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A Glossary for Birders
Arabica. One of the two primary taxa of coffee,
Coffea arabica, has about two-thirds of the world market. Worldwide,
coffee has at least 24 varieties (with exact classification a
matter of debate). By contrast with robusta coffee, arabica shrubs
thrive at higher elevations in a cooler, drier climate. Arabica
beans are generally considered to produce better quality, more
flavorful results. Colombia is a major producer. Two important,
traditional varieties of the species are Bourbon and Typica (Spanish
típica).
Backbone tree. The predominant canopy species in a
shade-grown coffee farm.
Beneficio. The mill that performs the processing
of coffee cherries to produce green coffee beans.
Bird-friendly. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
has trademarked this term to describe environmentally sensitive
coffee grown under defined criteria, including a shade spectrum
or shade gradient. Among other things, the criteria state a minimum
percentage of shade cover, exclude certain genera as backbone
trees, and promote diversity by limiting the proportion of Inga
trees in the canopy. Buffer zones and living fences are encouraged,
while removal of epiphytes is discouraged. At present there are
about a dozen companies adhering to this particular certification.
Building on the concept of
a gradient, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has used the
following criteria to select coffee to be labeled "Bird-Friendly":
- recommended minimum of 10
species of shade trees, no more than 70 percent of Inga
- minimum shade cover of 40
percent at noon
- minimum height of 10 meters
for backbone trees; some shorter and saller plants mixed in
- limit pruning of shade trees
and removal of epiphytes whenever possible
- maintain road and stream buffers
Buffer zone. As it applies to coffee farming, a
wide strip of vegetation along a stream to control erosion and
runoff. Also, land that intercepts pesticide and fertilizer drift
from non-organic fields.
Carbon sequestration. Capturing atmospheric carbon (carbon
dioxide) and storing it by one of several mechanisms to reduce
this greenhouse gas and its contribution to global warming. Carbon
may be stored in living (green vegetation and forests) or non-living
reservoirs (soil, geologic formations, oceans, wood products).
Coffee berry borer. Hypothenemus hampei, one of the few
insect pests of coffee, and one that is perhaps more troublesome
to sun coffee. The insect is called la broca in Spanish.
Coffee leaf rust. Hemileia vastatrix, a fungal disease
of coffee, known in Spanish as la roya. Somehow, spores (perhaps
from Africa) arrived in Brazil in 1970, and an outbreak occurred
in Nicaragua in 1976, panicking the industry. For most of the
Neotropics, the rust has not been the threat that was originally
anticipated.
Cupping. Analogous to a vintner's wine-tasting:
roasting, brewing, and tasting coffee under controlled conditions
in order to assess quality. Coffee gourmets judge acidity, aroma,
body, and finish.
ECO-O.K. Labeling program co-managed by the
Rainforest Alliance, applicable to coffee and other agricultural
products. Firms pay a licensing fee to use an identifying logo;
they are subject to a "chain of custody" auditing procedure
that monitors the flow of product from farm to consumer. ECO-O.K.
certification addresses a wide range of issues: fair treatment
of workers, community relations, minimizing use of agrochemicals,
integrated waste management, and conservation of water, soil,
wildlife, and the entire ecosystem.
Epiphyte. Any plant that does not root in soil
but rather uses another plant species for support. Among flowering
plants, the best-known epiphytes are orchids and bromeliads.
In the forest, epiphytes shelter insects vital to the food chain.
Estate coffee. Coffee from a specific defined area
under cultivation with common farming practices, intended to
yield precise flavor characteristics in the cup. See also varietal
coffee.
Fair trade. Promotion of more equitable, less exploitative
dealings with producers in developing countries. Sometimes called
alternative trade. The fair trade movement is more visible in
Europe. In terms of coffee production, fair trade principles
stress minimum prices; credit availability; and stable, long-term
business relationships directly with farmer cooperatives, avoiding
intermediaries or middlemen. Sustainable agricultural practices
are of perhaps secondary importance.
Finca. Spanish for "estate," a specific
coffee farm, either large or small.
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Coffee
Contact: Glossary
Coffee Contact
For those unfamiliar with trends
in the area of sustainable coffee, we present some basic definitions.
