You can save between $1,324 and $2,135 a year drinking specialty coffee!

Well, we all know that the recession is hurting and we are doing all we can to cut on our expenses. Well, I’ve been thinking about this a lot in trying to find ways to save my hard-earned money. I love freshly–roasted coffee and I don’t want to waste my money.

A few days ago I made some simple math calculations to analyze how I can cut cost on my coffee drinking habit without sacrificing the quality of my daily nectar of gods. For this simple analysis I’m using some of my previously published “coffee facts” blogs (see it at http://shade-growncoffee.blogspot.com/2008/01/here-are-some-great-facts-about-coffee.html)

The average American drinks 3 cups of coffee a day. The average coffee cup cost $1.50 for regular and $2.45 for espresso. Simply put, we spend between $1,642 and $2,682 a year in coffee drinks! We spend all this money not only because we love coffee but also because our productivity increases. We are more alert. We share coffee with friends. We socialize better. We become happier. You know, these are just some of the benefits I get from coffee. However, I can still cut these costs and get all of these benefits by simply buying freshly-roasted specialty coffee and brewing it myself home or at the office.

If I buy a pound (16 oz.) of medium to dark roast coffee I can brew up to 40 cups of this wonderful nectar. Taking the prices of some of the best Specialty coffees that fluctuates between $12 and 20 a pound, each cup of coffee (regardless if it is regular or espresso) you brew will cost just between $0.30 and $0.50. This translates into daily savings of between $3.60 and $5.85 a day or yearly savings of between $1,324 and $2,135 a year! (NOTE: If you drink at Starbucks or any of the other more expensive coffee shops you can multiply these costs and savings by at leas a factor of 2!)

As you can see enjoying a good cup of coffee doesn’t need to be a casualty of this recession. Just by buying fresh coffee ready to brew and brewing it yourself you’ll be saving a lot of money!

Leo

http://www.gooddogcoffee.com/

Restoring Tropical Environments, or Is That Coffee Shade-Grown?

I wrote this article back in 2001! It was published back in 2001 in the US Fish and Wildlife News (http://www.fws.gov/news/pdf/News_SP04.pdf) (Page 16). We'll need to update the number of acres etc. but It's still very current.

I'm not in Puerto Rico anymore but the number of acres of shade coffee plantations restored are WAY MORE! Thanks to the hard work of all the hard-working coffee producers, Non-profit Organizations, and the government agencies involved (both local and federal). But most of the credit should go to Mrs. Silmarie Padron which has been in charge of these efforts for the last 6-7 years!

(This little bird is the "Puerto Rican Tody".
A species that can only be found in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico.
This bird is very common in shade-grown coffee plantations.)

Here is the article:

Restoring Tropical Environments, or Is That Coffee Shade-Grown?

Is your coffee habit destroying tropical habitat? If you’re not drinking shade-grown coffee, then the answer is YES! Traditionally, coffee was cultivated under a shading canopy of native trees in tropical areas of the world. Modern coffee plantations are often monocultures grown in direct sunlight, creating conditions that cause increased stress on coffee plants. Their response to these conditions is to “reproduce before dying,” producing more coffee beans per plant, but only for five to seven years. The plants then rapidly drop their production of coffee beans, are increasingly vulnerable to insect and disease damage, and soon must be replaced. The remaining soils are nutrient poor and easily eroded. Within the U.S., coffee is commercially cultivated only in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Shade coffee plantations are a simple but stable agro-ecosystem that can be an important wildlife management tool. A shaded canopy provides most of the ecological functions of the natural environment, including soil conservation, nutrient recycling, habitat for native, endemic and migratory birds, and shelter for many plant and wildlife species. As an added bonus, recent studies have demonstrated that net yields and profits from shade coffee plantations are higher than modern cultivation methods. Of the approximately 90,000 acres of coffee grown in Puerto Rico, less than 40 percent is shaded by a canopy of native trees.

The Service’s Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program in the Caribbean is the only shade coffee restoration effort currently occurring within the U.S. Through this voluntary, private landowner-Service partnership, simple habitat restoration techniques were developed that allowed farmers to improve production, reduce the application of fertilizers and pesticides, and reduce labor costs. In addition, secondary crops, such as citrus fruit, bananas, plantains, coconuts, pineapples, cut flowers, and other products diversify the farmers’ products, making farming more sustainable way of life.

In its first four years, Partners for Fish and Wildlife has restored more than 1,000 acres through this innovative tropical habitat restoration partnership. Working with the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, Agricultural Extension Service, and Organization Envirosurvey, Inc., has led to great success. Even local schools got involved – working with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, they provided more than 10,000 native legume trees. The primary benefit of the restoration was habitat enhancement for many Neotropical migratory birds, endemic birds, such as the Puerto Rican vireo, endangered Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus venator) and the Puerto Rican boa (Epicrates inornatus).

