Organic products often carry with them an image of purity (free from non-natural substances), environmental friendliness and good health – however this may not always be true when it comes to coffee.

Coffee grown under shade conditions at higher altitudes typically produces the best beans. Pests and weeds can often be managed naturally by bats and birds, rather than having to resort to chemical herbicides and fertilizers in large fields. Furthermore, high-quality beans often grow on fertile soils at high elevations under natural canopies that form part of an agroforestry system in their locality.

Unfortunately, Certified Organic farmers do not always produce the highest-grade coffees and many small specialty roasters cannot afford to become Certified Organic in order to use the Organic label on their coffee sales. Therefore, the best way to determine whether your coffee is truly organic is to talk directly with its roaster about its origin and learn more about how it was produced – shade grown/high altitude/ shade dried/natural organic/certified or natural passive organic etc. A good roaster will be able to tell you whether their product meets all those criteria as well as whether its certification status or passive organic status (within).