1. T
he process of producing organic coffee
begins before the plant has been put into
the ground. First, the land must be certified
by an accredited certifying agency (ACA) to have
been free of any prohibited substances for at least
three years. In addition, growers who seek certifi-
cation must be able to show distinct boundar-
ies between adjacent non-certified land, with
buffer zones in place to prevent unintentional
drift of pesticides and fertilizers applied by
surrounding growers. Buffer zones are espe-
cially important in split operations, where a
grower may have only a portion of the planta-
tion certified organic while the remaining portion is
managed conventionally.
Once the land is certified, the grower must develop
and maintain a plan that is agreed upon and approved
by the certifier. All fertility and pesticide inputs
must be approved by the ACA, and it is the respon-
sibility of the grower to document their use. Also,
pest, weed and disease prevention is controlled by
a set of standards similar to those in place for fertil-
ity management. Growers must develop procedures
to ensure only coffee from certified plantations or
the certified section of split operations is harvested.
This is where it becomes critical that plantation
boundaries are clearly identified. Field maps help
ACAs and inspectors easily identify organic bound-
aries and plantings.
Organic coffee berries must be harvested and han-
dled in accordance with the USDA’s NOP (National
Organic Program) standards. Most is harvested by
hand. Unlike other organic certifications, the organ-
ic verification process for coffee does not stop at
harvest. The packaging for shipping must be clean
of substances that have not been approved. Other-
wise an entire crop can be deemed not organic. All
these procedures lead to the assurance that when a
coffee is certified Organic, it truly is.
A coffee bean is actually the seed of a coffee cherry.
Once the cherries are picked they are dried (usually
in sunlight) and then the outer portion of the dried
cherry is removed. This ‘pulping’ and ‘de-husking’
produces a large amount of solid waste and uses vast
quantities of water. Solid waste (plant residue) may
be incorporated back into the plantation as compost
but must be kept from entering streams and rivers.
The water used for processing must be recycled.
The coffee beans are then sorted either by hand or
on a conveyer belt. They are sorted by size and den-
sity (lighter beans, not so good; heavier beans, qual-
ity). The unroasted beans are the green coffee beans
which are shipped around the world to become light,
medium or dark roast coffee.
When the beans are ready, they are bagged for
export. If the bagging occurs off-site, bean han-
dling must take place at an organic-certified facility.
Again, “Organic” requires adherence to strict pro-
cessing standards even for the shipping bags that
carry the beans, to prevent contamination. When
the coffee arrives at a roasting facility, the facility,
too, must be certified organic, unless it does less
than $5,000 annual sales in organic products. The
roaster must protect the organic integrity of the cer-
tified coffee from the moment it receives and stores
green beans all the way through the roasting and
retail packing process. As most roasters handle both
organic and conventional beans, it is critical to pre-
vent contamination and commingling during
this final step. Organic and non organic beans
cannot be roasted together.
It all takes time, with no shortcuts. Organic
coffee growing follows coffee’s cycle of
growing, not the demands of consumers to
have it on their cycle. Coffee cultivation prac-
tices that produce a healthy crop with more flavor
make coffee that is less harsh to drink and requires
less sweetening to remove the bitterness that is in
many other coffee drinks.
Because it takes more effort to grow organic coffee,
the price for it is understandably higher as well. Fair
Trade allows coffee farmers to be paid a fair wage
for their product. Most organic coffee is grown on
small family owned farms encompassing a few
acres of land. Fair trade certification helps the farm-
ers get more of money for their product.
Cooperatives among coffee farmers will negotiate
for a better price with the global buyers and educate
the farmers about how to run a long-term business
successfully in the global marketplace, and about
safe working conditions. Many believe that it is
important to support Fair Trade coffee as this in
turn helps improve living conditions, promotes fair
wages and encourages an environmentally sustain-
able future for the farmers.
Sources:
http://holistic-nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_does_organic_
food_really_mean
http://www.coffee-organic.com
http://www.organicitsworthit.com/make/organic-coffee-certification-
production-and-processing
There is more to a cup of coffee in the morning than
just coffee beans and hot water. Even a dedicated coffee
aficionado might be surprised to know what precedes
the enjoyment of a mug of organic Jo.
By Jeffrey B. James
Photographer,RomanShyshak
ORGANIC COFFEE
FROM PLANT TO MUG
Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the
world after oil. Estimated annual consumption of
coffee has reached 12 billion pounds.