So next time you go in search of a Cup-AJoe, consider where those coffee beans came from and all the benefits of shade grown coffee—better yet, remember that the Service is making a difference by restoring tropical habitats. And make that next cup of coffee shade-grown!
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For more information go to http://www.gooddogcoffee.com/

Leo

Shade Grown Coffee and Coral Reefs

Well, A few years ago I gave a presentation on this topic. Today, a co-worker asked me about it. Not the presentation, but about the possible effects of runoff from coffee plantations in Hawaii and Puerto Rico on coral reefs.

I started to talk about all the issues related to clearing tropical forest and/or the shading canopy of coffee plantations. You know, run off, soil loss, chemical pollutants etc., using the example of both Hawaii and Puerto Rico. These are the only two places within the USA where coffee is produced! Anyway, a 30 minutes conversation could be summarized as follow:

You cut the tropical forest canopy in the hills, a lot of rain falls in a small tropical island (e.g., Puerto Rico, Hawaii), water start rushing down hill. A few hours later all that water carrying sediments and pollutants reaches the ocean and cover all the coral reefs and sea grass beds....


This is a newly created "sun" coffee plantation in Yauco, Puerto Rico. See the steep hill? Add these steep hill to over 90 inches of rain/year and you know what will happen to all that soil and sediment...





By the way, this particular area is less than 15 miles from one of the most productive coral reefs in Puerto Rico (La Parguera and the Guanica Forest area).



This is the actual run off from the heart of the coffee region of Puerto Rico at the mouth of the Rio Culebrinas (or "Culebrinas" River).











Do you see the connection?

Leo
http://www.gooddogcoffee.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-love-coffee-because/65983923688

The Chesapeake Bay-Coffee Connection

You may wonder why I’m writing about coffee and the Chesapeake Bay when coffee is not even grown in the Chesapeake area. Well, I can tell you that there are many reasons. Some that you may know and others you may not. First of all, I love coffee, everything from growing it in my native Puerto Rico to roasting it here in the Chesapeake watershed. Although this is a very personal and important to me it is not why I want to talk to you about the relationship of coffee with the Chesapeake Bay.

I know that many of you are coffee lovers. We Americans consume over 2.5 billion lbs of coffee every year but, did you know that coffee beans, for the universally popular drink, are cultivated in more than 80 tropical countries around the World? And, with over $150 billion in annual retail sales and providing employment for more than 100 million people, coffee’s economic value is second only to petroleum. In addition, more than 124 million acres are currently cultivated with coffee in the most biologically-diverse tropical lands of the world.

There are two basic types of coffee plantations, namely shade-grown and sun-grown coffee. In shade-grown plantations, coffee plants grow under the shading canopy of larger trees. Most shading trees are native species commonly found in surrounding natural forests, providing important habitat for wildlife, protecting the delicate tropical soils and water resources. On the other hand, “sun coffee” plantations are a monoculture of coffee trees where, in order to increase production, the natural shading canopy of trees is eliminated exposing the coffee plants to full sun light. These plantations do not support native forest trees and wildlife species as traditional shaded coffee plantations do. In addition, since these monocultures can’t take advantage of the natural ecosystems they require higher inputs of fertilizers and pesticides affecting even more the delicate tropical ecosystems. The bottom line is that with shade coffee plantations you have nature working with you and with sun coffee you are working against Mother Nature.

Many of the birds that inhabit these shade grown coffee habitats are our own Chesapeake birds that migrate and winter in the tropics. Yes, many of our birds expend on average between 5 and 7 months every year, foraging and living in coffee plantations in South and Central America and the Caribbean. For example, the Black-throated Blue Warbler, Red-eye Vireo, Gray Catbird, and our beloved Baltimore Oriole, just to mention a few, all winter in tropical habitats including shaded coffee plantations. If these habitats are degraded or eliminated, our Chesapeake birds may stop singing.

We can help keep our birds singing by buying shade-grown coffee. Ask your local retailers to carry shade-grown coffees from the wintering habitats of our Chesapeake birds. Now look out of your window or go to your favorite birding spot and enjoy a fresh cup of shade-grown coffee. When you hear the birds singing at you they may be saying thank you!

Real Facts about Coffee: A guide to Coffee Lovers!

