Shade Grown

Shade Grown Coffee – An Ecological Best Practice

In their native state, coffee trees require about 40% shade. For generations, coffee trees were planted in the shade of the forest canopy. This allowed the coffee cherries (the fruit where the coffee seeds reside) the appropriate time to develop and ripen. Providing essential shade for coffee trees was only one benefit of the canopy. Tall trees also served as excellent homes for birds and forest-dwelling wildlife. Coffee plantations became refuges for biodiversity.

Of course, it is possible to grow coffee without the shade. Under pressure for lower prices and higher productivity, many Latin American farms converted to “sun-coffee” farms beginning in the 1970’s. This method entails clearing or thinning the shade trees and growing coffee plants under full or nearly full sun conditions. Agrochemicals like synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides are used to counter the effects of eliminating shade. (For instance, more weeds grow where there is no shade; chemicals are applied to kill the weeds).

There are many negative effects of sun-coffee farming. There has been a dramatic decline in the number of birds that migrate to Latin America. Deforestation compromises the habitat for a myriad of insects, orchids, mammals, reptiles, and many amphibians. The chemicals necessary for sun-coffee farming can pollute the tropical environment where coffee is grown and pose a health risk for coffee farmers.

Now the benefits of shade grown coffee are beginning to be recognized. Shaded conditions create a cooler setting and, like coffee grown at a higher altitude, the growth of the bean is slower. This creates a denser, hardier bean and that is what roasters and coffee experts like for quality coffee. In order to compensate farmers for growing coffee in the shade, a more ecologically friendly practice, consumers are willing to pay a few more cents per cup.
If you want to support the conservation of birds and other wildlife and contribute to a healthy environment in the tropical regions of our world, consider coffees that indicate “Shade Grown,” or Bird Friendly® Certified Coffee.

Portions paraphrased from “About Shade Grown Coffee,” Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, www.nationalzoo.si.edu, 2009.