Some Facts About Coffee with Special Attention to Coffee Produced in the USA!



An awesome view at Hacienda Central Pellejas
in Adjuntas, PR



Yes, you may be surprised that coffee is actually produced within the United States! In fact, there are two places where coffee is produced in the USA. One is in the State of Hawaii and the other is a lot closer to the Continental USA, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (a US Territory).

Take a look at these interesting facts and if you know of any others please let me know!!!!

 

(1) Coffee is cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas around the world, but only in Puerto Rico and Hawaii in the United States;



These are the coffee plants
blooming under the shading
canopy of native tropical trees.



(2) Over 150,000 U.S. citizens in Hawaii and Puerto Rico depend on coffee production as their main source of income

(3) The farm revenue of coffee is estimated at $32 million for Hawaii and $42 million in Puerto Rico (parchment equivalent basis)

(4) Shade coffee plantations are a simplified but stable ecosystem that provides highly structured ecological and agricultural diversity;



The shading canopy of these tress provides
a lot of great environmental services.



(5) Shade coffee plantations are critical for the protection of fish and wildlife, including native, endemic, and migratory species, many of which are endangered and threatened.

(6) Shade coffee plantations are excellent buffer zones around natural reserves, providing a smooth transition between urban and natural areas and protecting the surrounding ecosystems;

(7) Shade coffee plantations played a critical role protecting biodiversity in Puerto Rico by providing wildlife habitat during a period when the landscape was severely deforested;

(8) Shade coffee plantations can produce many secondary crops in addition to coffee, increasing the natural biodiversity of a farm and provide an economic incentive by diversifying cash crops for sustainable farming;

(9) Sun-grown coffee plantations hold up to 90 percent fewer bird species than shade coffee plantations, require very high chemical input and year-round labor, lead to greater soil erosion and higher amounts of toxic runoff, seriously affecting aquatic ecosystems like coral reefs, sea turtle nesting beaches, and wetlands;

One of our proud coffee producers in Puerto Rico!

(10) Several voluntary private lands conservation incentive programs, such as the Department of Interior’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife program and the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and Environmental Quality Incentive Program have successfully developed a model for shade coffee restoration projects in Puerto Rico.

(11) It is necessary to promote the use of permanent shading trees in United States coffee plantations.