Hey coffee lovers, are you curious what the deal is with organic coffee? Too often, people think that switching to organically grown coffee is about avoiding synthetic chemicals in their cup. While certification prevents the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers, its impact goes much further than your kitchen counter.
We’ll walk through exactly what organic coffee is and why it matters, not just for the consumer but also for the environment and the people growing it, because healthy farms are interconnected ecosystems where environmental health and thriving communities blend together.
What Is Organic Coffee?
Organic coffee is coffee that’s grown without any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.
While true, there’s more to the story. It’s a holistic farming method that leaves a lower environmental footprint than conventional coffee production.
However, simply avoiding chemicals doesn’t achieve true sustainability. To realize the full potential of positive impacts, we believe coffee is best grown under shade. These two practices work best together to help preserve native biodiversity, protect water resources, promote a healthy soil biome, and sequester more organic carbon, helping combat climate change.
What Makes Coffee Organic?
While organic farming practices are older than “conventional” methods, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the USDA standardized and started certifying organic practices. The USDA certification (and most other certifying bodies) requires the following:
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No use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
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Only natural and organic-approved pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers are allowed.
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No use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
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Farms must be verified chemical-free for three years and undergo annual inspections.
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Soil and water protection measures must be maintained.
While these are excellent baseline measures, we sell only certified organic, Fair Trade shade-grown coffees. Why? Because being organically grown is just one critical step. Standard certifications don't require coffee to be shade-grown, which is crucial to support healthier, biodiverse ecosystems.
We also stress the importance of Fair Trade because it provides more stable pricing and stronger trading relationships for farming cooperatives. Alongside that, our People-Centered Development approach goes further, ensuring projects are designed and managed by the farming communities, making them more sustainable in the long term.
Why Organic Coffee Matters
When you hear most people talk about why organically grown goods are important, they typically talk about the health benefits for the consumer. While we 100% think consumer health is important, our focus has always been so much broader.
At Dean’s Beans, we’ve always been organic; it's right in our name and a core focus of our mission. It's a non-negotiable foundation of our company that traces back to our founder's experience in the coffeelands watching farmers apply pesticides without personal protective equipment (PPE). That direct risk for the farmers stuck with Dean and shaped how we built our company.
This experience is why we believe the value of organic farming is measured not just by what it means for consumers but, even more importantly, by what it means for producers. We never buy non-organic coffee, so our farming partners don’t have to work in fields filled with synthetic chemicals.
The Key Benefits of Organic Coffee
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Protects communities by eliminating synthetic chemical residues from the environment and the farming communities.
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Builds topsoil to sustainably feed the plants, rather than stripping nutrients and eroding precious topsoil away.
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Promotes biodiversity by ditching synthetic pesticides and herbicides, allowing more native birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects to thrive on the farms.
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Provides natural pest control since birds and insects keep most pests in check naturally without intervention.
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Reduces soil erosion and compaction with better water infiltration.
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Increases soil organic matter. A continuous 40-year study on organic farming practices at the Rodale Institute found more organic matter, which enhances the soil carbon sink and increases microbial biomass, promoting plant health and productivity.
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Resistance to extreme weather. Rodale's studies also found organic farms may produce higher yields during extreme weather than conventional crops.
How Organic Coffee Is Grown
Organic farming focuses on working with natural systems using readily available materials instead of relying on chemicals to temporarily enhance yields at the cost of long-term sustainability.
Natural Weed Control
Organic farms never use synthetic herbicides like glyphosate to control weeds. Instead, weeds are controlled using organic herbicides, cover cropping, mulches, and hand-pulling.
In Sumatra, our partners at the KGLA cooperative use a more creative approach: they cut weeds with string trimmers and feed them to the goats in the village. Then they use the goat manure to fertilize the coffee crops. This is a great example of our People-Centered Development model, where organic practices are implemented in ways that best suit farmers.
