Edible / Fund-Raisers: Certified Coffee

We feature "triple certified coffee," available for retail or fund-raisers. These products are listed on our Edibles and Fund-Raisers page.

Triple Certified Coffee?

It is certifed organic, no chemicals used in growing or processing.

It is certified shadegrown, grown under the canopy of trees like coffee was orginally found in Ethiopia.

Why is this important? Because it provides habitat for plants and animals, like our neotropical migrant birds (Wood thrush, warblers, etc.) that summer with us in the US and winter in the tropics. Without habitat, the birds and other animals have no protection from predators, or food.

Most commercial coffee is now grown in full sun, increasing yields but is devastating on the environment. Shade grown also protects soil, providing root masses that can reduce erosion and landslides during floods and hurricanes. It also promotes genetic diversity as mixed agricultural regimes are more sustainable, less susceptible to pests and allows for mixed plants and income streams. It also produces better coffee, though lower yields.

It's certifed fair trade, the average coffee producer gets about $1.20 per pound, nearly twice the global price. This has done more to lift people out of poverty than nearly any other project, and also is keeping farmers on the land stabilizing their lives and allowing them to plan and invest in the future.