Our Organic and Non-Organic coffee.

At this time there are no organic farms in Kenya. I have heard though, that some of the farmers are trying to get certified. This is difficult because of the cost and length of time it takes to receive certification. Everything I have heard and read seems to point to the fact that Kenya coffee is organic, though not certified. Kenya's farmers are very large in number with very small plots of ground to work. That is why it is so hard for them to raise the cost of certification. The cost I have heard can be around $10,000.00 U.S. for each farmer. Everyone that I have talked to say that they use organic methods because of the cost of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. As far as
fair trade is concerned, they are receiving more for their crops than most of the world's growers. Theirs is one of the most consistently expensive coffee out there. They hold auctions for every lot of coffee and their coffee is world renowned. And so the very best is sold for very high prices encouraging the growers to produce high quality coffee. If the farmers were not receiving enough money for their product, the product would soon diminish in quality, which has never been the case. I believe that soon we will be seeing certified high quality coffee coming out of Kenya because of the desirability of being certified. I have a feeling that groups of farmers will join together to raise the money sharing the cost of certification or the government will step in to help because coffee is such a large part of the Kenyan economy. I think
that the majority of organic farms out there are owned by big corporations or
individuals who own vast amounts of land and can pay the price for certification.
Leaving the very small farmers, because of cost, out of the loop of those being able to get certified. This is what I have personally seen when I visited a coffee farm in Mexico. That particular farmer could not afford electricity, plumbing, windows or doors on his house. How could he afford chemical fertilizer or pesticides? By what I could see he was without a doubt a farmer who practiced organic farming but will probably never be certified because of the cost. I don't think this is fair but it seems to part of the system that we are apart of. I would stand whole heartedly behind Kenyan coffee being farmed in an organic way though not certified. It is for these reasons and that
it tastes so good that I will continue to carry Kenyan coffee. Hope this answers
your question.

Enjoy,
Back Alley Coffee

Back Alley Coffee
P O Box 3641
Basalt, CO 81621

(970) 963-0530
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