Shade Grown Coffee From Golden Valley Farms

I was recently contacted by Golden Valley Farms of West Chester Pennsylvania. They are a family owned coffee roasting company that specializes in organic shade grown coffee . They have been working with Robert Rice at the Smithsonian Institution since July 3, 2008 to market and help bring awareness to the many benefits of the Bird-Friendly® Coffees. They are now the official coffee roaster for all coffee served to visitors at the National Zoo.

I received a coffee sampler which contained individual packets of shade grown coffee from Mexico, Columbia, Peru, and El Salvador. Each sample had its own unique flavor. The beans are carefully selected and hand roasted in small batches to ensure that the quality stays consistent. I'm not a coffee critic so I won't bother telling you how one coffee has a nutty flavor while another seems to have a hint of chocolate. The Colombian had a bold flavor, the Peruvian was smooth and mellow. All of the coffee was fresh and flavorful. The only one I didn't try yet was the decaf seen in the photo ( I don't bother with decaf). Most importantly, beans used to produce this coffee from plants that were grown using shade grown and organic methods. This means more preserved forests for migratory birds and less pesticides.

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Let's continue to get the word about shade grown coffee. Maybe give it as gifts during the holidays instead of one of those fruitcakes or brew a pot at work to share with your co-workers. Every little bit helps!

Shade Grown Coffee Is For The Birds

A few months back, Patrick of the Hawks Owl Nest mentioned shade grown coffee in this post. It was not the first time that I had heard about shade grown coffee but it was the first time that I made the decision to look into buying some. If you haven't heard of shade grown coffee, let me summarize why it's important for the birds. Shade Grown Coffee Plantations don't cut down their trees in order to grow coffee beans. Other coffee plantations clear forests to produce their coffee beans, which has a devastating effect on the migratory bird population.

Of course the idea had to percolate in my head for a few months before I finally took action. It turned out to be a little bit of a chore trying to find the stuff. There are a lot of companies that offer shade grown coffee for sale on the Internet, but I really didn't want to purchase coffee that way. I found out that the shelf life of coffee is not as long as one might think. If I'm going to pay more money for my coffee, I want it to be fresh. I'd feel a whole lot better about buying my coffee with cash from a local coffee shop.

I thought that finding a local coffee shop that sells shade grown coffee would be easy. I talked to two businesses that specialized in selling coffee along with a health food store. None of them even knew what shade grown coffee was.I finally found a place in Glastonbury called Daybreak Coffee Roasters who assured me that their organic coffees were shade grown. The coffee I purchased their had excellent flavor. They roast their beans right in the store. I am hoping they will do a better job promoting their shade grown coffee. Nothing on their website or store talks about the shade grown aspect.

There is another coffee business in Goshen CT. called Coffee, Tea, Etc. that uses only shade grown coffee. Starbucks is also offering shade grown coffee in their stores. I tend to avoid Starbucks for my own personal reasons. Audubon offers shade grown coffee over the internet.

Here are a few things that I found out about shade grown coffee:

• It is more expensive at $8.00 to $13.00 a pound. That doesn't bother me much because people spend $3.00 for one cup of Coffee from you know where.



• Shade Grown Coffee beans have more flavor because it takes them longer to grow. They also come form hardier plants. I've tried it-So far, it's better than the coffee I've been buying at the grocery store.



• Up until the 1950's, all coffee was shade grown. Over the years coffee plantations have been clearing forests so that they grow plants that produce higher numbers of lower quality coffee cherries. The Coffee plants that are grown in sunny conditions require much more fertilizer and pesticides.

I was surprised at how much there is to learn about coffee from the time it's planted until the time it makes it in to your cup. Here are some additional links if you would like to learn more: Shade Grown Coffee, Migratory Bird Center , Bird Friendly And Shade . Did you know that once coffee is opened it is supposed to be used up within a week? I didn't. Here is some information about Brewing And Storing Coffee.

The bottom line is- if you care about birds (which I know you do), and you like coffee, -think about making the switch to shade grown coffee if you haven't already. If you've already made the switch, spread the word!