Here are some great facts about coffee:

• The average cost of a cup of coffee in the U.S. fluctuates between $1.50 for regular coffee and $2.45 for espresso.
• The average American drinks 3 cups of coffee a day.
• A pound of ground coffee (16 oz.) produces ~ 40 cups of brewed coffee.
• Every pound of coffee in US coffee shops generates approximately $90.00.
• Most female coffee drinkers, drink coffee to relax.
• Most male coffee drinkers, drink coffee to have more "energy."
• More than half of all Americans drink coffee every day.
• Over 31 Million American drink "specialty coffees" which means "fair trade" "shade grown" "bird friendly" "organic" or any combination of these!
• The USA is the largest coffee consumer in the world.
• Coffee is produced within the United States of America ONLY on Hawaii and in Puerto Rico (a Commonwealth of the US).
• Approximately 8,000 acres of coffee are planted in Hawaii.
• Approximately 80,000 acres are planted in Puerto Rico.

You can find great coffee in our store at: West Indian Treasures, Inc.

Do you know more coffee facts? Let us know and we will post them here!

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Coffee Roasting Levels

I get many questions about the different levels of roasting coffee beans. Well, I love coffee so much that very quickly I start talking about at least a dozen different levels of roasted coffee beans. People start looking at me like if I am a coffee geek. Yes, I think that it may be true in some ways but, it made me realize that people just want to have a basic and simple idea of the different roasting levels. So, here it goes...

The images below show the basic levels of roasting coffee beans. Please, read the description of each level and think about what is your preferred one!

There are several other levels in between these but, as I mentioned before, I do not want to complicate your life. My preferred levels are City Roast and Vienna Roast depending on the type and size of the beans and how you will drink the coffee.

Green Coffee Beans - These are the beans ready to be roasted. This is how we buy them. As soon as you make your order we will take our green coffee beans and roast the to the desired level.

Yellow Tan - These beans have been in the roaster for approximately 8 minutes. Most of the moisture is gone. They are starting to roast at a faster rate. These beans are not ready to be used for brewing coffee.

Light Roast - These beans are starting to "crack." Yes, just like pop corn! At this stage the coffee roasting process could be stopped and the coffee could be brewed. It will generate a very light brew, not very tasteful. It will be just like brewing "coffee tea."

City Roast - Oh! This is my preferred roasting level for most coffee beans. The beans are done with their first crack and almost ready to start cracking again for a final second crack. At this level the coffee flavor and aroma are balanced and very complex. Not too strong, not to light, just right. I recommend this level if you like to drink your coffee with no cream, sugar, or anything else. Just plain coffee.

Vienna Roast - Another of my favorites!. This roasting level occurs about a minute after the second crack starts. This is a great roast level for small beans. Small beans (16 mm or less) are usually harder that big coffee beans (17 mm or more). Also this level is good if you like your coffee with milk, cream or any other flavor. I would also recommend it if you like strong plain coffee.

French Roast- This is the most common espresso roast level. This roasting level occurs about a approximately 3 minutes after the second crack starts. The roast master got to be very careful at this point because the beans are getting too hot and could be spoiled very easy. It is very good level to brew flavored and/or iced coffee. It has a very strong but simple flavor. Personally, I don't like it that much but if you like iced or any flavored coffee I fully recommend it.

Charcoal! - Well, this is not really a coffee roasting level. No roast master will ever spoil coffee beans this way. As a matter of fact, if the beans get to this level he or she must call 911!

Now enjoy your coffee!

Leo

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Selva Negra Coffee Estate Restoration Project in Nicaragua

©Leopoldo Miranda-Castro

Recently, I came across with Selva Negra Coffee Estate Restoration project in Nicaragua. You can find it at: http://www.selvanegra.com/en/newsletter/2007/07-01-DetailHow.html

What a great project! I'm very glad that the people managing the Selva Negra Coffee Estate published this story because many people think that restoring shade coffee is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3. It is not! It takes good planning, resources, sacrifice, dedication and commitment. It is a long-term project with the main goal of reaching sustainability in every sence of the word.

In my oppinion, this is one of the best examples of how we could use shade coffee to restore many of the ecological functions of degraded areas, such as the pasture lands described in this newsletter. Touching a little bit on what I talked about in my March 2007 blog (Shade-coffee and its use as a wildlife management tool: the case of Puerto Rico), wildlife managers as well as coffee growers should focus on using these degrated habitats (e.g., pasturelands, sun coffee plantations) to expand their future activities by restoring the native shading canopy. These restores areas will provide a piece of habitat for fish and wildlife species that was not there before. At the same time, these practices could be used to eliminate the need of "taking" natural forested areas to establish new coffee plantations.

Please, take a look at their site. I'm sure you will like it.

Leo