Pictured right: San Pacho coffee small trees growing in the shade at Finca El Jabalí, Santa Ana Volcano, El Salvador. Left: Brazilian sun-grown coffee trees growing.
In the fast world we live in today many focus on yields, speed & profit with a low-time preference that might get you those today but at what cost. Coffee in this sense, is no different. Many countries focus on fast-growing, better-yielding and more profit generating sun grown coffees. This has led to clear cutting of forested areas in order to plant more coffee in a way that can easily be mechanised and get more fruits from the tree. For some farmers this is the best way of doing things, they reduce their labour costs, and increase their profits at the end of the year. Win-win right?
Not so fast. Sun grown coffee does come at a cost, and more than anything it’s environmental. Clear cutting large areas of land to plant coffee trees brings problems. Firstly these coffees in order not to wither under conditions not native to the plant need large amounts of chemical fertiliser, the soils are depleted since only one type of plant grows in them, they need extra watering not to succumb to the intense heat and they need more fungicides and pesticides to withstand damage from disease and pests.
Shade grown coffee grows slower in a condition that’s not only better for the plant itself but for the whole environment. Native tree species provide shade and shelter for birds and other species of animals native to the forested areas which now grow coffee. The soils are not depleted due to monoculture, organic growing or even low-fertiliser approaches are possible with shade. Coffee picker jobs are created as they can’t be replaced by vibration mechanised harvesters. Water is retained and not used as the shade and natural mulch covers the surrounding soil.
Luckily in El Salvador, today, most farms are still shade grown. But in our fast paced world the temptation to switch to sun-grown is there for many growers with the promise of better yields. But this high time preference has a high cost in the environment and humans as well. Large rains run off shade grown areas which can lead to flooding in populated lowlands. More pesticides and agrochemicals are running off into streams, lakes, and eventually our oceans. Prefer shade grown, it’s better quality coffee and encourages growers to have more sustainable practices.
We are what we eat, and drink, and at GoodBeans El Salvador Specialty Coffee all of our coffees are bird friendly, environmentally friendly, shade grown coffees.