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What are Green Coffee Beans?
Everyone is quite familiar with brown coffee beans that are used for brewing coffee, but have you ever seen green coffee beans? Coffee beans are naturally green before they are roasted. But, of course, there is another type of "green" and for the purpose of this review, we focus exclusively on green coffee beans that are grown in a way that benefits the environment and the local small farmers as well. In short, we review green organic and green Fair Trade coffee beans. Don't have a roaster? You can get one here. Or, you can simply buy roasted coffee beans from the same suppliers. We encourage you to learn more about the wonderful people who are dedicated to producing an excellent coffee in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly manner. Please support them!
What is Fair Trade Coffee?
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Around the world, coffee is primarily produced by small farmers. Historically, these farmers were exploited by middlemen who would buy coffee at outrageously low prices and then mark up the price by two-fold or more. The United Nations and other organizations endeavored to regulate the global coffee market for many years with mixed results. In 1988, a world-wide glut of coffee drove the price of coffee so low that a new effort, originally starting in the Netherlands, was launched to protect small coffee growers. Fair Trade USA is a member of the Fairtrade Labelling Organization International.
Fair Trade USA works with all sizes of companies to promote Fair Trade coffee. Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Dunkin' Doughnuts, and others actively promote Fair Trade coffee. The most important player, however, is the “Conscious Consumer” who deliberately purchases coffee with the Fair Trade label. Fair Trade USA works to support economic, environmental, and social stability in the Third World.
The practical benefit of Fair Trade coffee is that each grower is guaranteed a minimum price of about $1.26 per pound of coffee. Growers receive a premium if market prices are high. Each grower is required to market their coffee through a local cooperative. Organic production methods are encouraged, although actual organic certification is a separate issue. Typically, coffee grows as part of the understory. Shade-grown coffee is therefore better for the environment, because larger trees in the ecosystem are left in place. Shade-grown coffee has better flavor attributes than other coffee. However, the final responsibility falls on the consumer to purchase coffee that is Fair Trade coffee, organic coffee, shade-grown coffee or some combination of the three characteristics.
What is Organic Coffee?
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The word “organic” normally refers to produce that is grown in the absence of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The European Union, the United States, Canada, and Japan all have regulations for organic coffee. For the United States, Certified Organic Coffee must be grown and processed organically in accordance with the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) of 1990. Processing mills and even the bags that are used to ship organic coffee must be free of any cross-contamination with regular coffee. An Accredited Certifying Agency (ACA) can certify organic coffee produced outside of the United States. In the case of Hawaii, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) certifies organic coffee.
Advantages of Green Coffee Beans – Why Roast at Home?
A growing number of coffee drinkers prefer to roast their own coffee beans. You can have the freshest coffee in the world! Plus, green coffee beans cost much less than roasted coffee beans.
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