As a coffee drinker, you probably know that organic products are free from synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and roasting processes burn off any residual chemicals. But what you may not realize is how organic growing methods have an even bigger positive impact on the environment and communities worldwide than simply eliminating chemical pesticides.

Coffee production occurs largely in developing nations, where it provides income to families and communities. Unfortunately, however, becoming certified organic can be prohibitively expensive for these farmers – they must submit paperwork, pay fees, alter farming practices in order to meet organic certification standards, which may reduce yields significantly while becoming financially burdensome for many producers.

To be certified organic, coffee must be grown free from synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides; while maintaining soil health through natural means such as composting and organic fertilizers. Furthermore, organic farms must use only non-GMO plant varieties and have not used synthetic substances on their land in the previous three years.

After coffee beans have been grown and harvested, their processing facility must meet organic standards in order to label it as such. The National Organic Program (NOP) stipulates that facilities handling organic agricultural ingredients be certified. If coffee is being sold as organic it must also be roasted and ground at an NOP certified facility.

Organic certification can be a challenging and lengthy process, and must include many steps and documentation submission. After that comes an on-site inspection to verify if a farm meets NOP organic criteria; an accredited organic inspector must conduct this step.

Small-scale coffee growers find organic certification a challenging endeavor due to high fees and stringent requirements. Furthermore, it’s often hard to ascertain if specific criteria have been fulfilled as there are so many standards out there; an organic coffee must contain at least 70% organic ingredients with none being synthetic in origin. Still, certification provides roasters an invaluable opportunity to build credibility within their industry and gain trust from consumers.

Variety Coffee found the organic certification process an invaluable opportunity to review their cleaning procedures, record keeping practices, employee training programs and organizational structure in depth and implement many improvements that made their facility more efficient while helping them better prepare for an organic inspection.