Why you don't see organic certifications on our coffee
You’re not alone if you’re wondering why you don’t see organic certifications on our coffee (and many other specialty roasted coffees!). We get the question all the time, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to do some explaining.
The Organic Certification is theoretically a great and easy indicator of quality and sustainability. In reality, though, the certification is not so simple. The structure of certifications (organic, fair-trade, etc.) create logistical and financial barriers which prevent (or create significant hardship, sometimes at the risk of losing land/facilities/etc, in the quest to become certified) coffee producers and roasters from being eligible for these certifications at the outset. Further, the organic certification is not a guarantee of better quality and flavor — nor of more money for the farmers.
At Catahoula Coffee Co. we source the finest green beans from Royal Coffee — not only the very best quality but from growers that are responsible to the earth and their farmers — and roast them to perfection. When it comes to coffee the bean source, quality, and roaster are all important. We choose our beans from farmers around the world who have a commitment to responsible farming and their communities. We recognize the importance of being sustainable and responsible to our planet — we have determined that the organic certification on dairy is quite an important indicator and thus use organic milk in our cafes. Our commitment to being sustainable goes further, which is why we partnered with MCE Clean Energy many years ago, and are among Richmond’s first Deep Green Champions.
If you want to know more about the organic certification process and what that means for our coffee, keep reading!
For coffee to be labeled as organic, each step of its journey must be certified organic. Coffee beans have a long journey from their growing-place to the grocery store shelf. It’s grown by farmers, some who are part of a larger collective producer, sent to exporters/millers, shipped and held by importers, then roasted and bagged by roasters before it makes its way to your mouth. Sometimes there are special processing plants along the way, too! To be certified organic on the bag, each step along its trip from plant-to-cup requires an official organic certification — established standards by the USDA — costing each step between $200 to $1,500 annually. The standards are complicated and difficult, including no use of prohibited substances (most, but not all, synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers) on the land for at least 3 years prior to certification. The farmers must also demonstrate crop rotation methods and pay an annual fee for inspection and certification. For small-scale farmers (most of the coffee we source), this cost is often prohibitive, even if they do satisfy the organic requirements (again, most of the coffee we source). Additionally, if they do decide to certify, it is not uncommon for farmers to be faced with a situation where they have to choose to either lose their entire crop to disease, or throw 3+ years of work down the drain by using a potentially prohibited substance to save their crop. Coffee farming is the livelihood for these small-scale farmers and for them to lose an entire year’s income just to be certified, when the majority of their practices are sustainable and responsible to the earth, is, in our minds, ludicrous.
However, regardless of what the farmers and processing plants along the way decide to do, for us at Catahoula’s roasting lab to be certified organic, all of the organic coffee has to be de-stoned, roasted, ground (if that’s your thing), and packaged separately from any non-organic coffee. This requirement demands that we either purchase two sets of equipment or only offer organic coffees. Without meeting those requirements, we are legally barred from using a USDA Organic label.
All this to say, the organic certification does not guarantee a quality cup of coffee. In fact, there is concern that farms and facilities that can afford to become Certified Organic are operating on a large scale and often prioritize economic benefit over quality of coffee. The factors that we believe are most important to a delicious cup of coffee are harvest and processing techniques, farm elevation, soil type, coffee storage and shipment processes, plant-to-roaster time (freshness), roasting process, water quality, and brewing method (why we LOVE the Aeropress!).
In short, or TL;DR as they say these days, most of our coffees meet organic and sustainable practices and standards, but for reasons usually associated with cost and access, they do not satisfy the totality of USDA requirements. In our opinion, and in consensus with other small coffee producers, the highest guarantee of high quality and healthy coffee is to be responsible with your choices: choose small farms who use responsible growing practices and roast on a small scale. When choosing which beans to use, we consider growing and harvest seasons, soil types, farming practices, farm elevation, multicropping, weather, and responsible end-to-end supply chain guarantee to be of the utmost importance. Though we do not require every step to be certified organic, nor do we pay for the USDA certification, our quality guarantee is that we do the research to responsibly source our coffee and provide you with the best quality and taste combination.
If you’d like further reading, see below:
“For Many Small Farmers, Being Certified 'Organic' Isn't Worth the Trouble”
“Organic agriculture and ecological justice: ethics and practice“
“5 Reasons Getting USDA Organic Certification Is Really Difficult”