Organic coffee refers to coffee that has been cultivated using natural materials and methods with no herbicides or pesticides used to control pests. It is also usual not to use chemical fertilizer in organic coffee farming, but instead uses compost or animal dung that have very little impact on the environment.

There are certain conditions to be met in order to be certified as "organic coffee". In the United States, the coffee must be certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It must satisfy the follow three conditions before it can be receive certification.

• No synthetic herbicides or pesticides or prohibited chemicals used in the farm for at least three years.
• The farm must practice crop rotation to prevent depletion of nutrients and to control population of pest.
• The farm must be ideally located to include a suitable buffer between the organic farm and ordinary farm.

Coffee plants do not require too much sunlight in order to survive. They require a shady area in order for them to produce good quality coffee beans. Therefore, it is common to find coffee being planted in small forest where the tall trees can provide the much needed shelter.

In a way, the plants cultivated this way are organic coffee because no fertilizer was involved. The coffee plants obtain its nutrient naturally through the jungle soil and foliage. The diversity of the jungle flora and fauna makes the soil in the jungle very fertile. Droppings from wild hogs and other animals further provides natural fertilizer to the organic coffee plants. Birds and small animals that feed on insects help to control the pests that damage the coffee plants.

However, scientists have developed new species of coffee plants that can withstand direct sunlight. The main purpose of this is to enable the plants to be cultivated in open estates to improve efficiency and economies of scale. This makes them non-organic coffee because fertilizer needs to be added to the soil and pesticides have to be used to control pests and disease. It also causes problems to the environment because large tracks of forest are cleared to make way for the plantation. This also causes soil erosion and other host of problems.

The Future Of Organic Coffee

There is a great demand for organic coffee. According to the World Bank, organic coffee represents about 0.6% of the global coffee sold for the year 2003. The data provided by Organic Trade Association shows that organic coffee sales in the United States is up by more than 40% from previous year (2005). More consumers are aware of the impact of sun coffee towards the environment. Hawaiian coffee like pure Kona coffee is certified organic coffee.

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