four months on Tuesday, as dry weather in Brazil raised worries that the world’s biggest grower would reduce the next harvest. Arabica-coffee prices have gained 89% this year as Brazil’s worst drought in decades hurt the development of coffee cherries, prompting growers, exporters and other industry members to slash their estimates for the current crop.
Parched Landscape in Brazil
USDA Report
The USDA Coffee Update from June 2014 forecasted a rise in coffee prices due to the drought in Brazil.
World coffee production for 2014/15 is forecast to decline 1.5 million bags from the previous year to 148.7 million due primarily to a weather related shortfall in Brazil. However, the reduction is expected to be partially offset by rebounding production in Colombia and Central America. Global bean exports and consumption are forecast at record levels, drawing inventories down.
The good news for lovers of Colombian organic coffee brands is that Colombian production is likely to be up. The bad news is that coffee leaf rust, la roya, has ravaged crops in Central American nations like Nicaragua. The other bad news is that your cup of organic coffee is likely to be more expensive in the coming year. A large part of this is the fact that growers in Central America are spraying heavily to protect their plants against the leaf rust. This will remove substantial quantities of beans from the organic category.
Drought Damages Brazil Coffee Crop
When Will Retail Prices Rise?
There are already price increases by Starbucks and Folgers but these folks buy early and have prices set by contract in advance. However, as the supply of good quality Arabica coffee dwindles, prices are likely to go a lot higher in the next year. Although Colombian production is likely to be back up by 2 million bags to around 12 million bags, Brazil will likely see its production fall by 5 million bags to around 33 million. (These are 60 kg = 132 pound bags of coffee beans.) As Brazil drought drives Arabica prices higher it will likely drive the price of organic Arabica beans much higher. Maybe it is time to buy green organic Arabica beans from Colombia and stock up!
Robusta Coffee Beans
There are two basic types of coffee beans, Arabica and Robusta. We mostly write about healthy organic coffee made from Arabica coffee beans. But there is another whole world of coffee for different uses in the world of Robusta coffee beans. So, how do robusta coffee beans differ from Arabica and what are Robusta coffee beans used for?
Robusta Coffee Beans
Robusta coffee is properly named Coffea robusta, or Coffea canephora. This variety of coffee is a more hardy plant than the Arabica variety. It is less prone to infestations of insects or plant disease so it is also cheaper to grow. Originating from plants in the western and central sub-Sahara Robusta yields more coffee beans than an Arabica plant and Robusta coffee beans contain about 2.7% caffeine as opposed to 1.5% for Arabica. The Robusta plant can grow as high as thirty feet. It is the primary coffee grown across most of Africa from Ethiopia on the Indian Ocean to Liberia on the Atlantic and South to Angola. The species has also been exported to Borneo, French Polynesia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Jamaica and the Lesser Antilles. The most recent export of Robusta coffee beans has been to Vietnam where coffee farmers produce the second largest volume of coffee in the world after Brazil. About a third of world coffee production is Robusta coffee beans of which the largest part come from the Highland of Vietnam.
Uses of Robusta Coffee Beans
Robusta coffee beans are often added at about 15% concentration to Italian espressos to provide more strength. Robusta is also added to many lower quality coffees where its relative bitterness in comparison to Arabica is not an issue. To the extent that caffeine is the reason for coffee health benefits Robusta is perhaps better than Arabica because of its higher caffeine content. There is no evidence however that Robusta coffee beans have any higher antioxidant content than Arabica. Where Robusta coffee beans commonly end up is in non-coffee caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks. Nestle uses Robusta coffee beans as part of their Nescafe original instant coffee.
