Coffee is the most popular drink in the entire world. It is traded more than any commodity except for oil. The coffee market is rapidly changing as the world becomes more conscious of the environment and of many of the farming practices used in the past hundred years. Organic coffee is quickly gaining ground in the competitive coffee market.

Coffee has been used for over a thousand years. Ethiopia appears to be one of the first areas to identify the miraculous qualities of coffee. It didn’t take long before coffee spread throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Back then the growing methods weren’t as well thought out as they are now and the idea of organic ceased to exist (perhaps because crops weren’t yet doused with chemicals).

Today people are considered by the environmental and health effect of many twentieth century growing practices. For the health conscious consumer, organic coffee is the only choice. Organic coffee is grown without toxic insecticides and herbicides. The fertilizers used are all natural and consumers don’t have to worry about being slowly poisoned.

Companies that want to grow organic coffee must gain certification according to the regulations of the Organic Food Production Act. This Act lays out the guidelines that growers must follow to become certified and it also explains the method by which growers will be tested to ensure they follow these guidelines.

Organic Coffee Can Only Be Grown In Certified Fields

The fields for organic coffee production must pass stringent guidelines. It isn’t enough that farmers forego the use of chemicals but they must also grow on land that has been chemical free for at least three years in a row. This is to make sure that any coffee displaying an organic coffee label is truly chemical free.

It isn’t easy for coffee to become certified organic. Growers have to take great pains and invest much time and money into the transition process. For this reason organic coffee is almost always more expensive than non organic coffee. Luckily many consumers believe the extra cost is well worth it and more growers are willing to take the plunge into organic certification.

To grow coffee without using industrial fertilizers, the crops are often planted in the shade. This protects delicate soil nutrients from being eradicated by the sun’s UV radiation. Creating shade can also add to farming cost.

Many a coffee expert will agree than even without regard to the health and environmental benefits, organic coffee is still a superior product. Its flavor isn’t corrupted by the impact of unnatural chemicals and so organic coffee offers the highest quality taste.