Organic Coffee Is What? It's The Nectar of Life!

So, let's take a quick trip through the definition of organic and what this means for organic coffee and other organic products.

1) Synthetic fertilizers can't be used to raise certified organic crops.

2) Certified organic items cannot contain genetically modified plants or animals.

3) In order for an item to be labeled 100% organic it must only contain certified organic ingredients and/or processing agents, excluding water and salt.

4) The term "certified organic" is a little tricky. In this case only 95% of the ingredients need to be certified organic, but the remaining 5% must be on the USDA approved list and not be available in a non-organic form.

5) The USDA organic logo can be printed on any 100% organic or "Organic" item.

6) If an agricultural item, such as coffee is labeled as organic it wasn't be treated with nasty fertilizers like sewage sludge.

Onto Organic Coffee. Seeing as how coffee usually only contains "coffee", organic coffee blends are more than likely 100% organic, if they are only 95% the other 5% of the items must be printed on the product information panel.

You may be saying to yourself, "who cares if my coffee was grown without chemicals?" well here's a few reasons:

1) You certainly wouldn't want to imbibe a beverage that was fertilized with sewage sludge, do you?

2) One of my greatest comforts with the USDA organic certification is no gene splicing business.

3) For you decaffeinated coffee drinkers, organic coffee is your best friend. Standard decaf. coffees are processed by toxic organic solvents such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. Organic decaf. coffees are treated by a water method. There is epidemiological evidence to suggest that drinking conventional decaf. is associated with an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

4) Pesticides and herbicides are lethal in high concentrations. Many coffee farmers live in very poor conditions and may not be able to afford the right protective equipment, resulting in hazardous exposure to chemicals.

I could go on and on about why you would want to only purchase organic coffee. Then there is the production of pesticides and herbicides. The environmental destruction from this alone is motivation enough to persuade one to drink organic coffee.

In conclusion, there is the purity factor. Farmers growing their coffee organically must pay extra speciall attention to their crops to ensure they are not destroyed by critters. Whatever your beliefs, give organic coffee a thorough investigation before you dismiss it entirely.

About The Author If you have a jones to try Organic Coffee, then check out Nectar of Life Organic Coffee Company.