Coffee with a shot of conservation, Part 2

Which coffee to choose?

Bird Friendly. Fairtrade. Shade Grown.  Rainforest Alliance Certified. Coffee comes with a bewildering array of labels and I’ve never been sure exactly what they mean. What I do know is that how coffee is grown matters to the environment—and more. To help my decision about what coffee to buy, I decided to look into what those labels mean.

Was my coffee grown in a “desert” or in a rainforest?  

Coffee isn’t really grown in deserts, but clear-cut coffee plantations can be biological “deserts” in the sense that many species usually found in rainforests are missing.

Coffee with a shot of conservation: Part 1

Home or Away? 

I love foo-foo coffee drinks, coffee concoctions as smooth, thick, and scrumptious as melted ice cream—with flavored syrup, whipped-cream toppings, chocolate shavings—the works. That’s caffeinated comfort food!   But the coffee drinks I buy away from home aren’t good for my wallet, my health, or for the environment.