Buying and drinking great coffee is one of the many joys of life. While finding great tasting, freshly roasted coffee can be fairly straightforward, sourcing coffee that is grown, imported, roasted, and sold with sustainability in mind is a far more daunting task. No coffee is grown in the continental US, therefore the process of getting the beans from their source to your cup is a total mystery for most coffee drinkers, and this process *can* be incredibly wasteful. We break down the process into each step from farm to cup for you!
The Farm - We start from the coffee bean being planted in the ground to be grown into a coffee tree! Coffee is only grown between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The three main regions in this area are Central/South America, Africa, and Indo-Pacific. These three regions contain a number of developing nations, and with that comes the possibility of antiquated and wasteful growing methods, human rights concerns, deforestation, and a number of other issues. There are 25 million smallholder coffee farmers in the world, meaning it is very difficult to narrow your search to one sustainable company or farm. In fact, when you buy coffee, the most information you might get is the country the beans are from. Even if the farm name is included on the bag, googling it usually yields minimal to no results as most of these farmers do not have internet access let alone their own website. But alas! There is some good news! Luckily, one non-profit has spent considerable time and energy to develop a guidebook for farmers to follow to transform their coffee farm to a sustainable one. This non-profit is the Rainforest Alliance, and once the farm has gone through a comprehensive assessment and made the necessary changes, they are awarded the Rainforest Alliance certification and seal. The certification ensures a number of important things, such as Climate Smart Agriculture, Deforestation, Conserving Biodiversity, Human Rights, Shared Responsibility, Living Wage, Continuous Improvement, Living Income, Risk Based Assurance, and Gender Equality. Over 400,000 farms have been certified to date and exist in nearly every coffee growing region, there's no reason to NOT source from a farmer who has gone through the hard work to earn this certification. We have yet to find a certification for coffee farmers that is as comprehensive as Rainforest Alliance, for that reason we recommend buying coffee from these farmers.
Takeaway: Buy coffee grown at Rainforest Alliance Certified farms!
Processing - did you know coffee has to be processed after picking? The beans we roast, grind, and drink are hidden inside of a coffee “cherry” and we need to remove the cherry! There are a few different ways to process coffee to get to the bean, and the two primary ways are Natural Process and Washed. Natural Processed coffee is laid out on a drying bed and periodically turned. Washed Processed coffee is what you’d think it is. Coffee cherries are washed over water and pulpers, and can be incredibly wasteful. Washed Processing can use up to 5000+ gallons of water per ton of coffee. Once the coffee is washed, the water left over, known as “coffee wastewater” contains flavanoid compounds and a higher Ph. When this coffee is not routed to a treatment system, this waste water can be harmful to aquatic life. For that reason we recommend Natural Processed coffees. The processing method is listed on the coffee bag from higher quality roasters.
Takeaway: Buy coffee that is Naturally Processed!
Importing - as no coffee is grown in the continental US, it all has to be imported! Some companies are more sustainably minded than others. Here is a step that is usually totally shielded from consumers, and a source of waste. These can vary greatly by the actual shipping method, whether it be by plane or by sea, and then upon arrival in the US, whether by train or truck. Luckily, Rainforest Alliance again has a fantastic, comprehensive certification program for coffee importers. Simply ask your roaster if their importer is RFA certified. If your roaster does not know, ask for their company name and search to verify if they are here.
Takeaway: Buy from roasters who source from RFA Certified importers!
Roasting - Coffee roasters are not all created equal! The two primary coffee roasters are drum (gas) roasters and fluid bed (electric air) roasters. The primary roasters used by coffee shops are drum roasters, and require fuel to heat a drum to roast coffee. These not only create emissions from the roasting of the coffee beans but also emit gasses from burning gas. Some of the most sustainably conscious roasters are manufactured by Loring and Bellwether. For Air roasters, these can be powered by electricity and therefore have reduced emissions during the roasting process! We use a small air roaster that plugs into a 20 amp outlet, same as your hair dryer or food mixer!
Takeaway: Buy from roasters who use sustainably conscious equipment!
Packaging - Coffee has to be packaged in specific, vented pouches or bags to be shipped to you. This is because coffee, after it is roasted, continues releasing C02. If the bag was not vented, the bag would inflate and eventually explode! When buying coffee, we recommend sourcing from roasters who ship their coffee in packaging that is both recyclable and compostable. For the time being, there have not been any products made using progressive, renewable resources, such as kelp! We are continually on the lookout for development in this area and as soon as this is available, we will be an early adopter.
Takeaway: Buy from roasters who use recyclable, compostable coffee bags!
Here at Wild Tiger Coffee Co. we adhere to all 5 of these steps!