Is paying more for organic coffee really worth it? We often see the label organic slapped on to so many products that the actual significance of the word begins to get diluted in our minds. In the coffee world though this seemingly small difference can have a profound effect on your body and the world around it. This quick breakdown helps clarify the benefits of choosing organic coffee over non-organic coffee.
Defining Organic Coffee
Coffee is determined organic when it is grown without the use of synthetic or chemical based fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The absence of these chemicals in organic coffee is beneficial to the producers, the consumers, and our environment.
The Benefits Explained
1. More Nutritious
Organic coffee plants are grown in healthy soil that is unaltered by damaging artificial chemicals which results in beans that retain more nutrients. These nutrients include essential minerals and vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B5. These B vitamins are beneficial for powering your cells, helping digestion, metabolizing fat, and fighting aging. Additionally, organically farmed coffee plants produce beans that are rich in disease fighting antioxidants.
2. Better For The Environment
Avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers and chemicals to produce organic coffee means cleaner air, land, and water! The use of these toxic chemicals to grow conventionally goes far beyond the coffee plant. The chemicals get absorbed into the farm soil and contaminate the water tables that flow into the ecosystem that nearby communities, plants, and wildlife all depend on. One study from Stanford University showed that conventional farming methods emit more nitrous oxide (300 times more effective at heating the atmosphere) compared to organic farming methods. Instead organic farms emit non-detrimental dinitrogen (N2) which is an essential component of the air we breathe.
3. Benefits Farmers and Communities
Getting organically certified is expensive for farmers, but because organic coffee sells at a higher price, their workers can get paid better wages. Also, farmers using organic growing methods are not forced to handle and potentially be exposed to dangerous pesticides.
4. More Sustainable
Organic coffee is generally produced on smaller scale family farms that are often Fair Trade compliant. Conventional coffee production typically operates on a much larger scale and requires deforestation to clear out space for the farms. Organic coffee on the other hand is usually run by smallholder family farms that grow the coffee in the shade without having to sacrifice any trees. This shade growing process leaves more trees and nutrients in the ecosystem for the local plants and animals to thrive off of.
5. Better Flavor
Organic coffee farmers tend to place a higher emphasis on harvesting. Many harvest by hand ensuring only the best beans are being processed. Additionally, when organic coffee is shade grown the plant grows slower which produces a more refined flavorful coffee cherry. Also, with the additional nutrients in the soil, you are tasting organic coffee at it’s full potential!
Enjoy these amazing benefits with No Requests Organic Coffee