What does Shade Grown Coffee Really Mean?
April 22, 2008
What is Shade Grown?
I would like to bring some information
and facts about Shade grown that might be of some interest to our readers.
I am by no means an expert on this topic, but I would like to share what I
do know to help you better understand this common coffee term.
If you used any search engine and type in shade grown coffee you might end up with 210,000 to 5.3 million hits. That is an incredible amount of information for just one topic; for that reason I would like to summarize some of the available information for you.
We’ll start with the definition of this coffee. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center defines it as: “Shade-grown refers to the way coffee has been traditionally farmed. For generations, coffee shrubs have been planted in the shade of tall trees, making these traditional coffee plantations excellent homes for birds and other forest-dwelling wildlife.”
Furthermore, I would like to write down the five most typical categories of shade grown coffees from the most desirable, traditional growing method to the least diverse or full sun:
-Rustic (rusticano): Coffee trees are planted in an existing forest with few changes to the native plants.
-Traditional polyculture (policultura tradicional): This method is more deliberate than the rustic method. It consists of integrating other plants such as fruits, vegetables, etc within the coffee farm. This allows the farmer to diversity crops while maintaining the beneficial conditions of shade grown coffee.
-Commercial polyculture (policultura comercial): similar to traditional polyculture, but with more coffee and less shade trees. This type of shade allows higher production, but also requires the use of some pesticides and fertilizers.
-Reduced or specialized shade (sombra especializada): uses a single canopy to provide shade. Typically from Inga, Erythrina, Gliricidia, or Grevillea.
-Full-sun or unshaded monoculture (monocultura sin sombre): this coffee is grown without shade trees. Production is higher, but fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are often used. This type of coffee will continue to grow in popularity until consumers agree to pay more for organic shade grown coffee.
Source
In the middle of the 1990s the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center started to promote shade grown coffees. Unfortunately, for many supporters this market only represents less than 1% of the US market share.
On the other hand, there are other types of organizations such as the Northwest Shade Coffee campaign that advocates for the consumption of Shade grown coffee. They have compiled very interesting arguments about this product. I would encourage you to visit this link. You will find information about what the certification means, arguments against and for certification and some points of broad arguments.
In addition, there are some importers that have their own criteria to certify shade grown which will eventually increase the level of complexity in the certification process and recognition.
Is it important to point out that it is possible to find different types of shade ranging from tall, multilayered stories of native trees with avian diversity comparable to that a native forest, to shade that is dominated by a single tree species that is little different from sun coffee in terms of avian diversity and species richness (Rappole, King; Rivera, 2003). In addition, shade coffee would hardly replace the benefits brought by a native forest in terms of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Another topic of discussion is the campaign within the producer’s countries to promote the conversion from sun planting to shade. This endeavor brings challenges like farmers that want bigger yields and consumers that are not willing to pay more for the product, despite knowing the ecological benefits. In addition, there are many other challenges and questions related to this type of coffee because some areas may have recently replaced native forests. Some growers might take advantage of the economical incentives to replace at least half of the current tropical forest for planting coffee.
Other obstacles that keep shade coffee from becoming mainstream is the cost of grower certification, the diverse amount of eco-labels in the market that create confusion for the consumer and the lack of a back-up worldwide institution that could stand any process that involve certification.
Finally, I would like to discuss the quality of shade coffee. Just because a coffee is certified does not automatically mean that it is a good coffee, based on the standards of the specialty coffee and/or gourmet coffee industry. In other words, buying a Shade coffee would be supporting a favorable campaign to protect migratory birds habitats, but you may end up drinking an average cup of coffee. Nevertheless, supporting endangered species may be enough incentive to buy shade, but know that all are not alike. Our shade coffees are not only good for bird habitats but have been chosen based on taste and quality of the bean as well.
Some new trends related to shade grown coffee is its relationship climate change. Some organizations that certify shade grown could add an additional benefit for those growers who want to sell carbon sequestration areas, which in simple words means keeping the forest as intact as possible. For example, coffee growers would be paid for maintaining the forest during a long-term period of at least 20 years. The funds would come from organizations that are willing to pay to offset their own carbon emissions (to read more about this, visit the site of the company Portland Roasting is using to offset their carbon emissions through tree planting at their Farm Friendly Direct ™farm in El Salvador).
In addition, certification organizations might have to work hard to find just few certification processes in order to avoid confusions from the consumer point of view.
http://www.freshcup.com/back-issues/2002/2002-5/may02_shadegrown.htm
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/resources/downloads/Carbon%20credits%20for%20coffee%20farmers.mp3
If you used any search engine and type in shade grown coffee you might end up with 210,000 to 5.3 million hits. That is an incredible amount of information for just one topic; for that reason I would like to summarize some of the available information for you.
We’ll start with the definition of this coffee. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center defines it as: “Shade-grown refers to the way coffee has been traditionally farmed. For generations, coffee shrubs have been planted in the shade of tall trees, making these traditional coffee plantations excellent homes for birds and other forest-dwelling wildlife.”
Furthermore, I would like to write down the five most typical categories of shade grown coffees from the most desirable, traditional growing method to the least diverse or full sun:
-Rustic (rusticano): Coffee trees are planted in an existing forest with few changes to the native plants.