Robusta versus Arabica
Robusta coffee beans contain more caffeine than Arabica and Arabica coffee beans are less acidic. Arabica coffee beans are more prone to diseases such as coffee leaf rust, la Roya, which is destroying coffee crops throughout Central America. And it can be easier to find what are essentially organic Robusta coffee beans, because this hardy plant rarely needs insecticides or fungicides to protect it against the ravages of nature. But coffee lovers love good coffee. They will pay more for better flavor and aroma. And this is where Robusta coffee beans can fall short. It is also why with such brews as Italian espresso only a few percent of the coffee is Robusta. This adds strength to the coffee but there is not enough to overpower the superior flavor of Arabica coffee beans. For more information about the various varieties of coffee, especially organic coffee, visit www.BuyOrganicCoffee.org.
Organic Decaf Coffee
If you prefer decaffeinated coffee instead of regular coffee, can you get healthy organic coffee as decaf? Yes, you can. And it can be difficult to find organic decaf coffee. First of all here is a little info about decaffeinated coffee.
Decaf Coffee
To meet FDA labeling requirements 97% of the caffeine has to be removed. A six ounce cup of Robusta coffee commonly has as much as 200 milligrams of caffeine. A cup of shade grown organic coffee from Arabica beans usually has between 70 and 130 milligrams of caffeine. To be labeled as decaf these coffees need to be reduced to six and about three milligrams per six ounce cup. The moral is that if you want to avoid caffeine you should start by looking for decaf Arabica coffee. Unfortunately most commercial brands of decaf are made from Robusta beans. Remember that decaf does not mean caffeine free.
Decaf Process
There are chemical processes used to extract caffeine from green coffee beans and there are natural processes. If you want organic decaf coffee you want to go the natural route. The first process to extract caffeine from green coffee beans used benzene. When it was found that this chemical can cause cancer that process went away. The so-called direct process uses methyl chloride. This process tends to preserve flavor but this chemical has also been associated with cancer. The two natural processes that can result in organic decaf coffee use CO2 gas or the so-called Swiss water process which, in fact, just uses water. Other water processes use methyl chloride. The Swiss water process involves repeatedly soaking in hot water and running the water through a carbon filter to retain solids and chemical that hold the flavor of coffee.
Decaf and Health Benefits of Coffee
The majority of health benefits of organic coffee come from the organic coffee antioxidants. To the extent these are depleted or compromised in the process of making organic decaf coffee it is a problem. Other effects such as the morning wake up effect of coffee and the lower risk of depression and suicide come from caffeine and are lost when one reduces the caffeine in coffee by 97%.
Change How You Make Your Coffee
If you like your organic coffee and simply want to reduce the amount of caffeine that you are getting there are two basic approaches. If you brew coffee at a lower brewing temperature you will extract less caffeine from the coffee grounds. An alternative route is to make espresso. Espresso is made under pressure and at high temperature but the process goes faster and typically extracts less caffeine. If like your coffee less concentrated than espresso consider making Americano. This is what European coffee shops made for US soldiers in the days after World War II when GIs wanted coffee like mom made back in Omaha. The coffee shops simply made espresso and added an equal quantity of water. This may be more to your taste than espresso it further cuts the amount of caffeine in half and foregoes the various means of making organic decaf coffee.
Cost of Wholesale Organic Coffee
Organic coffee is good for your health. Coffee has a lot of health benefits and organic coffee spares you the contaminants that unfortunately can be found in a cup of commercial coffee. But where do you get organic coffee and how much do you have to pay. In this article we break down the cost of wholesale organic coffee and compare the cost of wholesale organic coffee to the retail cost of individual bags.
Where Does the Money Go in the Coffee Supply Chain?
The biggest profits in selling coffee commonly go to the coffee roaster and the retailer of organic coffee brands. Shipping can be costly in smaller quantities and many exporters of coffee from countries like Colombia will charge the same for their work exporting $100 worth of organic coffee as they will for exporting $2,000 worth. This is because the procedures and paperwork are the same for both large and small quantities. Shipping Panama Mountain Grown Organic Coffee from Panama by mail adds a few dollars to the base cost of wholesale organic coffee or retail bags of coffee.