This is in lieu of the usual Web site FAQs that you may be familiar
with. The three basic trends in sustainable coffee are shade,
organic, and fair-traded coffees. These terms and others, essential
to understanding the intricacies of the sustainable coffee scene,
have been presented by David L. Gorsline and Jennifer McLean
and are listed in alphabetical order below:
Arabica: One of the two primary taxa of coffee,
Coffea arabica, has about two-thirds of the world market. Worldwide,
coffee has at least 24 varieties (with exact classification a
matter debate). By contrast with robusta coffee, arabica shrubs
thrive at higher elevations in a cooler, drier climate. Colombia
is a major producer. Two important, traditional varieties of
the species are Bourbon and Typica (Spanish típica). Arabica
beans are generally considered to produce better quality, more
flavorful results. The whole bean and specialty segments of the
North American coffee market use the higher quality arabica beans.
Fair trade: Promotion of more equitable, less exploitative
dealings with producers in developing countries. It is sometimes
called alternative trade. The fair trade movement is more visible
in Europe than it is in the United States or Canada. In terms
of coffee production, fair trade principles stress minimum prices;
credit availability; and stable, long-term business relationships
directly with farmer cooperatives, avoiding intermediaries or
middlemen.
Organic coffee: Produced by an approach that views
the farm as an ecosystem. Emphasis is placed on recycling, composting,
soil health, and biological activity with the goal of long-term
protection of the farm environment. Synthetic chemicals are rigorously
avoided.
In accordance with the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture is standardizing the use of the
label "organic," subsuming various state standards,
like those of Oregon and California. Organically-grown coffee
is not necessarily shade-grown, but it usually is. This is because
the trees of the canopy provide several necessities to the organic
coffee farm, among them leaf litter (which acts as a fertilizer),
resident wildlife species that control pests, and the retention
of moisture.
Robusta: The other primary taxon of coffee,
Coffea canephora var. Robusta. (The taxonomy is not clear-cut:
some sources use "robusta" to refer to any variety
of C. canephora, and some use "robusta" as a species
name.) As indicated by the variety name, robusta trees grow taller,
are more resistant to pests and disease, and produce more fruits
than arabica. It is grown in Africa and Brazil, but not very
much in Central America, and holds the remaining third of the
world market. The caffeine content of robusta beans is about
twice that of arabica. Considered inferior-tasting, robusta is
often used for instant coffee and in supermarket-grade blends.
Generic supermarket coffee is typically a blend of good arabica,
medium quality arabica, and robusta. The instant coffee segment
is comprised primarily of processed robusta and lower quality
arabica.
Shade-grown coffee, shade
coffee: A term with
no clear-cut definition, generally referring to coffee grown
under a natural canopy and to farming practices nearer the "rustic"
end of the shade spectrum. But unfortunately, at this time, "shade-grown
coffee" can be whatever the seller says it is. A number
of organizations are working to establish a standard, enforceable
label, among them the Rainforest Alliance's ECO-O.K. program
and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's "bird-friendly"
criteria. American bird conservationists in particular are interested
in shade-coffee. Depending on the species of shade trees used
and the structure of the tree cover, anywhere from a few to scores
of resident and migratory bird species will use Latin American
and Caribbean coffee farms for food and cover. Ornithologists
have consistently documented the importance of shade-coffee habitat
in the increasingly deforested landscape of the Neotropics.
Since coffee grown in the shade is slower-ripening, and often
is drawn from vintage cultivars, there is the suggestion that
it tastes better, with more complex flavors. However, the roasting
process contributes just as much to the quality of coffee in
the cup.
Shade spectrum, shade gradient:The shade-vs.-sun distinction is certainly
not black and white. Mexican coffee researchers and technicians
have devised a five-category continuum "management spectrum
for coffee," running through a spectrum of shade and cover.
This basic shade gradient has become a familiar centerpiece in
discussions on quantifying shade:
- rustic (rusticano): the least
intensified (and increasingly rare) practice; coffee shrubs are
planted in the existing forest with little alteration of native
vegetation; also the least expensive practice, typically used
by small family-owned farms that produce a modest crop of coffee.
