Shade grown coffee
Encyclopedia
Shade-grown coffee is a form of the beverage produced from coffee plants
grown under a canopy of trees. Because it incorporates principles of natural ecology to promote natural ecological relationships, shade-grown coffee
can be considered an offshoot of agricultural permaculture
.
from European countries would burn in the sun
, which made shade
necessary for growth. However, over the past 30 years new sun tolerant trees have been developed to yield higher production rates. As a result, sun tolerant trees can produce three times more coffee than a shade bush in a year, but the cultivation practices used for them often have a negative impact on the environment. This has resulted in a new trend of supporting shade-grown coffee.
s is created to cultivate shade-grown coffee. The traditional shade-grown coffee farm resembles a forest
because it consists of several layers of trees, such as fruit
and hardwood
trees, epiphytes, and other assorted bushes
and plant
s. As a result, up to 40 species
of trees can be found on these farm
s, and contribute to the maintenance of soil quality
and habitat
s for numerous species of animal
s and plants. One of the main arguments in support of shade-grown coffee is that it houses many species of bird
s. More specifically, shade-grown trees house two-thirds of the bird species found in natural forests in the same geographic areas.
Sun-grown coffee requires numerous chemical fertilizers
, insecticide
s, herbicide
s, fungicide
s, and pesticide
s to be added to promote growth. This also contributes to toxic water runoff and lack of habitat for many species. In contrast to the previous information regarding birds, sun-grown coffee provides shelter for less than one-tenth of bird species.
and rare
st practice. With this method, coffee shrubs are planted in the existing forest with little alteration of the native plant
s. This is the least capital-intensive method and is typically used on small family-owned farms.
Traditional Polyculture
is the deliberate integration of beneficial plants, which results in more species diversity
than commercial polyculture. Additionally, this crop diversification
helps farmers when coffee prices are depressed
.
Commercial Polyculture is similar to traditional polyculture, but some shade is removed to make room for more coffee shrubs and at this point fertilizers and pesticides are usually beginning to be needed.
Reduced or Specialized Shade uses a single, pruned
canopy species to provide shade. Coffee shrubs are planted more densely, and the farm looks very organized and deliberate.
Full-Sun or Unshaded Monoculture has absolutely no canopy.
has pioneered much of the research regarding the connection between birds, coffee and farming communities to understand the importance of setting standards to create healthy, producing forests. Therefore have a reliable seal for certified shade-grown organic coffee and currently mainly certifies coffee produced in the western hemisphere
.
Rainforest Alliance Certified, is a certification program administered by the Rainforest Alliance
, which has developed sustainable
product certification
s for coffee and many other products
. Rainforest Alliance is a non-profit
group with partners
around the world to address the needs of farmers and meet the demands of consumers. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms cover produce coffee in the western hemisphere as well as Africa
and Asia
. Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee must meet rigorous criteria, including less water pollution
, less soil erosion
, reduced threats to the environment
and human health, wildlife habitat is protected, less water is produced, less water is used, more efficient farm management, improved conditions for farm workers, improved profitability and competitiveness for farmers, and more collaboration between farmers and conservationists.
Coffee Review featured eco-friendly coffees in August 2009 in a review called "Bird Friendly and Shade Grown Coffee". Top rank was awarded to four coffees at 92 points out of 100, roasted by Ecco Caffe, Arbor Day Coffee, Flying Goat Coffee, and Counter Culture Coffee.
Coffea
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded...
grown under a canopy of trees. Because it incorporates principles of natural ecology to promote natural ecological relationships, shade-grown coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
can be considered an offshoot of agricultural permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
.
History
Most of the original coffee trees brought to the New WorldNew World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
from European countries would burn in the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, which made shade
Shade
Shade is the blocking of sunlight by any object, and also the shadow created by that object. Shade also consists of the colors grey, black, white, etc...
necessary for growth. However, over the past 30 years new sun tolerant trees have been developed to yield higher production rates. As a result, sun tolerant trees can produce three times more coffee than a shade bush in a year, but the cultivation practices used for them often have a negative impact on the environment. This has resulted in a new trend of supporting shade-grown coffee.
