Comments on: Making Sense of Coffee Labels: Does Your Coffee Support Wintering Warblers?

By: Jared G

Jared G — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:14:45 +0000

Thanks for updating this page. I went to the bird friendly coffee tasting in 2009. There’s an awesome bird call sound room at the Ornithology Lab.

By: Gus

Gus — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:42:10 +0000

Thanks for your question, John. I posed it to Robert Rice, research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and he said that while he’s not familiar specifically with the Los Santos region of Costa Rica, “from the description, it’s most likely in a cloud forest (or former cloud forest) area, where shade trees are often quite sparse by choice of the growers for reasons of disease control. Too much shade in these wet, foggy elevations leads to problems with a number of fungal pathogens. The 3 meter vegetation he mentions would not meet the 12 meter standard for Bird-Friendly certification.”

By: John R T

John R T — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:57:00 +0000

The mountainous Los Santos coffee-growing region of Costa Rica seems to be an ideal location for SI certification. However, the farms I have visited comprise such steep terrain, few ‘trees’ survive; various shrubs mature and persist to heights over three meters.
My question, Gus, “Am I being too precise? do these smaller plants satisfy the 12 species per hectare spec?”

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 14:31:47 +0000

I was under the impression that buying organic coffee was the same as buying bird friendly coffee so thanks for giving the specifics.

By: Joyce

Joyce — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 15:56:57 +0000

No bird friendly coffee shops in the ever progressive Madison, WI?? What’s up with that!

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 20:00:01 +0000

I need to correct my comment re Song Bird Coffee: While its true the ABA is a bird-centered organization, I have no idea if Songbird Coffee meets the requirements noted in the original article. I was surprised the writer had not come across it, that was my point. I didn NOT intend to endorse Songbird Coffee! It may be bird friendly but I really do not know for sure.

By: Dian Miller

Dian Miller — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:11:06 +0000

Thanks Chris, I will add that to my post about about java choices. I will do some searches for that.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 18:29:42 +0000

Great article but there is no mention of Songbird Coffee, a brand heavily marketed through the American Birding Association (Aba). The coffee brand claims to be “shade grown”, as well as Fair Trade, and the company “gives back” a percentage of sales to the ABA. It is quite heavily marketed through the ABA. They are a large, very bird-committed organization.

By: Anna Clark

Anna Clark — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:13:43 +0000

Hi Gus,

I know we spoke about the 30% minimum content requirement while you were researching this piece, but I wanted to address this so anyone reading your article will understand.

The Rainforest Alliance allows companies to use our green frog seal if contents contain a minimum 30% Rainforest Alliance Certified content, but companies must clearly display this fact on packaging. In part because of the demanding certification standards, which were established by grassroots conservation groups, it takes time to build supply. Allowing companies to use the seal before they have reached 100%, but have made a commitment to increase to 100% as soon as practicable, is a realistic approach that benefits wildlife, workers, and their families.

I also want to highlight the importance of Rainforest Alliance certification in providing habitat for birds. The Sustainable Agriculture Network criteria for Rainforest Alliance certification requires coffee farms to maintain at least 40% forest cover over their crops, with an average of 12 different native tree species per hectare. This is vital for migrating birds.

In El Salvador, for example, the 146,000 acre Apaneca Biological Corridor is a patchwork of forest fragments of high ecological significance, connected by shade-grown coffee farms. These connectors safeguard migration routes for wildlife, including the country’s more than 500 bird species.

This provides a good example of the tangible impacts of the shade requirements of Rainforest Alliance certification.

Cheers,

Anna

By: Gus

Gus — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:34:57 +0000

Good question, Scott.

I don’t have any experience in retail, so I’m not sure what the levers are for getting retailers to carry Bird-Friendly coffee, beyond their customers asking them to carry it.

I did find this link of Bird-Friendly coffee importers on the Smithsonian website: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/coffee/search.cfm?type=r

Perhaps if you talked to your local coffee shops and grocery stores and directed them toward that list, the stores could contact the importers about sourcing Bird-Friendly coffee.

Another point to make when talking to retailers: Bird-Friendly coffee is superior quality coffee. Because it is grown in a natural forest setting, where decaying leaf litter acts as fertilizer instead of chemicals, Bird-Friendly coffee is richer tasting. Also, because coffee in a forest setting can’t be machine harvested, it must be picked by humans, who are capable of choosing only the ripe coffee berries.