Oct 10 - Un Cafecito, Por Favor

Coffee Facts

-2/3rds world production exported from Latin America and Caribbean

-3rd most common import in US behind oil and steel

-US consumes 1/3rd of the world’s coffee

-Revenues exceed 10 billion a year, just behind oil

Traditional method

Grown under canopy of forest in shade or partial shade

Current method

Sun tolerant hybrid coffee plants, planted in cleared field (monoculture)

The Impacts

The Good

-Sun coffee has 3x the yield!

The Bad

-Less flavor

-Less biodiversity*

-Requires fertilization

-Requires insecticides

-Requires herbicides

-Requires fungicides

-Increases soil erosion

-Creates toxic run-off

-Not sustainable*

Biodiversity

-Shade coffee fields have 2/3rds the bird diversity compared to pristine forests

-Full Sun monocultures have less than 1/10th

-Shade coffee fields have as many as 40 species of trees that make up the canopy

-Full Sun monocultures have no trees

Just a Few Birds that Winter in Shade Coffee Plantations

Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Traill's Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-green Vireo
Barn Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Golden-cheeked Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole

-Bird Friendly Coffee - Certified as shade-grown and organic by an independent inspector. Coffee that comes from farms in Latin America that provide good, forest-like habitat for birds.

-Rainforest Alliance Certified – Goods produced using farm and forestry methods that are good for the people and the planet. Goods derived from farms and forests where water, soil and wildlife habitat are conserved, where workers are treated well, where families have access to education and health care and where communities benefit.

- Fair Trade Certified - Empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By guaranteeing minimum floor prices and social premiums, Fair Trade enables producers to invest in their farms and communities and protect the environment.

Shade Grown/Organic Coffee Vendors

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/

http://www.cafecristina.com/

Coffee Traders, Inc.
1400 East 4th
Austin, TX 78702
Contact: RC Beall
512-326-4333
512-326-2813 (Fax)
hbeall@texascoffeetraders.com
http://www.texascoffeetraders.com

Lola Savannah, Ltd.
1701 Commerce
Houston, TX 77002
Contact: Rebecca Smith
713-222-9800 or 888-663-9166
713-222-9802 (Fax)
lola@lolasavannah.co
http://www.lolasavannah.com

Wild Bird Center
8436 Denton Highway, Ste 206
Watauga, TX 76148
Contact: Maureen Hall
817-514-8804
watauga@wildbird.co
http://www.wildbird.com/wat

Specialty Coffee LC
1401 S. Rendon, New Orleans, LA 70125
work504.827.0878

Kaladi Bros. Coffee/Colorado
1730 East Evans Ave., Denver, CO 80210
work720-570-2166

Bisbee Coffee Company
PO Drawer B, Bisbee, AZ 85603
work520-432-7931

CoffeeAM.com
100 Londonderry Court Suite#112, Woodstock, GA 30188
work678-494-1915

Tradewinds Coffee Co., Inc.
5500 - 106 Atlantic Springs Road, Raleigh, NC 27616
work800-457-0406

Perk’s Coffee House
49 S Court St, Athens, OH 45701
work740-594-7375

Randy Lemmon’s Gardenline

http://www.ktrh.com/pages/gardenline.html