Price Breakdown
The cost of high quality roasted whole bean organic coffee from Colombia is lowest when purchased in bulk. A recent price quote that we have from one of our suppliers is as follows: $18,861.70 for 1,980 pounds of roasted whole bean organic coffee with USDA and other organic coffee certifications.
For this quote the coffee would be roasted and put in 2.5 kilo bags (5.5 pounds). This quantity requires 360 bags:
Cost for 360 bags = $18,861.70
Cost per bag = $52.39
Cost per kilo = $20.96
Cost per pound = $9.53
Comparisons
The price of 12 ounces of Juan Valdez organic coffee in a supermarket in Panama is $16 which comes out to $21.33 a pound. A randomly selected price for shade grown roasted organic coffee from Costa Rica listed on Amazon is $10.95 plus $5 shipping for 360 grams. This comes to $15.95 for 0.79 pound. This is $20.19 a pound. The Colombian coffee in our quote is high quality and costs less than half as much per pound than individual bags purchased retail. This is the markup for handling and the retailer markup to cover his cost of doing business and gain a profit for his effort. In short, the cost of wholesale organic coffee goes up dramatically the most hands it passes through on its way to your cup.
Taste Testing before Buying in Bulk
If you are interested getting samples of great Panamanian coffee mailed to you contact us at Buy Organic Coffee. If you are interested in buying in large wholesale quantities our belief is that the best combination of quality, availability and price is the coffee from the Eje Cafetero, the Colombian coffee growing axis. Contact us and let us know what you are looking for and we will be pleased to find a supplier and exporter to provide you with great tasting Colombian organic coffee at a reasonable price.
Healthiest Foods and Drinks
There are foods and drinks that are bad for you and there are foods and drinks that are good for you. We recently wrote an article about the healthy chemistry of coffee in which we extolled the benefits of organic coffee antioxidants. These are the chemicals in coffee that make it one of the healthiest drinks. So, do not be surprised that coffee ranks high on our list of the healthiest foods and drinks.
Bad Food, Bad Drink
Deep Fried Food: Fry anything in animal fat and you risk a high cholesterol and heart disease. But also you risk the toxic chemical compounds formed at high temperatures in cooking oil. These foods increase your risk of various cancers and stroke. Cooking at high temperatures produces compounds that cause chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
Microwave Popcorn: Some microwave popcorns get their buttery flavor from diacetyl. This compound is linked to Alzheimer’s disease and a condition called popcorn lung, bronchiolitis obliterans. Make your popcorn the old fashioned way and avoid this chemical.
Processed Meats: Eating the equivalent of one hotdog or three slices of lunch meat a day increases your risk of getting heart disease by forty percent and your risk of getting type II diabetes by a fifth.
Soda: Think sugar bomb when you drink soda. And if you go with the artificial sweetener variety think of increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Some Good and Some Bad
Various Fish: Fish are good for you. Mercury is not. Make sure to avoid fresh water fish caught in suspect waters and fish such as swordfish which tend to have higher levels of mercury. Mercury is poisonous to your nervous system.
Alcoholic Beverages: The obvious downside to alcohol is if you drink too much. Liver cirrhosis and alcoholism are a bad deal. But, remember to so called French paradox. The French eat a lot of fatty food and do not get more heart disease. They also drink red wine with lots of good antioxidants. Alcohol in moderation, the equivalent of one or two glasses of wine a day, reduces the risk of a repeat heart attack in people have had a first one!
Invariably Good for You
Blueberries: Blueberries have high levels of antioxidants. Eating a cup of mixed berries every day for a couple of months tends to raise your good cholesterol and lower our blood pressure.
Green Beans: Think fiber, weight loss and a lower risk of colon cancer.
Organic Coffee: Now we have arrived at our favorite topic. Steady coffee drinkers have a lower risk of various cancers and half the risk of type II diabetes. Coffee drinkers are less likely to get depressed, less likely to contract Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease and more likely to have more and better sex!
