Another habit from the COS Creation Care Team:
What’s the big deal about shade grown coffee?
According to Scientific American, bird populations have plummeted 39% since 1970. For the beautiful cerulean warbler, it’s 70%. One of the main reasons is the loss of habitat. At Cornell University, researchers say a single warbler may spend 80 days in boreal forests in Canada, 30 days in the United States resting and refueling, and more than 200 days in Central America—often returning to the same shade-grown coffee farm year after year. But as forests have been cleared to make way for sun-grown coffee plantations, migratory birds have suffered. “Whether you care about supporting the livelihoods of farmers, conserving biodiversity, maintaining productive and healthy environments, or enjoying a great-tasting cup of coffee, it all points to shade-grown coffee,” said ecologist Amanda Rodewald from Cornell.
Did you know we use only shade-grown coffee at COS? There are several places to get it: Costco has the Ruta Maya brand that you can order online, or you can purchase the Higher Ground brand in their stores.