Natural Pest Management
Instead of reaching for toxic pesticides, organic farmers promote native biodiversity to create balanced ecosystems not so prone to pests.
This is also why a number of our coffees carry Bird-Friendly certification, because farms with a canopy of shade actively support resident and migratory bird habitat, as well as habitat for beneficial insects. All those birds and beneficial insects feed on coffee pests, keeping most of them naturally under control without ever needing intervention.
If pests do become imbalanced, then and only then do they look to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), using natural, mechanical, or biological control methods rather than chemicals.
Organic Fertilizers
Instead of using synthetic fertilizers, farmers strive to support plants the way nature does.
How does nature support healthy plants? With healthy soil. When we add compost, manure, and cover crops, we build soil that’s structurally diverse, holding more water and air spaces. It also promotes a diverse soil biome, i.e., all those microbes that break down natural materials to make their macronutrients (N-P-K) and all those micronutrients available for the plants to use.
A healthy soil biome also holds onto nutrients better, preventing them from contaminating local waterways.
Many of the cooperatives we work with make their own organic fertilizers. The Agro Center of Bio Fertilizers is a vermicomposting (using worms) facility created by our partners at the ASOBAGRI cooperative in Guatemala. The fertilizer is sold at cost to the cooperative’s farmers, making it an important part of our People-Centered Development program that helps ensure organic practices are affordable and sustainable.
Does Organic Coffee Taste Different?
While taste is entirely based on personal preferences, the belief is that the lack of chemical residues may allow more of the true flavors to shine through. Furthermore, the beans are often hand-harvested rather than using machines, ensuring that only the ripest fruits are picked, which can also produce a richer, more flavorful cup.
But we think certified organic, Fair Trade coffees taste better because we know the care that goes into growing them. When you know your beans are contributing to a positive impact on the environment, the farmers, and their communities, it just makes your morning cup more fulfilling.
Organic Coffee vs Conventional Coffee: What’s the Difference?
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Organic Coffee |
Conventional Coffee |
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Weed control |
Organic herbicides, cover crops, mulch, weed trimmers, hand pulling, and goats. |
Chemical herbicides like glyphosate (Round Up) and others. |
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Fertilizers |
Manure and compost contain nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and all the microorganisms and micronutrients to promote healthy plants. |
Synthetic N-P-K fertilizers are used, which contain few to no micronutrients or microorganisms. |
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Pest Control |
Enhance biodiversity and let nature do the work. If necessary, natural, mechanical, or biological IPM methods are used. |
Chemical pesticides like carbaryl, diazinon, and imidacloprid are used, which have all been detected on beans post-harvest. |
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Soil conservation |
Soil conservation occurs naturally as regenerative farming creates healthier soil; it’s also often required for certification. |
Conventional farms and land clearing are prone to soil erosion and degradation. |
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Water conservation |
Water conservation occurs naturally with shade and biodiversity; reduced runoff is often required for certification. |
Water conservation is seldom considered. Chemical residues and increased erosion may also contaminate local watersheds. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Coffee Be Organic Without Certification?
Yes, coffee can be organically grown without certification since "organic" is a method of agriculture that uses only natural fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, so farmers can still practice organic methods without going through certification. However, you cannot legally label or sell coffee or any other product as “organic” in the US without certification.
Experience the Difference Certified Organic Coffee Can Make
When you choose certified organic, Fair Trade, shade-grown coffees, it’s about choosing a system that gives back to the environment instead of simply taking. It means choosing a system that protects local watersheds, sustains biodiversity, and keeps farming communities free from the risks of synthetic chemical exposure.
We deepen this commitment by investing in cooperative-led projects like local organic fertilizer facilities, which keep farming affordable and entirely community-directed, in line with the People-Centered Development model.
This is how every bean of our certified organic, Fair Trade, shade-grown coffees we roast reflects deep respect for both people and the planet. Brew great coffee. Create real change.
