Featured Production Shade-Grown The Farmers Uncategorized

Celebrating the Heritage of Shade-Grown Coffee

By Jon Ferguson | November 18, 2020

Farmers have a close connection to the land that has formed through experiences which are often inherited over generations — creating a sense of family identity and tradition. The collective wealth of knowledge and life lessons handed down from mother to son or grandfather to granddaughter are what defines a family’s heritage. These moments inspire the next generation to carry on those experiences and seek the wisdom from those who have tested life and its complexities over the years. 

Coffee farming families carry on these conversations, creating an unbreakable bond with those who have built their lineage and continue to develop unique family heritage.

Introducing the Heritage Coffee Series

Arbor Day Coffee is proud to honor these traditions in coffee-growing communities by launching the Heritage Coffee Series, highlighting traditional shade-grown practices that have been handed down from generation to generation, keeping forests alive, healthy, and productive for future generations. 

The select coffee farmers chosen to participate in these limited-edition coffee offerings have proven to be great stewards of the land and have harvested an elevated coffee experience for us all to enjoy. The Heritage Coffee series combines a passion for trees and coffee, paying homage to coffee farmers who are dedicated to sustaining their land for years to come.  These traditions have proven to sustain ecosystems, keep water clean, enrich the soil, and foster wildlife. It is essential to the environment that coffee is grown with this in mind, and to support these traditional methods, while investing in higher-quality coffees to generate a greater demand and focus on shade-grown coffee.

A Commitment to the Rain Forest and the Farmers

Just as these coffee farmers remain dedicated to their way of life, Arbor Day Coffee remains grounded in the Arbor Day Foundation’s mission of inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. The Heritage Coffee Series (as well as all Arbor Day Coffee) furthers this mission by planting a tree for every bag purchased.

The Heritage Coffee Series commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop there, however. The coffee series invests in paying quality prices to farmers to ensure continued relationships for years to come.  Prices we pay to farmers are not only better than paying a fair price — it’s the right price to pay for amazing quality and sustaining the future of our planet. 

Each coffee selected for this specialty series will be from a single farmer or a very small group of farmers actively engaged with reforestation, conservation, or tree management plans that support the continued growth of coffee in a sustainable manner. In addition to a commitment to the environment, we will select coffees that have achieved an exceptional level of coffee quality.

As a unique small batch, each of the Heritage Coffee Series micro-lots will be available in a limited quantity and for one time only. Be sure to take advantage of this batch of amazing coffee while you can. We are proud to announce our first coffee farmer in the series, Juan De La Cruz Vasques in Honduras. You can find his story — and follow upcoming Heritage Coffee Series offerings — at arborday.org/heritageseries.

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1 Comment

  • Reply Heritage Coffee Series Featured Farmer: Juan de la Cruz Vasquez November 23, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    […] Read: Celebrating the Heritage of Shade-Grown Coffee […]

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