- traditional polyculture (policultura
tradicional): more managed than rustic coffee, involving deliberate
integration of beneficial plants (fruits, vegetables, nuts, medicinal
plants, etc.), and resulting in greater species diversity than
commercial polyculture (below); the crop diversification helps
farmers in years when coffee prices are depressed; in many traditional
indigenous systems there is no distinction between wild and domesticated
plants and some plants are weeded, tolerated, or encouraged depending
on household needs and the season.
- commercial polyculture (policultura
comercial): similar to traditional polyculture, but some shade
is removed to make room for more coffee shrubs; yields are higher,
but some agrochemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides) are usually
needed; generally planted with a distinct backbone species, but
more diverse than specialized shade (below).
- reduced or specialized shade
(sombra especializada): uses a single, pruned canopy species
to provide shade, typically from the genera Inga, Erythrina,
Gliricidia, or Grevillea; coffee shrubs are planted more densely,
and the farm has a manicured look; since the overstory consists
of one or two species, its vertical structural diversity is reduced.
- full-sun or unshaded monoculture
(monocultura sin sombre): does away with the canopy completely;
the unshaded intensively-managed fields are highly productive
if given the requisite agrochemical inputs; farms such as these
have one objective: producing coffee for market.
Sun coffee: Used to describe coffee that is not
shade-grown, and generally used disparagingly-often neat rows
of coffee beneath direct sun or scant shade, compared to the
fuller canopy of a traditional shade-based farm. These newer
coffee hybrids have been developed for sun tolerance and compact
growth, therefore yielding more coffee per hectare. The flip-side
is that more chemical inputs-fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides-are
needed for sun coffee than in traditional cultivation, and, of
course, the land is denuded of trees.
Sustainable Coffee: Here is another term that does not
have a widely-accepted definition. For coffee agriculture and
resource development, the term implies concern both for laborers'
working conditions and trading practices and land tenure systems
that do not impoverish farmers-as well as sensitivity to the
environment, minimization of pollution, and independence from
non-renewable energy sources. At the intersection of ecology,
economics, and politics, sustainability is concerned with the
equitable allocation and consumption of resources, now and in
the future.
Technified coffee: The word "technification"
is a back-formation from the Spanish tecnificación. The
practice of technification was spurred by the spread of coffee
leaf rust to the New World in the 1970's. (The coffee leaf rust,
Hemileia vastatrix, is a fungal disease of coffee, known in Spanish
as la roya.) Technification projects were assisted by the United
States Agency for International Development (U.S.-AID). Technification
goes beyond the intensive management of shade and shrubs to the
application of agrochemical inputs and the introduction of higher-yielding,
disease-resistant varieties of coffee that respond well to those
inputs. Like the "Green Revolution" that was expected
to provide miraculous high-yield agriculture through new strains
of rice, wheat, and corn, the sun coffee revolution has failed
to fulfill its promise. It has, instead, contributed to ecological
degradation, loss of important habitat, and economic strain.
On some modernized farms, sparsely planted trees are kept to
add some nitrogen to the soil and to hold it in place on steep
hillsides. Some of these technified farms have been called "shade
coffee farms" when in fact the few shade trees remaining
are pruned back each year to little more than stumps. Estimates,
as of 1993, put the percentage of technified coffee acreage range
at 10 percent in El Salvador and Haiti, 40 percent in Costa Rica,
and nearly 70 percent in Columbia.
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Navigating
the Sea of Terms - A Coffee Buyers Primer
Mark Inman, Roastmaster, Taylor
Maid Farms
Fair Trade, Shade-Grown, Certified-Organic.
These terms have become "buzz
words" for coffee drinkers around the world. Unfortunately,
most of the media paints a very simplistic picture of these terms
and their environmental or social significance. As a fourteen-year
veteran of the coffee trade, specializing in Certified-Organic
and Fair Trade coffees, it disappoints me to see the media use
these terms to simply sell a "juicy story." Granted,
it would be difficult to dilute these complicated issues down
to an easily digestible sound bite, conveniently packaged into
a marketable seal for the mindful consumer. However, I believe
the cure to the ills of the ongoing coffee crisis lie in a change
of consumer perception rather than the support of one seal over
another. Aside from imparting the vital importance of the current
seals, I hope to convey the artistry of specialty coffee and,
more importantly, to raise issue with the low value consumers
place on this intensely hand crafted product.
