Illy caffè maintains a complex high-quality blend of 100% Arabica beans from around the world. They work directly with nearly 900 growers on 4 continents to source sustainably grown coffee. Certified organic coffee accounts for approximately 4% of world production and they cannot guarantee that 100% of the 9 different Arabica varieties in the blend will be certified at all times. In addition, Illy caffè tests the green coffee (before roasting) for up to 80 different chemicals to ensure that their coffee is safe and pure. illy’s demand for the highest quality beans is rarely met through organic coffee. Because illy is a single blend composed of beans from 7 to 9 growing regions, some organics may be present in the blend if they meet our rigid quality standards. Organic coffee has a very low yield per hectare-about 6 to 8 bags per hectare. This low yield is not compensated for by a proportionally higher price, so the farmer makes less, not more. Furthermore, and quite importantly, the cultivation of so-called organic coffee depletes the soil of its nutrients without sufficiently replacing them. Unless the farmer rigorously practices proper soil analysis and management and adds enough phosphorus (which coffee needs to grow well) the plants are weak and highly susceptible to insect and fungus attacks. Few farmers maintain their soil at the high level necessary to produce the best beans. The process can lead to an irreversible deterioration in the quality of the soil. As part of the ISO 9001 certification, they test every coffee lot they purchase for the presence of pesticide residue-testing for 36 different types. No coffee with pesticide residue is purchased by illy.