OUR COFFEE
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Coffee is a big deal nowadays with more and more of us purchasing a coffee based drink each day - in fact in 2018 it was estimated that Brits alone were drinking 95 million cups a day and coffee is now the world's 2nd most popular drink.[1]
What a lot less of us understand is where that coffee is coming from and how it's grown. Coffee growing, like any kind of farming has an environmental impact, the biggest of which is deforestation - in fact it is now estimated that for every cup of coffee consumed, 1 square inch of rain forest is destroyed and replaced with farms full of 'sun grown' coffee.[2] Sun grown coffee is genetically modified to produce higher yields, but sadly this comes at the price of our rain forests.
At the Vaults and Garden we are passionate about minimising our environmental impact in this area and sourcing our coffee responsibly. Therefore our coffee is not only organic and fair trade but is also 'shade grown'.
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What is shade grown coffee?
Shade grown coffee is the ‘other type’ of coffee plant. Unlike sun grown coffee it is grown under the canopy of existing forests meaning there is no need to cut down the trees therefore reducing deforestation and the destruction of habitats for hundreds of birds and animals - for this reason it is also known as ‘bird friendly’ coffee. Not only that but coffee plants naturally prefer the shade making it a more organic and healthy growing environment.
At the Vaults and Garden we only use coffee beans that are shade grown in organic ‘agroforests’ such as these. We are passionate about using suppliers and farmers who champion this method and and spreading the word about shade grown coffee so that we can all enjoy a more sustainably sourced drink!
Will has been visiting suppliers and farmers of this type of coffee for over 10 years - in this video he is in Mexico visiting a shade grown coffee farm.