WHY MESS WITH SOMETHING NATURE CREATED PERFECTLY?
We prefer shadow over pesticides. Coffee plantations are one of the largest users of chemicals, while coffee has a much richer and mild taste without those synthetic pesticides and fertiliser.
Traditionally, coffee bushes grow in the shadows of trees. But coffee berries grow faster when they're exposed to sunlight and when they’re not surrounded by any other plants. This is called a monoculture, which has the disadvantage of needing a lot of synthetic pesticides and fertiliser. The use of these chemicals cause a negative impact on the number of plants and animal species in the region and it causes air pollution that is harmful to farmers and the environment. In this way, synthetic pesticides and fertiliser contribute to global warming.
The traditional and natural way of growing coffee beans has a smaller yield, but produces coffee of way better quality. Thanks to shade and ground cover plants, coffee berries grow less fast and have therefore more time to ripe completely.
When farmers switch to organic farming, they invest directly in the future of the environment and in the future for themselves. It takes five years for a farmer to become certified after switching to organic farming. Organic farming is more labour-intensive and it results in less harvested beans per hectare, but the quality and therefore the value, is better. Growing organically and paying attention to better quality gives the farmer a higher income and we get to drink better coffee.