Organic Coffee

Do you ever wonder what organic shade grown Latin American coffee actually means?  Recently I traveled to Honduras for a medical trip.  I was able to tour a local campesino's farm and see just what it takes to grow this sought after coffee.  First of all the nursery was a row of baby coffee sprouts just sitting in the shade.  There was no actual building.  He explained that the plants grow best in the shade and the weather is good this time of year so no shelter is needed. The coffee seedlings are then planted on a hill a few feet apart under the shade of a huge tree (the type of tree is unknown because my Spanish is not THAT good).

After one year, the red coffee pods are harvested.  They are placed in a funnel and processed by turning the crank by hand.  The remnant pods are used for fertilizer.  The beans are then dried in the sun.  The outer skin is removed and they are dried again.  After the second drying, they are sent to be roasted.  This particular farmer grows coffee for his family.  If he has extra at the end of the season, he sells it in town. That's a lot of coffee for one family!  Who knew it took all that to get cup of Starbuck's?