What about Organic?
We've gotten a few questions about why our coffee isn't Certified Organic, so here's the reasoning behind it:
- Our farmers typically use natural farming practices. For one thing, the cost of chemicals are prohibitive for these small farms.
- We've chosen not to burden our farmer partners with the requirements to become Certified Organic. The financial and time commitment for the certification process and to maintain certified status would be a major strain on these farmers, and we don't want to do that.
- One hidden reality is that all coffee, upon arriving in the US, is fumigated with chemicals to kill any pests or insects that may have hitched a ride. This includes Certified Organic coffees, so even if it is grown organically, it is no longer truely "organic." The truth is, fumigating is part of the process of getting coffee into the US. The good news is, in a study by Dr. Michael Sivetz, all traces of chemical are burned off at 600 degrees during the roasting process.