mp78
New member
what about the extra cost for handlers? or is it not that much more?
organic coffee or regular
- Thread starter malkaNjeff
- Start date
TheCoffeeGourmet
New member
Coffee is actually one of the Top 5 crops on the planet to try to buy organic! According to the CS Monitor, conventional farmers apply up to 250 pounds of chemical fertilizers per acre. Yeah, that's a lot of chemicals folks -- so if you can buy organic, I'd certainly recommend it. If not, at least buy the highest quality non-organic you can, because chances are it's had a less pesticide sprayed on the crop.
TheCoffeeGourmet
New member
And LOL to the "Have fun at McDonalds" comment by the way!!!!
ruma
New member
Yes organic is so important. Fortunately here, in Indonesia there are growers who do not use pesticides..
Jupiter212
New member
I will choose organic coffee, it's good for your health and our environment 
paypalboutique
New member
I don't know what is worse, non organic sprayed with pesticides or organic with cigarette butts used as fertilizer. Since tobacco would be considered an organic fertilizer since nicotine is natural is sweet potatoes and tobacco. At least that's how it is for some produce farmers.
montre
New member
Nice discussion is going on here. I think, with certified organic coffee, there is a guarantee that the coffee is 100% chemical free. However, with people who sell organic coffees but aren't certified, there is a RISK. I support organic coffee with my heart & soul and suggest people to prefer it over those coffees which are soaked with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, and lots of other harmful chemicals.
Funny thing is most farmers use compost...they can not afford the chemical/pesticide or certification to become organic..
peterjschmidt
Active member
And where might that be happening, and by whom? I doubt that any specialty grade coffees coming through any of the major importers have any such coffees.
The other thing to bear in mind, while I don't propose we ingest garbage, and occasional non-organic coffee poses zero health risk.
montre
New member
That is the problem. Most farmers are too poor to go for the certification and therefore we can never know if they really sell organic coffee. On the contrary, in some coffee producing villages, farmers are often forced to sell their homes to buy the expensive pesticides and chemicals required to grow coffee in the adverse/non shaded areas. :shock: Even though when the farmers get the option to switch to cultivate organic coffees, they still cannot become certified organic coffee producers unless their field’s soil becomes free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. And that happens not until three years. This implies that the farmers have to absorb the extra costs of organic farming for three years before they’ll start to see the returns, and many just could not afford it either.
Hmm… that I agree. I think it is happening because of the scarcity of demand for organic coffee. It is, unfortunately, not much may be because people are not yet fully aware of the benefits of buying organic coffee. Take the example of Starbucks, which reported that only 3 percent of its coffee purchases in 2009 were organic. Anyways, as per my opinion, some brands like Newman’s Own Organics and Green Mountain Organic Coffee can be trusted on this.
That depends on the immunity of the person. There are some people who can drink snake poison (I saw them on Discovery Channel 8)), while some can’t even digest milk. Pesticides are so harmful that it can give prostate and other types of cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and miscarriages in pregnant women. When a person sips on his non-organic morning brew, he is also sipping on pesticide residues. Occasional non-organic coffee may not harm you much, but still there might be 1% chance of it hurting you in some way. :roll:
ensoluna
Banned
organic / fair trade and even rainforest alliance coffee aren't special coffees. In terms of taste, there is absolutely no difference. and in terms of not using any bad chemicals (because it has organic label on it), you should not trust it either.
I am at the ground level. So I actually have seen and experienced how this thing works. if coffee exporter sells one bag, let's say 100 # from Guatemala. now the export green bean pricing is about $200 per 100 # bag. Anacafe (Coffee gov't organization in Guatemala) charges you $20 per bag to get certified "Organic" and another $20 for Fair trade. and for Rainforest, you pay about $5K to the organization for one year. Basically, whomever is buying the coffee from the source pays for the Organic / fair trade certification. Coffee exporters in that country give options to the buyers whether they want the coffee to be certified or not. If they need the certification, they collect the money from customers and pay to Anacafe !!!!
there is no guarantee that the coffees will be ORGANIC even if there is a label. it is just a piece of certification that Importers buy from each country's organization. Of course, i have seen many farms actually not using chemicals and use organic stuff for the coffee plants (mainly because chemicals are more expensive than organic), but it is very unavoidable not to use any chemicals at all because they all have to kill bugs, insects and other diseases with chemicals anyway. (i have never heard killing diseases with organic matters... probably if they do, all the diseases will be a lot happier and spread more )
going back to the question and answer : there is absolutely no taste difference and quality difference. we all are paying abut 10 to 15% higher pricing to retailers just for the Organic labels. if you ask me, that is total none sense.
I am at the ground level. So I actually have seen and experienced how this thing works. if coffee exporter sells one bag, let's say 100 # from Guatemala. now the export green bean pricing is about $200 per 100 # bag. Anacafe (Coffee gov't organization in Guatemala) charges you $20 per bag to get certified "Organic" and another $20 for Fair trade. and for Rainforest, you pay about $5K to the organization for one year. Basically, whomever is buying the coffee from the source pays for the Organic / fair trade certification. Coffee exporters in that country give options to the buyers whether they want the coffee to be certified or not. If they need the certification, they collect the money from customers and pay to Anacafe !!!!
there is no guarantee that the coffees will be ORGANIC even if there is a label. it is just a piece of certification that Importers buy from each country's organization. Of course, i have seen many farms actually not using chemicals and use organic stuff for the coffee plants (mainly because chemicals are more expensive than organic), but it is very unavoidable not to use any chemicals at all because they all have to kill bugs, insects and other diseases with chemicals anyway. (i have never heard killing diseases with organic matters... probably if they do, all the diseases will be a lot happier and spread more )
going back to the question and answer : there is absolutely no taste difference and quality difference. we all are paying abut 10 to 15% higher pricing to retailers just for the Organic labels. if you ask me, that is total none sense.
brad.corgan
New member
coffe is coffee, no matter which one is. my thought is put some coffee in a cup and taste it if you like it, that's all. my favorite is forestall special reserve
BFRoasters
New member
coffee is also coffe even if it is which one it is if it isn't then its not. Tasting or not it is still coffee and should be regarded as such. Even when its not it is so that's always a plus. But if it isn't then the cup is very taste worthy if it is, or not.
If you ask me.
peterjschmidt
Active member
Very precise, succinct and to the point, BF. I like it!
Give 'em some of their own medicine, that's what I say!
zonakopi
New member
If you need organic coffee, you should buy coffee from Indonesia. Coffee farmers in Indonesia never use chemicals to fertilize the coffee because coffee grows well in fertile soil in Indonesia.
