Coffee enthusiasts may find themselves confused by all of the words describing their reusable coffee bag: organic, fair trade and shade grown – but what do these labels really signify?

Organic coffee farming requires cultivating their crop without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, while shade grown farms utilize sun-filtering tree species that help retain soil moisture, aiding plant health while decreasing chemical input requirements. Furthermore, shade trees support biodiversity, inhibit fungal infections, and capture carbon from the air – all key benefits for sustainable production practices.

Conventional sun-grown coffee relies on chemicals including herbicides and fertilizers that pollute local ecosystems while degrading soil, leading to erosion and polluting local water supplies. Sun-grown coffee also has detrimental impacts on migratory birds as it destroys their habitat and disrupts their migration patterns, harming their migration patterns even further.

As consumers become more informed on the importance of protecting biodiversity and adopting sustainable farming practices, demand for shade grown coffee has skyrocketed. This provides encouragement for coffee farmers as it allows them to return to traditional methods and reduce environmental damage caused by full sun growing methods.

Although “shade grown” does not have legal standing, there can be no assurance that any particular brand of coffee is shade grown without being certified as such by an independent third party or auditor. There are a few such certifications available – Bird Friendly, Organic and Rainforest Alliance are three such certifications which offer verification that products meet this criteria.

Bird Friendly coffee certification program is the only one that mandates shade grown production while protecting habitat for migrating bird species. Established by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, its stringent standard includes dense forest shade cover and multiple layers of tree structure, as well as identification of nearby habitat protected by national or regional conservation programs. Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certification options do not mandate shade grown coffee production but do impose other requirements that benefit both farmers and the environment.

Shade-grown coffee not only benefits the environment, but can be better for farmers as well. While its lower yields make it more costly than sun-grown varieties, its higher quality opens niche markets for premium products that allows smaller farms to compete against larger producers while increasing economic viability of specialty products.

Organic coffee may not always be shade grown, but when selecting certified shade grown organic coffee you can rest assured that you are getting a premium cup. By supporting its production you are helping farmers revert back to traditional cultivation techniques while simultaneously stopping bird migration decline. We highly encourage all to support this effort by purchasing shade grown coffee!