Organic Coffee: Not Just a Cuppa Joe
Organic coffee. Fair Trade coffee. What do those terms mean, anyway? Isn't coffee all the same?
It helps to know the terminology, so first off, let's define them
Under Fair Trade conditions, an importer must pay a minimum price per pound, and provide financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible. Since Fair Trade Organizations bypass middlemen and work directly with producers, they are able to operate very efficiently and return a greater price to the producers.
Fair Trade is about building long-term relationships and while it's a relatively new effort, many coffee brands are beginning to join the program. The whole idea is to be fair to the growers and not exploit them for unfairly low prices.
Organic standards require that the land used to grow organic coffee crops go through a three year "transition period" to make sure the crops are free of chemicals and then prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, irrigation, sewage sludge and no genetically modified organisms can be contained in any coffees labeled organic.
For years, coffee wasn't considered healthy. Many people tried to "cut back" on how much they drank, and doctors frowned when their patients told them how much they used. Now, however, coffee has been found to be brimming full of great things—including antioxidants!
Air is coffee's biggest enemy, and if left exposed after roasting, coffee gets stale after just 9 days. Store coffee in an air- and light-tight container. Do not store coffee in the fridge or in the freezer, as doing so will diminish the coffee's flavor as the moisture is absorbed by the beans or ground coffee.
Published 09/07/07
