Fancy a dose of [Co(NH3)6]Cl3 or Fe(C5H5)2 in your coffee?? Me neither, that’s why we only use 100% organically grown coffee beans, guaranteed by the organic certification mark. In order to be certified as organic, growers have to meet strict criteria, including: • avoidance of synthetic chemicals, (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge; • use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for three or more years • keeping detailed written production and sales records as evidence • maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products • undergoing periodic on-site inspections.
Thankfully, as public understanding increases, the use of organic fertilisers in favour of inorganic ones is increasing. Since the early 1990's, organic food production has seen growth rates of around 20% per year, that's far ahead of the rest of the food industry, and at the end of 2008, organic food accounts for 2% of overall food sales worldwide.
We firmly believe that there is a time and a place for inorganic fertilisers, and agree that there will be times when it's just not feasible to avoid them, having said that, when it's possible to grow such delicious coffee using only natural fertilisers, tropical sunshine and old fashioned expertise, then we think that’s the way it should be done.