Organically Grown vs Organic

A year of reflection, pros and cons of organic certification. Our thoughts going forward. 

It's been 8 years since I've started roasting coffee, organic and non-organic. Going forward as our business and many others look to plan ahead in what are very uncertain times, not only for coffee prices but pretty much every other area such as energy, shipping and food. We've been working hard to devise a plan to keep quality high and costs low:

Organic Certified VS Organically Grown:

To become Certified Organic farms must demonstrate compliance with Certified Organic requirements and pay for certification, including the room, board, and travel of third-party certifying agents.

This gets incredibly pricey — too pricey for small farms and subsistence farmers. Sure, the farmer may be able to make a few more cents per pound on his beans but the certification — even if there is no procedural change required to comply with the certification requirements — is often too high and too risky for small farmers.

We've found that the overwhelming majority of Certified Organic farms are larger commercial farms that may or may not be growing the highest quality coffee, or may not be growing it in a way that is best for the native ecosystems.

So, the coffee is Certified Organic and the roaster can show that on the label, right? Wrong.

Once a farm successfully receives their Organic certification, they may say their coffee is Certified Organic but that does not mean the roaster or final reseller can call the beans Certified Organic.

We have previously gone through the process of organic certification and inspection. For a roaster to use the Certified Organic label, they must also complete Organic certification.

The costs of inspection (plus percentage fees for every product sold) and the requirements are incredibly time consuming, which ultimately does drives up the price for the consumer - surely there's a better way?

To be a Certified Organic roaster, you can only use your roaster for Certified Organic coffee. 

You must store organic coffee separately. 

You must record each and every sale to each and every customer. Record weights pre and post roast and quantity packed. 

To receive certification roasters must also prove that they have dedicated Certified Organic grinders and packaging machines, that they only use organic packaging, and that all companies that have had control of the beans for processing are also Certified Organic.

Bearing in mind the coffee we purchase has already been certified and as a small scale roaster, this is a lot to ask. We now prefer to engage in direct trade from non-Certified Organic farms and really love to offer carefully grown coffee from farms that do not use artificial pesticides. 

A Better Way - WBR Certification:

Now we run our own lab tests to certify that the coffee has been organically grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers and go one more stage, above and beyond organic certification and test for mould and mycotoxins. 

Like many other small and medium-sized roasters, we use only the highest-quality, sustainably-grown arabicas and choose not to complete Organic certification. Given we cannot use the Certified Organic label even on coffees that are Certified Organic, we refer to those coffees as organically-grown or naturally-grown.

In our experience, naturally-grown coffees that are not Certified Organic are of equal or better quality to their Certified peers — and they are most often better for the farmer.

A substantial percentage of high-grown, shade-grown arabicas are grown on small plots, high in the mountains, nurtured and harvested by indigenous people who practice traditional, natural farming techniques.

In many places, such as Sumatra, pesticide, herbicide, and fertiliser use is almost unknown. In the rare chance that a farmer has access to pesticides or fertilisers, most cannot afford to purchase them. In less remote areas, such as Central America, where herbicides and pesticides are an option, most growers of high-quality arabica will only use them under extreme circumstances, such as to ward of coffee rust disease, which could damage an entire crop and drag a farmer into financial ruin if not treated.