Shade-Grown Coffee, a Guilt-Free Way to Enjoy Your Morning Cup
Coffee Addicts, Listen Up! Your Favorite Morning Ritual Is Safe.
With all the “tea is healthier than coffee” talk, it can feel like a personal attack on my favorite morning ritual. That delicious cup of coffee is the only way I drag myself out of bed each morning, now I’m supposed to replace it with… tea?! Sure, green tea and matcha have caffeine, but if we’re being real here, it’s just not the same. The enchanting smell as I grind up my beans and the slow drip from the pour-over are my morning meditations. Those four minutes of silence are sacred. If I’m really lucky, I’ll be able to drink that cup in peace before the chaos undoubtedly ensues. Once my 5 year old wakes up, any semblance of a peaceful morning is out the window. And once the 9-5 grind begins, it’s email overload and never-ending fire drills. My foot is on the gas pedal all day long and I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. But, when that jolt of energy kicks in from my glorious cup of coffee, I’m much more capable of tackling the numerous tasks in my day. So how dare they try to take away my morning ritual!
Eat less carbs? Sure.
Skip the dessert? No problem.
Ditch the coffee? Not a chance.
But here’s the thing, I do care about my health…a lot. I strive for a holistic lifestyle, focused on whole-body wellness. That’s why I started this business, to spread the word on small, approachable adjustments to live a more holistic lifestyle. So, with this being my professional and personal goal, the cognitive dissonance is driving me insane! How can I live a healthy lifestyle and still enjoy a guilt-free cup of coffee? There’s a way, I promise. The secret lies in where the coffee is grown. Let me introduce you to shade-grown coffee!
Follow along to learn:
What’s wrong with conventional coffee
What is shade-grown coffee?
Benefits for you and the environment
How the heck to find it!
What’s Wrong With Conventional Coffee?
The fact of the matter is, conventional coffee beans are packed with chemicals. That cup of joe is supposed to be a bright spot in your morning, not a vessel for a chemical-laden beverage. What we put in our bodies should be nourishing, especially first thing in the morning. Coffee in moderation has many positive health benefits. But not all coffee is created equal. There are two ways to grow coffee beans: in the sun or in the shade. Conventional coffee beans are grown in the sun. When large plots of land are cleared for planting coffee beans, they are easier to farm and ripen more quickly due to direct sunlight. But, they are much more susceptible, therefore needing fertilizers and pesticides to survive. Sun-grown coffee lacks protection from trees, which should be surrounding them in their natural environment.
So why are farmers cutting down trees for coffee bean crops?
Sun dramatically speeds up the ripening process and produces higher yields
They can farm significantly more beans in a more condensed space
Monocropping is easier
It’s crazy to think about, but 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed per day1. Those higher yields of sun-grown coffee beans appeal to larger coffee companies and are easier to farm. Instead of hand-picking in between trees, a clear-cut coffee bean monocrop is much simpler and quicker. And we all know: time is money.
What Is Shade-Grown Coffee and What Are the Benefits?
Shade-grown, on the other hand, promotes the coffee beans native ecosystem. This doesn’t require clear-cutting or mono-cropping (where they plant the same single crop over and over). The coffee beans grow in their natural environment, under a canopy in the rainforest. Shade-grown coffee beans rely on this protection from the sun, wind, and rain. The shade prevents moisture from leaving the soil and leaves falling from the canopy control weed growth as they decompose. This elevates the quality of the soil, ensuring it’s nutrient-rich year after year. Not only does this mean herbicides and pesticides are not requied, it also means the crop ripens much more slowly leading to complex flavor development.
The end result?
A tantalizing morning cup of coffee
A superior taste thanks to prolonged flavor development
Coffee that makes your body feel good
Now you can enjoy that morning cup of coffee reaping all the benefits of quality coffee, without the negative side effects of conventional coffee beans.
Good for You and Good for the Environment
Need another reason to explore shade-grown coffee? It’s good for the environment too! All that sun-grown mono-cropping kills the natural ecosystem. The topsoil suffers and this is why herbicides and pesticides are required. Those chemicals only further the never-ending cycle. As the natural microbes die, the crop becomes reliant on those chemicals to survive. Instead, shade-grown farming operates within the natural ecosystem, working harmoniously with its environment.
Key benefits of shade-grown farming:
Preserves biodiversity
Supports animals, birds, vegetation, and reptiles, protecting many species and their natural habitat
Those shade-creating trees filter out the carbon dioxide in the air that we breathe. Conventional farming clears those trees!
Shade-grown coffee is healthier, yummier, and helps the environment. Winning all around!
How Do I Find Shade-Grown Coffee?
This is harder than it should be, quite frankly. Shade-grown is not regulated like organic is. That being said, generally, if your coffee beans are organic, there is a good chance they are shade-grown. It is nearly impossible for sun-grown clear-cropped coffee bean plots to survive without herbicides and fertilizers, so these would never qualify for an organic certification. There are some proud shade-grown producers out there taking a stance on being organic and shade-grown. It doesn’t take a long Google search to start discovering this proud group of farmers. The best part, the more coffee loyalists that make the switch, the easier it will be to find shade grown coffee. With demand, more farmers will make the switch and be rewarded for their hard, important work.
I hope this gives you faith that you can continue your beloved morning ritual knowing that your morning kick-start is safe and nourishing. A simple switch from sun-grown to shade-grown coffee beans ensures a guilt-free start to your day. Now you can truly enjoy that morning cup in peace!
Let’s Keep The Conversation Going!
Interested in leading a more holistic lifestyle, but not sure where to start? It can feel daunting and overwhelming to step into newness… I’ve been there! Let me help shine some light on simple ways to easily integrate holistic practices into your daily life. Sign up below!
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