Archive for June, 2009

New data released states that the North American organic coffee market reached one billion dollars in 2007. The event was hosted by the Organic Trade Association. According to the OTA, the amount of organic coffee imported into the U.S. and Canada increased 29 percent from 2006-2007. This represents an upward push from approximately sixty-five million pounds to approximately eighty-four million pounds. Most of the organic coffee was sold in the United States. It also said that by purchasing any of the high quality organic coffees available today, consumers are helping protect the environment around the world.
The estimates of the organic coffee portion now represent three percent of the total U.S. green organic coffee imports in 2007. It grew an average of thirty-two percent annually between 2000 and 2007. This figure exceeds the estimated two percent annual growth rate of the conventional coffee industry. Organic coffee is grown in 40 countries worldwide, including the United States (Hawaii).
Organic coffee is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. Organic farming systems refresh and maintain soil fertility, avoid the use of toxins, pesticides and fertilizers, and use diverse means such as being bird-friendly, shade-grown and patio-dried. Third-party certification organizations verify that organic farmers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production.
Finally, current factors motivating the increase in organic coffee production and consumption include a consumer need to support organic production practices, personal health or food safety concerns.

The voodoo priest and all his potions were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself.

Sometimes the only or more convenient option for getting organic coffee is through mail order sales. Perhaps not all the stores and co-ops have organic coffee on hand. It is not unusual for companies to allow you to try samples of their free trade organic coffee, or a local fundraising event may have demos as well.
Once you’ve taken the time to get your mail order fair trade organic coffee, you should take the time to store it properly for the best “fresh from the roaster” coffee experience.

There are popular misconceptions on the way roasted coffee should be maintained and stored. The enemies of roasted coffee are moisture, air, light and heat. Storing your coffee away from them will keep them fresher longer. Therefore an airtight container stored in a cool, dark, dry place is the best for your organic fair trade coffee. Do not store your coffee in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!!!!

Nowadays, in most homes, there are portable cappuccino machines, whole coffee bean grinders, milk steamers, airpots, coffee presses, and many styles of auto-drip coffee machines. Long gone are the days of the percolator (What?), or heaven forbid, the mainstay of the masses, instant. The newest of the machines in the auto-drip coffee maker category is the brew-through carafe. These units feature an insulated carafe, which can be removed for serving yet still retains heat and flavor.
It’s perfect for the organic blends used in many group fundraisers.
These coffee makers offer lots of specialty features – a power base, with water reservoir, filter holder, carafe and built-in warming plate or carafe stand. Optional features include permanent filters, which replace the standard disposable paper filters; digital clocks with timers to preset the start of coffee making; automatic shut-off; and a pause-to-serve function, which lets you halt brewing long enough to pour a cup of coffee. Of course, the current organic coffees are readily available offsetting the costs as your money will go to sustain the Fairly Traded organization, a symbol for helping the coffee farmers and their families.
The most current offering includes water filtration systems that remove chlorine, bacteria and other contaminants from drinking water before brewing; flavor systems that can adjust the strength of the coffee–from mild to strong–to suit your taste; and combo’s that can grind organic or conventional coffee beans just prior to brewing for the fresh from the roaster taste.
Single-cup machines are also available, which, in many cases, brew directly into a travel mug for convenient on-the-road coffee consumption.
Your pocket book, lifestyle and responsible, environmental options should be the determining factors in choosing the perfect fit

In recent years Peru has become the world’s supplier of high-quality organic coffee. Peru has not had the same quality as some other countries but its government has worked to educate farmers on the value of sustainable organic coffee production. This country uses its high altitudes and shade-growing areas of which it has more available than competitors such as Jamaica and Hawaii.
For years, Peru’s government has been encouraging farmers to plant organic coffee rather than coca, the raw ingredient in cocaine. While coca is still prevalent, it is growing at a much slower rate than coffee. Now, Peru is expected to ship 5.8 million 46-kilogram bags of organic coffee, according to their national growers’ group. That would be a 15 percent rise from 2006, the last on-year crop.
Specialty coffees such as organic, fair-trade, kosher, and even ones raised with an eye toward protecting bird life have been at the forefront of the increase. These types of organic coffees make up 30 percent of coffee exports, up from the nominal amount of a decade ago.
Organic coffee in particular is a good fit in Peru, a country with little history of high-tech, large-scale farming. Many farmers can’t afford chemical fertilizers, so growing organic, which pays a premium over conventional coffee, comes at a somewhat lower cost. Also, some poor producers tend to work small sections with limited tech resources available, which results in coffee that is hand-picked and finished by patio drying in the sun. Cooperatives have sprung up from necessity.
Therefore, it wasn’t a problem to move from passive organic to certified, active organic.
Though small farmers do not have a large financial system, their coffee is perfect for some specialized markets. However, challenges still prevail, such as getting the crop to market and paying for natural fertilizers to boost yields, plus transport costs are high in Peru where roads are narrow, winding, and frequently washed out by mudslides. Where paths do not exist, sacks of coffee are manually carried to cooperatives.
The cooperatives also bicker amongst themselves, derailing the industry. An idea taken from other organic coffee countries would be to hold a “Cup of Excellence” challenge as a way to allow the quality of Peruvian coffee to speak for itself. It would influence coffee buyers, provide a new model for organic harvesting, fermentation, patio drying, milling, sorting, warehousing and transporting.
Shifting the focus to growing organic and fair-trade coffees, the important differences that farmers would enjoy go beyond better pricing. It’s about being organized and having a sense of worth, the ability to own and control production, and finally, the learning process through training and exchanges.

Coffee is Black as the Devil, Hot as Hades, Pure as an Angel, Sweet as Love.

Organic coffee is grown all over the world, but not all countries have the right climate to grow it. Coffee trees produce the best organic beans when they are grown in a tropical climate at high altitudes. Geographically, this is found in a circle around the equator between 25 degrees North and 30 degrees South latitude. The really great organic coffee is becoming harder to find or purchase. The finest organic beans come from remote, high altitude volcanic rainforests where access is difficult. Lower down in the valleys, conventional coffee farmers have cleared fields, used machines, insecticides and fertilizers to yield greater production and profit. The organic coffee farmers of the high mountain family farms may be by-passed for preferring to stick to shade grown coffees and patio drying.
The latest trend is to keep a coffee name recognized and associated with the high quality beans, but blend small amounts of the best with more abundant, inferior coffee affecting the quality in the blend. Business is business; the ground coffee may also hide defects as well. Organizations like Fairly Traded, FLO, Fair Trade and others have been trying to reach the true organic coffee farmers, using their clout to make these farms sustainable, but it is difficult. Besides culture, government intervention, money, the geographics of the regions, and the plight of the individual farmer, we add in world market stress and unstable weather conditions. It’s a wonder that coffee has survived at all