It's All in the Details -Shade-grown
and Bird-friendly
These terms are almost interchangeable
and refer to the conditions under which coffee is grown. Traditionally,
the coffee varieties of Bourbon and Typica were grown under a
canopy of shade, which protected them from the harsh sun. This
canopy was multi-storied, closely resembled a rustic forest,
and provided habitat for a myriad of flora and fauna. With the
industrialization of the coffee production model, coffee farmers
have become dependent on systems using full-sun hybrid varieties
with high-chemical inputs and mechanized harvesting methods.
Gone are the days of having to harvest coffee around all those
other pesky trees, plants and critters. With this agricultural
shift came massive deforestation, population decline of migratory
birds and other key species.
Shade-Grown coffees support
these important issues in farming today. It ensures that multiple
species have habitat, that the coffee varieties are predominately
heirloom and not hybrid and that there is preservation of the
dwindling tropical rainforests. Sadly, Shade-Grown coffees only
address one aspect of the complex coffee picture. The seal is
criticized for its failure to address the viability of proven
organic strategies, the use of agrochemicals, or whether the
coffee trees come from genetically modified root stocks. Finally,
the purchase of Shade-Grown coffee does not address important
socioeconomic issues.
Fair Trade
Fair Trade addresses primarily
the price points at which coffee is sold and traded on the world
commodity market. Coffee, like oil, pork bellies, and frozen
concentrated orange juice is traded on a market based on speculation
and futures. When frosts hit Brazil, analysts might predict a
short supply, which in turn causes a spike in the coffee market
and prices go up. When there is oversupply in the market, as
is the case today, the prices fall. When market prices fall below
$1.00/Lb., as it has been for the last three years, farmers face
the choice of starvation, loss of land, or urban migration replete
with the usual bleak array of living options. Fair trade ensures
a "floor" price that allows farmers to make minimal
profits in such low markets. Fair Trade farmers receive a guaranteed
minimum of $1.26 for non-organic coffees and $1.41 for Certified-Organic
coffees.
Like Shade-Grown and Certified-Organic
coffee, Fair Trade is a work in progress and not a panacea for
the present crisis. The limitations of the Fair Trade program
is that only cooperatives, democratically operated along detailed
guidelines laid down by Transfair USA, can apply. However, many
traditional coffee farms are not co-ops. They can be privately
owned or run in a tribal or communal setting. Such structures
may produce premium coffee using strict environmental guidelines,
pay decent wages, provide humane working conditions for its workers,
but it cannot earn the Fair Trade label and premium.
Despite their claims to the
contrary, the guidelines of Transfair USA do not adequately address
issues surrounding the environment, biodiversity, species preservation
or whether or not the coffee trees come from genetically modified
rootstocks.
Certified-Organic
Organic farming is truly more
about relationships than simply "chemical-free" farming.
The checks and balances that result from an organic system comes
from the interaction of a wide variety of life forms. From bacteria
and rhizomes below the ground to pollinators and flowers above
the ground to a bear crapping in the woods on the ground, organic
agriculture is more a system of relationships than a means to
a marketable seal.
Organic coffee farming ensures
that shade-friendly varieties of coffee are planted. Chemically
dependent, full-sun hybrids or genetically modified coffee trees
cannot (by law) be used. The purchase of Certified-Organic coffee
ensures it is not grown using any of the common pesticides, herbicides
and fungicides used on coffee, many of which are banned in the
United States. Similar to Fair Trade, Certified-Organic coffees
offer a premium to farmers (around 40 cents above the commodities
market) and during low markets, Certified-Organic farmers are
able to turn profits. Small family farmers who participate in
cooperatives produce most of Certified-Organic coffee available
to roasters. The purchase of Certified Organic coffee creates
the ability for small farms to compete against larger coffee
interests. In many third world countries, the division of wealth
is wide (a few wealthy, many poor and almost no middle class),
therefore purchasing Certified-Organic, similar to the Fair Trade
system, helps to close the gap.