Ideally we all consume the healthiest foods and drinks. But, as in most things in life, the key is moderation. Too much booze is bad for you. A little wine with your meal is OK. Organic Irish coffee provides the benefit a organic coffee antioxidants and a little relaxation at the end of the day. And when you think of the of the healthiest foods and drinks, think organic.
Think of Irish Coffee and Health
Organic Coffee is Good for Your Health
Current research tells us that coffee is good for you and healthy organic coffee is even better. Coffee drinkers have lower risks of getting type II diabetes, various forms of cancer, depression, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and of committing suicide! There are, however, well over a hundred impurities that can be found in a cup of regular coffee. Because organic coffee is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides or fungicides, it is a better choice than regular coffee. Read on for more information about why organic coffee is good for your health.
More Coffee = Less Diabetes
Organic coffee is good for your health because coffee drinkers are less likely to develop type II diabetes. This is a condition that afflicts more than twenty million people in the USA. Drinking six cups of coffee a day corresponds with a fifty percent reduction in the risk of developing this disease accord to researchers. The benefit remains but at a lower rate with lower levels of coffee consumption.
More Coffee = Less Cancer
Organic coffee is good for your health because coffee drinkers are less prone to various forms of cancer. Female coffee drinkers are less prone to endometrial cancer. Coffee drinkers are less prone to getting skin cancer, liver caner or colon cancer. Male coffee drinkers are less likely to get prostate cancer.
Antioxidants in Organic Coffee Are Good for You
Organic coffee antioxidants appear to be at the root of organic coffee and your health. An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits the cell damage and cell death in human cells caused by oxidative breakdown of other molecules in the cell. Oxidation is a factor in sickness and aging. Antioxidants help prevent the damage caused by excessive oxidation and to a degree inhibit the aging process. Natural means of controlling oxidation include vitamins C and E as well as glutathione. It is low levels of antioxidants that can lead to a condition referred to as oxidative stress and resultant damage to cells in the body. Organic coffee antioxidants are in the same class of molecules that help reduce oxidation. Because people drink so much coffee it is a major source of antioxidants.
A Healthier Life with Coffee
We recently posed the question does coffee make sex better? It turns out that drinking coffee enhances sexual urges in women and sexual performance in men. In addition drinking coffee before exercise enhances performance in many activities including sports and sex. Organic coffee is good for your health, it appears, in a very positive way!
Why Organic Coffee?
Over one hundred thirty contaminants can be found in a cup of regular coffee. The Australian Food Standards Authority found metals such as aluminum and zinc, pesticide residues, and many other unwelcome substances in commercially available regular coffee. The effects of some of these chemicals are impairment of the immune system, liver problems, and even certain kinds of cancer. On the other hand, antioxidants in organic coffee can help prevent disease. Organic coffee is good for your health because you get the benefits of drinking coffee and avoid unwanted substances contaminating your cup.
Coffee before Exercise
According to CNN.com there are five reasons to drink coffee before your workout.
A Spanish study, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, found that trained athletes who took in caffeine pre-exercise burned about 15% more calories for three hours post-exercise, compared to those who ingested a placebo.
According to the report the necessary amount of caffeine to gain this effect is 4.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. For a 154 pound person this comes to 250 mg of caffeine in a 12 ounce cup. Additionally researchers in Japan have shown that blood flow is increased for an hour and a quarter after drinking coffee with caffeine. And, it turns out that drinking two to three cups of coffee before exercise resulted in less perceived pain from a hard workout.
Athletic Performance and Coffee
We wrote recently about how coffee enhances athletic performance. We noted that drinking coffee increases adrenaline. Adrenaline increase heart rate and blood flow, increases blood flow specifically to the brain and helps improve short term speed and endurance. Scientifically, the caffeine in coffee is an ergogenic aid for sustaining a high degree of effort over the short term. And coffee only lasts just so long and then the body metabolizes and excretes it. Typically half of the caffeine that you ingest at 7 am is gone by 1 pm (a six hour half-life). If our hypothetical 154 pound runner drinks two cups of coffee and gets 400 milligrams into his system he will still have 200 milligrams six hours later. This is plenty of time for a slow marathon runner to complete the course or for someone to complete a soccer match. Besides the other good health effects of drinking coffee, you may play a better tennis match or score more goals in soccer as coffee enhances athletic performance. These are good reasons to drink coffee before exercise.
