Shade grown coffee

shade grown coffee As we already know, coffee is grown in several ways: sun-grown and shade grown. As it comes from their names, a huge part of coffee plants is grown directly under the sun and others are protected by shade of a tree gathering.

What are advantages and disadvantages, similarities and differences of both ways of growing?

We all know from history that coffee was first discovered by Kaldi, the Ethiopian goat shepherd, then spread to the Arabic world, Europe and only several centuries later it reached the American continents. Trees brought from Europe would die under direct sunlight, thus a shade grown specie was cultivated.

Sun-grown plant means a plant growing under the sunlight with no protection. These plants grow much faster if in comparison to the shade-grown ones and, of course, give bigger crop and are more successful commercially. But in order to maintain such kind of tree and produce rich harvest, a grower needs to invest a lot to buy various kinds of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. This method proved to be very harmful for the environment, thus shade-grown coffee regained its past popularity and is “in fashion” again.

Shade grown coffee is a bush (I bet you knew coffee plant is a bush though it can be as tall as a coffee tree) grown under a shelter of another trees. A shed of different trees in a large quantity is planted on farms to create favorable conditions for the future coffee bushes. Thus, besides cultivating only coffee plants, a farmer is growing bearing and common trees which nourish the soil, act as a shelter for birds (bird friendly trees), animals and insects. This ecologically beneficial growing is certified by Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

shade grown coffee There are several types of shade which influence a tree growth:

Rustic is used only on small farms, usually owed by a family. A coffee tree is planted among an already existing grove just slightly changing its original structure.

Traditional Polyculture

Farmers themselves decide what kinds of trees to plant in order to create a beneficial environment for coffee bushes. And if coffee is yielding poorly, they can always feed their families with harvest form those trees.

Commercial Polyculture

Looks very similar to the traditional one but the canopy for coffee isn’t as thick and some trees are even cut down in order to provide more light.

Reduced or Specialized Shade

This means that a single type of pruned trees is used for shade grown coffee. Its shrubs are planted in a more dense way and thus look more deliberate.

Full-Sun or Unshaded Monoculture

This way implies no additional trees except coffee bushes.