Organic Coffee and Its Health Benefits
In the entire world, coffee is one of the most popular and second largest traded commodities after the oil. As more and more people become aware of health, organic coffee is gaining immense market share.
Starting from the time in around 800 AD when a goat herder from Ethiopia saw goats from his herd literally dancing after they ate some red berries from a coffee bush until about 1800 when brazil took the lead and became the largest producer of coffee in the World. In the earlier times coffee was usually reserved for royalty and the elitist class in the society.
In modern times, certain rules and regulations have been formulated for the range of food items including organic coffee which are to be raised on land without using any chemicals. These organic practices in agriculture are more required in the hilly areas where the use of insecticides or fertilizers, would pollute the watershed in lower areas and also water supply from rains.
Today many companies are offering organic coffee, each of which is asking for its place in organic coffee market by following the regulations which have been formulated in The Organic Food Production Act in the year 1990. There are detailed steps and procedures which are to be followed by those growing organic coffee, which involves regular testing of the company’s processes to maintain the “organically produced” certification.
Fields Where Coffee is grown must be Certified as Organic
Though the raising and handling process for coffee must indeed be organic but the fields used to raise the organic coffee crop must also be declared organic and should not have any of non-organic substances in it since last three preceding years before first organic harvest is taken. This would make it possible to ensure that any of non-organic matter is in no way a part of the coffee growth.
Because of the requirements to be fulfilled as per the Act and also the cumbersome process to gain and maintain the organic certification for coffee, organic coffee comes at the high cost as compared to non organic counterpart. People don’t mind to pay more for something they consume so regularly when they are assured of its quality and that it is bereft of any harmful chemicals detrimental to their health. Organic fertilizers like coffee bean shell and other trees mulchings are used as nutrients for coffee crop.
Organic coffee trees are sometimes grown in shade to protect the upper layer of the soil from getting bleached by sun rays. The nutrients of the upper soil are thus used by coffee plant to produce beans which provide good aroma and flavor.
