Why Does Organic Matter?

In our last blog we talked about what “organic” means and how Desert Sun provides you with organic coffee, but why does it matter? Everyone says to buy organic foods, but what are the implications it has on our health and on our environment? In this blog, we will cover five reasons buying organic matters for you.

1. Your Health- We live in a day and age where you can go online and purchase almost anything you want. However, it can be hard to know whether or not these products are good for you and your body. Organic foods are on the rise because they are grown using natural methods that don't include harmful chemicals that can cause problems like cancer. However, some companies still provide no proof as to how they are "organically" producing these products. However, you don't have to doubt that with Desert Sun. Simply go on our Fair Trade Proof website, click on one of our farmers, and click on their organic certification document to see for yourself. We also regularly visit our farmers to make sure they growing organic and are receiving the funds they need to continue. 
2. Environmental Health- We know that harsh chemicals aren't good for our bodies so you can imagine what they do to our environment. Many coffee farmers were convinced by large coffee corporations to cut down their shade trees in order for more sunlight to reach the smaller coffee bushes which in turn would produce more coffee beans. However, coffee plants prefer shade and also need biodiversity to have unique flavors. So after realizing their decreasing harvests, many farmers had to resort to chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow enough coffee. Through Cooperative Coffees we have been able to educate and support farmers in organic practices such as bringing back previous biodiversity and now the coffee plants are thriving.
3. Ethics- Fair trade and organic practices are often seen hand in hand. Why? Because they work better together. Organic farmers need to be paid enough to ensure that they can continue their organic farms. Desert Sun not only pays what is considered fair trade, but actually pays more. Not only do we pay them more but we also build lasting relationships with them. We guarantee purchases up to two years in advance so farmers can count on us purchasing from them. To see more information on how many nags we have purchased from out farmers check the Fair Trade Proof website or Coop Coffees. 
4. Experience- Organic doesn't only mean a healthier cup of coffee for you, but also a tastier cup. Due to the biodiversity mentioned earlier coffee beans actually gain specific flavors from the environments they're grown in. These special flavors can be artfully pulled out of the beans during the roasting process to create a better cup for you. The flavors depend on the roast style and the roaster, but a good specialty, organic roaster should focus on bringing out those unique characteristics. For example, our Seasonal Columbia is lightly roasted to bring out the lemon and black tea notes.
5. Sustainability- As previously mentioned, the biodiversity that comes with organic methods is a beneficial and natural process as compared to chemical, and industrial methods. As one of our farmers, Betty said she wants to share the "values of cultivating coffee in harmony with nature". All of our farmers have abandoned the new harmful, chemical-filled ways of growing coffee beans and returned to their community's natural ways. This has led to better coffee and a higher demand for organic coffee. With that increased demand, small farmers are able to get paid fairly and grow their organic farms to produce more healthy, sustainable coffee. 

We hope you can see that all five of these points are connected: when we grow coffee in a way that is beneficial to the earth it is also beneficial for us and when people are willing to pay for organic coffee farmers are able to benefit and in turn, produce better coffee. It is a cycle that we hope will just continue to grow and get better over time. Our goal is to make the world better one cup at a time, but it is only through customers like you who care about our health and our environment that we are able to do this. So thank you for your support!

Because we care,