Preserving Muscles as You Get Older
An interesting recent finding from animal studies is that helped offset the loss of muscle strength that occurs with getting older. Protective effects were seen in both the diaphragm and in skeletal muscle. Researchers believe that that taken in moderation caffeine can help preserve overall fitness and reduce the risk of age-related injuries.
Improving Performance in the Skill Positions
Bud Grant, the coach of the Minnesota Vikings in their heyday referred to skilled and unskilled positions in professional football. Big linemen played unskilled positions and quarterbacks and receivers played skilled positions. Assume for a moment that Grant was correct about big linemen not needing to think. There is no good evidence that coffee helps weight lifters or anyone else lifting, pushing or pulling heavy weights. But, coffee wakes you up. A recent study from Johns Hopkins shows that memory is better for a day after drinking coffee. If remembering what play it is matters quarterbacks and receivers would do well to drink a cup or two of coffee before going on the field. And do not forget about drinking healthy organic coffee because it is good for you, good for the environment and good for the coffee farmer who practices sustainable agriculture.
Organic Wholesale Coffee
The best coffee in the world is healthy organic coffee. There are many sources of good quality organic coffee but many times it can be hard to find organic wholesale coffee in sufficient quantity. In our experience your best bet for organic wholesale coffee is in the various Colombian organic coffee brands. These Arabica coffees are some of the best in the world. Coffee exporters in the Colombian Cafetero can typically supply organic wholesale coffee by the ton and by the shipping container. Look to the Cafetero for roasted whole bean organic coffee or wholesale organic green coffee beans.
Colombian Organic Coffee Brands
Colombian coffee is the best Arabica coffee in the world. There are several outstanding Colombian organic coffee brands. Here is a short list of folks in the Cafetero who can provide organic wholesale coffee in quantity.
- Volcan
- Linea Roja
- Sostenible
- Origen
- Oma
- Frailes
- Juan Valdez
- Café Madrid
- Fincas Aliadas
- Tolima
- Eco Bio Colombia
- Asprounion
- Mountain View Coffee
- Café Pitayo
Why Colombia?
Colombia is a major coffee producer ranking behind the larger country of Brazil in coffee volume produced. But Colombia is the best producer of high quality Arabica coffee in volume for shipping organic wholesale coffee. To get organic wholesale coffee from Colombia you need to deal with a professional exporter because of issues unique to Colombia, namely a sixty year long civil war. Colombia’s civil war began in the 1950’s and is still going. What began as a fight for the rights of small farmers has largely turned into paramilitary groups of drug lords and mini drug lords and kidnappers hiding out in the jungle with little chance of reintegrating into society. The government has gotten the rebellion out of the cities but the surviving drug lords in the jungle still try to ship their product out of the country by various means. So, if you are going to fly out of Manizales, Pereira, Medellin, Cali, or Bogotá expect to have your bags searched for drugs as a large drug-sniffing police dog sits by. The office will pin prick any bags of coffee that you are carrying and test with a mechanical “sniffer” if not the large pooch at his side. If you decide that you would like to forego this experience and mail your coffee back home forget it. You cannot mail packaged coffee out of Colombia! If you are interested in Colombian organic coffee brands you need to carry the coffee out yourself or deal with someone who exports Colombian organic coffee brands. For more information about Colombian organic coffee brands feel free to contact us at https://buyorganiccoffee.org/contact-us/.
Make Sure That It Is Organic
Colombia produces lots of great coffee but if you want organic coffee make sure to specify that fact. There are small growers in Colombia who practice organic agriculture but do not pay to have their crops certified. If you are interested in organic wholesale coffee from such producers let us known and we will be glad to help.