The fly in this system's ointment
is that some farmers can come up short with Certified-Organic
depending on geographic location. For example, despite similarities
in growing practices and overall crop quality, a farmer in Costa
Rica or Sumatra could be receiving premiums far above the organic
Fair Trade floor price. On the other hand, if you are a farmer
in Mexico, Peru or Bolivia, you might see prices at or a little
below the non-organic Fair Trade minimum. This is where both
supply and demand play a role in determining the price for the
same amount of work.
Multi-Certification
Double and triple certified
coffees are a combination of the above certifications. Multi-Certified
coffees close the loopholes that make individual certifications
weak. For all the reasons stated above, the current recommended
purchase for maximum benefits are Certified-Organic, Fair Trade
coffees.
Changing Our Perception Of
Coffee
Media exposure has raised the
global consumer's awareness of the growing crisis in the world
coffee market. What do these low prices mean to you, what does
it mean to the environment, what does this mean to the people
who grow the world's premium coffee beans?
Be it Starbucks, Peets or Green
Mountain, most specialty coffee companies purchase within the
top echelon of quality coffee-namely from the top 10 percent.
Ultra-premium coffee companies such as Taylor Maid Farms, Batdorf
and Bronson and Intelligentsia are purchasing within the top
3 percent. The consumer has been getting the deal of a lifetime
for the past 20 years! Consumers have been able to taste the
finest coffee available for less than 25 cents a serving; that's
right, you are able to go to a supermarket or cafe, purchase
the most superlative coffee the world has to offer, go home and
brew yourself a cup for .25 cents. What quality of wine, chocolate,
cognac or cigar do you believe you would get for .25 cents a
serving, how about .40?
And why is that? Specialty
coffee is one of the finest hand crafted products in the world.
Like wine, there are "old vine" or heirloom varieties
of coffee. Such trees need special attention, making mechanization
close to impossible, and offer different tastes and aromas depending
on which region or elevation that variety is grown. Coffee requires
10 times the hand attention of wine production, 5 times more
than chocolate and cigar production. In fact 36 humans touch
your pound of coffee before you grind and brew it.
The coffee crisis is not so
much about a global glut on coffee (most of this coffee you would
never consume) as much as it is about the public's perception
of specialty coffee. Americans were raised on bottomless cups
of insipid brown water that cost around 3 cents per serving.
We awoke to the sweet sound of the breaking vacuum seal of 2lb.
cans of Folgers or Maxwell House that our parents purchased for
2.99. Coffee was the stuff of breakfast that you used to wash
down toast. It was not "gourmet" by any stretch of
the imagination and it was certainly not the type of beverage
you would have waited in long cafe or drive-thru lines.
But times have changed, more
Americans are waxing poetic about their Java estate, Nicaragua
Segovia, or Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. More Americans are drinking
espresso-based beverages than in any other point in our country's
history. In their minds, coffee consumers are beginning to understand
the complexities of coffee, yet in their wallets they still carry
the memory of the price of a 2lb can of Maxwell house. Supermarkets
have jumped on the "coffee boom" bandwagon of selling
specialty coffee, now being responsible for 74% of all specialty
coffee sold, yet they still will not allow coffee companies to
offer products for over 10 dollars a pound. Why? Does their wine
department set a price cap on a bottle of wine?
In reality, specialty coffee
should be selling to the consumer for over $20.00/Lb. This increase
(only changing the price per cup from .25 cents to .40 cents
for home use) would eliminate the chain of poverty and destitution
that plagues so many farmers worldwide. It would allow farmers
to actually earn a living being a farmer (interesting concept)
rather than being the charity cases they are made to be. If we
invest more in the quality of their products, in return, the
consumer receives a more environmentally and socially just cup.
Fair Trade, Shade-Grown and
Certified-Organic are simply verifications for consumers that
minimum-controls are in place to ensure balanced agriculture
and social elements. Labels are not the complete answer to the
plight of the farmer, you are. If you, the consumer are unwilling
to pay more for coffee, then farmers worldwide will abandon the
notion of specialty coffee, turn to a mechanized system where
coffee will be grown on flat, monoculture fields in full sun
to meet your acceptable price point. That future is up to you.
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