Environmental impact
A canopy of assorted types of shade treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s is created to cultivate shade-grown coffee. The traditional shade-grown coffee farm resembles a forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
because it consists of several layers of trees, such as fruit
Fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by people — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term 'fruit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for...
and hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
trees, epiphytes, and other assorted bushes
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
and plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s. As a result, up to 40 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of trees can be found on these farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s, and contribute to the maintenance of soil quality
Soil quality
The proposed a definition, stating that ' is an account of the soil’s ability to provide ecosystem and social services through its capacities to perform its functions under changing conditions...
and habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s for numerous species of animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s and plants. One of the main arguments in support of shade-grown coffee is that it houses many species of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. More specifically, shade-grown trees house two-thirds of the bird species found in natural forests in the same geographic areas.
Sun-grown coffee requires numerous chemical fertilizers
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
, insecticide
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
s, herbicide
Herbicide
Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are pesticides used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic "imitations" of plant...
s, fungicide
Fungicide
Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals...
s, and pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s to be added to promote growth. This also contributes to toxic water runoff and lack of habitat for many species. In contrast to the previous information regarding birds, sun-grown coffee provides shelter for less than one-tenth of bird species.
Types of shade
Rustic is the least intensiveIntensive
In grammar, an intensive word form is one which denotes stronger or more forceful action relative to the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are usually lexical formations, but there may be a regular process for forming intensives from a root...
and rare
Rare
-In music:* Rare , a band from Northern Ireland* Rare , a Serbian alternative rock band from Belgrade* Rare , an album by the progressive rock band Asia* Rare , a compilation album by David Bowie...
st practice. With this method, coffee shrubs are planted in the existing forest with little alteration of the native plant
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
s. This is the least capital-intensive method and is typically used on small family-owned farms.
Traditional Polyculture
Polyculture
Polyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture...
is the deliberate integration of beneficial plants, which results in more species diversity
Species diversity
Species diversity is an index that incorporates the number of species in an area and also their relative abundance. It is a more comprehensive value than species richness....
than commercial polyculture. Additionally, this crop diversification
Agricultural diversification
In the agricultural context, diversification can be regarded as the re-allocation of some of a farm's productive resources, such as land, capital, farm equipment and paid labour, into new activities...
helps farmers when coffee prices are depressed
Depression (economics)
In economics, a depression is a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. It is a more severe downturn than a recession, which is seen by some economists as part of the modern business cycle....
.
Commercial Polyculture is similar to traditional polyculture, but some shade is removed to make room for more coffee shrubs and at this point fertilizers and pesticides are usually beginning to be needed.
Reduced or Specialized Shade uses a single, pruned
Pruning
Pruning is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping , improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for...
canopy species to provide shade. Coffee shrubs are planted more densely, and the farm looks very organized and deliberate.
Full-Sun or Unshaded Monoculture has absolutely no canopy.
Certification
The Bird Friendly coffee certification program, administered by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC)Migratory Bird Center
The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is dedicated to fostering greater understanding, appreciation, and protection of the grand phenomenon of bird migration....
has pioneered much of the research regarding the connection between birds, coffee and farming communities to understand the importance of setting standards to create healthy, producing forests. Therefore have a reliable seal for certified shade-grown organic coffee and currently mainly certifies coffee produced in the western hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
.
Rainforest Alliance Certified, is a certification program administered by the Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization with the published aims of working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. It is based in New York City, and has offices throughout the...
, which has developed sustainable
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
product certification
Product certification
Product certification or product qualification is the process of verifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests or qualification requirements stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications...
s for coffee and many other products
Product (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
. Rainforest Alliance is a non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
group with partners
Business partner
Business partner is a term used to denote a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a highly contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties...
around the world to address the needs of farmers and meet the demands of consumers. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms cover produce coffee in the western hemisphere as well as Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee must meet rigorous criteria, including less water pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
, less soil erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
, reduced threats to the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and human health, wildlife habitat is protected, less water is produced, less water is used, more efficient farm management, improved conditions for farm workers, improved profitability and competitiveness for farmers, and more collaboration between farmers and conservationists.
Roasted shade grown coffee
There is no legal definition of the term "shade grown," although it appears on many coffee labels. Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certification http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/ is the only certification that requires shade; Bird-Friendly coffee must also be certified organic. A list of roasters that carry Bird-Friendly coffee is on their web site http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/coffee/search.cfm. An overview of the environmental standards of five major coffee certification with links to more information and certification criteria is available at Coffee & Conservation <http://www.coffeehabitat.com/certification-guide/Coffee Review featured eco-friendly coffees in August 2009 in a review called "Bird Friendly and Shade Grown Coffee". Top rank was awarded to four coffees at 92 points out of 100, roasted by Ecco Caffe, Arbor Day Coffee, Flying Goat Coffee, and Counter Culture Coffee.