-Traditional polyculture (policultura tradicional): This method is more deliberate than the rustic method. It consists of integrating other plants such as fruits, vegetables, etc within the coffee farm. This allows the farmer to diversity crops while maintaining the beneficial conditions of shade grown coffee.
-Commercial polyculture (policultura comercial): similar to traditional polyculture, but with more coffee and less shade trees. This type of shade allows higher production, but also requires the use of some pesticides and fertilizers.
-Reduced or specialized shade (sombra especializada): uses a single canopy to provide shade. Typically from Inga, Erythrina, Gliricidia, or Grevillea.
-Full-sun or unshaded monoculture (monocultura sin sombre): this coffee is grown without shade trees. Production is higher, but fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are often used. This type of coffee will continue to grow in popularity until consumers agree to pay more for organic shade grown coffee.
Source
Shade History
In early 1970s many growers seeking higher production as well as getting rid of diseases such as leaf rust started to convert their traditional canopy or shade coffee to a more sun-productive type of coffee. An additional variable that could promote this change was the necessity of trade timber wood as additional income and an energy source for living.In the middle of the 1990s the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center started to promote shade grown coffees. Unfortunately, for many supporters this market only represents less than 1% of the US market share.
Who is in charge of certifying?
There are several organizations that certify shade grown coffees, among them are the Smithsonian Center and the Rain Forest Alliance.On the other hand, there are other types of organizations such as the Northwest Shade Coffee campaign that advocates for the consumption of Shade grown coffee. They have compiled very interesting arguments about this product. I would encourage you to visit this link. You will find information about what the certification means, arguments against and for certification and some points of broad arguments.
In addition, there are some importers that have their own criteria to certify shade grown which will eventually increase the level of complexity in the certification process and recognition.
Facts and arguments about shade coffee
Most people agree that shade is important for the ecosystem because shade coffee plantations and other traditional, rustic plantations are the habitat of a diverse species of animals. Another reason for conservation interest in coffee plantations and other human created habitats is that they occupy a large proportion of the tropical landscape (Sherry, W. Thomas. 2000). This author also stated that human-managed habitats can never replace the reserves of native and old-growth forest habitats but some kinds of agricultural habitats have the virtue of simultaneously providing for human subsistence and supporting a diversity of species such as shade grown coffee. A third reason stated by this author is that conservation biologists’ value of shade coffee derives from their ecosystem services. For example, predators within an ecosystem help to control the pest population, avoiding the use of large amounts of pesticides.Is it important to point out that it is possible to find different types of shade ranging from tall, multilayered stories of native trees with avian diversity comparable to that a native forest, to shade that is dominated by a single tree species that is little different from sun coffee in terms of avian diversity and species richness (Rappole, King; Rivera, 2003). In addition, shade coffee would hardly replace the benefits brought by a native forest in terms of biodiversity and ecosystems.
Another topic of discussion is the campaign within the producer’s countries to promote the conversion from sun planting to shade. This endeavor brings challenges like farmers that want bigger yields and consumers that are not willing to pay more for the product, despite knowing the ecological benefits. In addition, there are many other challenges and questions related to this type of coffee because some areas may have recently replaced native forests. Some growers might take advantage of the economical incentives to replace at least half of the current tropical forest for planting coffee.
Other obstacles that keep shade coffee from becoming mainstream is the cost of grower certification, the diverse amount of eco-labels in the market that create confusion for the consumer and the lack of a back-up worldwide institution that could stand any process that involve certification.
Finally, I would like to discuss the quality of shade coffee. Just because a coffee is certified does not automatically mean that it is a good coffee, based on the standards of the specialty coffee and/or gourmet coffee industry. In other words, buying a Shade coffee would be supporting a favorable campaign to protect migratory birds habitats, but you may end up drinking an average cup of coffee. Nevertheless, supporting endangered species may be enough incentive to buy shade, but know that all are not alike. Our shade coffees are not only good for bird habitats but have been chosen based on taste and quality of the bean as well.
Conclusion
One of the relevant conclusions is that shade-grown coffee aligns many social issues such as conservationism and environmentalism, but that alone is not enough to call it a specialty coffee. Thus we could also say that not all specialty coffee is shade coffee. Of course there are also both, like our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee.Some new trends related to shade grown coffee is its relationship climate change. Some organizations that certify shade grown could add an additional benefit for those growers who want to sell carbon sequestration areas, which in simple words means keeping the forest as intact as possible. For example, coffee growers would be paid for maintaining the forest during a long-term period of at least 20 years. The funds would come from organizations that are willing to pay to offset their own carbon emissions (to read more about this, visit the site of the company Portland Roasting is using to offset their carbon emissions through tree planting at their Farm Friendly Direct ™farm in El Salvador).
In addition, certification organizations might have to work hard to find just few certification processes in order to avoid confusions from the consumer point of view.
Useful links:
http://www.conservation.org/FMG/Articles/Pages/starbucks_shadegrown_coffee.aspxhttp://www.freshcup.com/back-issues/2002/2002-5/may02_shadegrown.htm
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/resources/downloads/Carbon%20credits%20for%20coffee%20farmers.mp3
