Organic coffee is produced without using synthetic chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides – as well as shade-grown practices that benefit wildlife habitats.

Many coffee enthusiasts claim that organic coffee has a richer, more complex flavor than its conventional counterpart. In order to qualify as organic, coffee must meet strict USDA regulations.

Organic Farmer’s Markets

Organic farmers markets provide consumers with an opportunity to meet local farmers face-to-face and discuss local agriculture in person, while providing fresh, low carbon footprint food that’s both sustainable and delectable.

Farmers markets feature food that is often organic, and many vendors utilize sustainable growing practices such as composting, reduced tillage, cover crops and compost tea production. Furthermore, sustainable animal husbandry methods may be utilized by certain vendors and many sell artisanal goods made with traditional ingredients such as breads, jams lotions or candles from traditional ingredients at these markets.

Always look for produce grown using organic, or at least non-sprayed methods, and ask farmers if they would give you samples of their product. Don’t be put off by vendors that do not possess an organic certification seal since becoming certified can take time and cost money; these vendors may still be using organic practices while transitioning toward becoming certified.