Benefits Taste . As the coffee beans mature more slowly in the shade, natural sugars increase and enhance the flavor of the coffee. Next to tobacco, coffee is sprayed with more chemicals than any other product consumed by humans. Shade grown coffee is most often organically grown, free of chemical use. Promotes healthy environment.
Shade grown coffee requires little or no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
The shade trees filter carbon dioxide which causes global warming, and aid in soil moisture retention which minimizes erosion. Provides bird habitat and greater biodiversity. As many as 150 species of birds have been identified on shade coffee farms. Helps sustain rainforests. Coffee plantations which are chemically dependent suffer from soil depletion and increased erosion.