I was on a segment of Public Radio International‘s show “The World” talking about sustainable coffee certifications. The emphasis of the show was on standards that preserve bird habitat. It [...]
Coffee news and miscellany
I always come across items that might be of interest to readers that deserve more than just a Tweet (@birdbarista) but not quite a whole post. Hence the debut of the “Sips” feature. San Rafael Sustainable Coffee Initiative: Interesting riff…
I talk about birds in coffee a lot on this site– how birds use and need the resources provided in shade coffee farms is the inspiration for the site. How about birds on coffee…labels and logos?
Mobile technology is coming to the world of coffee, using 2D codes to provide consumers with a wealth of information on their beans.
Counter Culture Coffee has just released its first annual Transparency Report, covering 2009. Simple, straightforward, five pages describing each of CCC’s Direct Trade coffees, including the date of the last farm visit by a CCC employee and how much they…
Every so often there needs to be a break from the serious and educational for something a little more fun and personal. Here are some photos from the recent Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) event. First off, we had…
The genus Coffea has over 100 species other than the two commonly cultivated ones, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta). New species are still being described, and over 70% of the species in this genus are threatened with extinction. There…
Understanding how instant coffee is manufactured will illustrate why it’s not a good option for consumers looking for coffee grown in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Another analysis to counter the myth that great-tasting, sustainably-grown coffee is too expensive.
For every bag of the Finca Nueva Armenia Holiday Blend purchased by a Coffee & Conservation reader from now through December 21, 2009, I will donate $1 to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Coffee: The World in Your Cup is an exhibit providing a broad overview of the powerful influence of coffee on environments, human cultures, and economies worldwide. For nine months this year it was at the organizing institution, the Burke Museum…
There’s an article up on the popular Discovery web site HowStuffWorks on shade coffee. The author contacted me a couple of months ago; Coffee & Conservation is cited frequently as a resource (under the common alias “Coffee Habitat”) and my…
For August 2009, Ken Davids’ Coffee Review takes a look at shade grown coffee. First he describes the definition of the term “shade grown” and goes on to provide reviews of 12 coffees that scored 89 or over. Three were…
The Kojo Nnamdi show, out of WAMU in Washington, DC, had a segment on specialty coffee this week. Guests were Counter Culture’s Peter Giuliano (gratuitous photo of Peter and I at right; I’ve been waiting for an excuse to post…
A species of naturally caffeine-free coffee from the Cameroon, Coffea charrieriana, has been named one of the top ten new species described in 2008 by the International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) at Arizona State University. The coffee was actually…
