"Shade grown" coffee is grown under a canopy of various species of shade trees, often on small farms using traditional techniques. Shade grown coffee production methods provide food and shelter for songbirds in addition to a habitat for numerous other species of animals and plants.

For almost 200 years coffee has been grown in the shade of native forest trees, using the filtering effect of the leaves to protect the coffee plants from burning.

Sun Coffee

A new breed of sun-tolerant coffee has been developed over the past 30 years, and USAID and other international development agencies have encouraged coffee farmers to convert to a sun-grown system. Sun-grown coffee has higher yields, but requires chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides.  The shallow root system of the sun coffee plant, however, often leads to toxic chemical run-off and erosion More sun coffee can be cultivated per acre, and each sun plant produces 3 times the coffee of a shade-grown plant, but serious environmental side effects have surfaced.

Sun grown coffee farms tend to be a monoculture - with coffee planted in rows.

Shade Coffee

A traditional shade coffee farm is a polyculture, resembling a forest with several layers of trees, including fruit, hardwoods, orchids, and bushes. As many as 40 different species of trees can be found on traditional shade coffee plantations, and these trees protect the coffee plants growing beneath them  from excessive sun and rain. Shade grown farms tend to maintain soil quality by reducing the need for weeding while aiding in pest control.  The shade trees produce organic matter that reduces erosion and provides a natural mulch, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.

So what?

Why does it matter whether I buy sun-grown coffee or shade-grown coffee?

1.       BETTER TASTE: Coffee beans mature more slowly in the shade, increasing the natural sugars which enhance the taste of coffee.  These natural sugars caramelize in the roasting process, resulting in a sweet, more flavorful cup of coffee.

2.       HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT: Shade grown coffee farms use far less fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides, creating a deeper root structure with less erosion. The shade trees filter carbon dioxide, thereby decreasing global warming.

3.       HEALTH: Shade grown coffee is often produced organically, reducing the amount of chemical exposure for the farmers and for those who drink the coffee.

4.       BIRD HABITAT:  The forest canopy provides a sanctuary for over 150 species of migratory birds. Only an undisturbed tropical forest has more birds.

5.       DIVERSE WILDLIFE:  Shade coffee farms also shelter bats, ants, bees, beetles, amphibians, spiders, and mammals, not to mention orchids.

6.       RAINFOREST SUSTAINABILITY: Sun-grown coffee plantations use chemicals and pesticides in the coffee production, resulting in soil erosion and depletion. As the soil is depleted, rainforests are often stripped to provide more land for farming. Shade-grown coffee relies on more organic production methods, therefore is sustainable.

7.      GMO: Coffee  trees did not naturally grow in direct sunlight, so sun coffee trees are genetically modified: When you  drink a cup of sun grown coffee, you are drinking coffee that has been genetically enhanced.

All of the coffee available through My Perfect Coffee is shade-grown, and the slow-ripen process has fostered a more complex flavor.

As you sip your shade grown coffee, remember that your cup of coffee has helped to preserve a more traditional way of farming along with the ecosystems in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Colombia.