Responsible Coffee Snobbery Starts With Organic Farming — Here Are 8 of the Best Conscious Options
We take our coffee without pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
Published April 26 2024, 1:50 p.m. ET
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Your parents have clung to their beloved pre-ground Folgers Classic Roast for over two decades, but is it really "the best part of wakin' up"? Maybe you've thought of picking up a bag of Dunkin' coffee grounds in the grocery store as you favor the chain's cold brew. Unfortunately, neither Folgers nor packaged retail Dunkin' coffee grounds/beans are organic.
Caffeine Informer wrote that non-organic coffee "may contain chemicals and molds." Folgers, for instance, uses pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, which can not only damage our physical health, but the health of our planet.
According to a 2016 study, there are a slew of negative health effects that have been linked to chemical pesticides, including "dermatological, gastrointestinal, neurological, carcinogenic, respiratory, reproductive, and endocrine effects."
Pesticides can also infect soil, water, and vegetation, according to a 2009 scholarly article. This leads to the death of insects and plants and harms animals like fish and birds, negatively impacting their chances of survival.
Regarding people, "production workers, formulators, sprayers, mixers, loaders and agricultural farm workers" were listed as high-risk groups who come in direct contact with these toxic chemicals.
The best organic coffees that don't compromise on taste or responsibility.
Organic coffee farming not only protects the coffee drinkers, but the hardworking individuals who help bring your lips to the mug in the first place. These eight organic coffee varieties from responsible brands will surely enliven your palette.
Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. Three Blend Starter Kit
You'll be barking for Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. The charitable coffee brand donates 20 percent of all profits to animal rescue initiatives. The company has provided over 24,214 toys, 22,250 vaccines, and 4.2 million meals to pooches in need.
The Three Blend Starter Kit includes three bags of USDA Organic blends (of 100 percent sustainably sourced Arabica beans): Morning Walk Breakfast Blend, Paper & Slippers Medium Roast, and the Alpha Blend Dark Roast.
Purity Coffee FLOW Medium Roast (Whole Bean)
The Good Trade wrote that buying truly clean coffee all about "lab-tested, certified organic, or biodynamically grown coffee beans," recommending Purity Coffee.
Of its health-focused, regeneratively-farmed, traceable, and USDA Organic coffees, FLOW is a delicious Rainforest Alliance Certified medium roast coffee with notes of "roasted nuts, dark chocolate, and juicy apple."
Counter Culture Coffee Nueva Llusta (Whole Bean)
TikTok creator @cleankitchennutrition mentioned Counter Culture Coffee in his July 2023 video about avoiding mycotoxins. The Certified B Corporation prioritizes "environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability," building long-term relationships with producers, measuring and offsetting carbon emissions, funding sustainability via its Two for the Future program, and supporting World Coffee Research.
Nueva Llusta is an organic, single-origin light roast coffee from Bolivia with notes of black cherry and hazelnut!
Chamberlain Coffee Squeaky Squirrel Caramel Blend
YouTube fans adore Emma Chamberlain just as much as she adores coffee. Her company, Chamberlain Coffee, was "created on the basis of sustainability, authenticity, transparency. No pesticides. No b------t," the Gen Z YouTube star-turned-founder told Forbes in 2020.
Check out the Fair Trade, USDA Organic Squeaky Squirrel Caramel Blend! This medium roast from Colombia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua is "perfect for making a caramel latte or macchiato."
Groundwork Coffee Co. Organic Colombia Light Roast (Whole Bean)
TikTok's Courtney Swan, @realfoodology, listed Groundwork Coffee as one of her personal favorites. The Certified B Corporation only offers coffee that is "certified organic, directly traded, and ethically sourced." Groundwork Coffee works with family-owned smallholder farms and tries to purchase from farms that trusted organizations like Rainforest Alliance have certified sustainable.
The Colombia Light Roast is an AMUCC Fair Trade coffee with tangerine and milk chocolate notes.
Chameleon Organic Vanilla Flavored Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
Courtney Swan also favors Chameleon's cold brew.
"We use only 100 percent organic, Fair Trade Certified coffee beans. Also, our post-brewed coffee grounds are composted," Chameleon's marketing director, Rachel Fagan, said back in 2018.
The USDA Organic Vanilla Flavored Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate features Arabica beans sustainably sourced from Guatemala, Columbia, and Peru/Honduras, with notes of Madagascar vanilla, raspberry, and butterscotch.
Peace Coffee Birchwood Breakfast Blend - Ground Medium Roast
Insert LGBTQ+ iced coffee joke here! Peace Coffee is a proudly queer-owned, fair trade, organic coffee company that offers "deliciously do-gooding brews." The Certified B Corporation purchases coffee from small-scale grower cooperatives, gives back via the the Carbon, Climate, and Coffee Initiative, and delivers coffee via bike!
The Birchwood Breakfast Blend is a USDA Organic low acid medium roast with boasting notes of bittersweet chocolate, honey, and cedar.
San Francisco Bay Whole Bean Coffee - Organic Rainforest Blend
San Francisco Bay Coffee has an Enveritas Certification and a Zero-Waste Certification via Underwriters Labs, proving that it takes social, economic, and environmental responsibilities seriously. Plus, it gives back to its farmers and their communities via the Rogers Charitable Fund.
The USDA Organic Rainforest Blend is a dark roast with notes of "sweet dark berry, dark chocolate, [and a] hint of jasmine."
