Shade Grown Coffee: How it Makes Your Coffee Better | Hacienda Iluminada, Puerto Rico
Do you want to enjoy a delicious cup of coffee that comes with health benefits? Shade-grown coffee is your perfect choice! Shade-grown coffee is grown under tree canopies instead of direct sunlight. In this type of coffee production, the coffee plants grow at a slower rate than open-sun coffee. This results in a more complex and delicious flavor profile. In this Hacienda Iluminada blog post, we will explain how shade-grown coffee makes your coffee better and why you should switch to this type of coffee.
Hacienda Iluminada uses endemic trees as a cover (shade) for our coffee lots because it is the right things to do in many regards, including:
Better Sustainability.
Shade-grown coffee is known to be more environmentally sustainable than open-sun coffee. When coffee is grown under trees, it creates a natural ecosystem that is friendly to insects, birds, and other animals. This means fewer pesticides are required, and the soil is enriched with organic matter. Shade-grown coffee also reduces carbon footprint as it sequesters carbon dioxide.
More Nutritious
Shade-grown coffee has higher antioxidant levels than open-sun coffee. Shade-grown coffee plants contain more chlorophyll than open-sun grown plants, which gives it a darker green color and a greater ability to conduct photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is a natural antioxidant that has been linked to inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Additionally, shade-grown coffee plants produce coffee beans that hold more caffeine and other natural compounds that are useful to your health, making it more beneficial for your health.
Better Flavor
Shade-grown coffee gives you a better flavor profile. Coffee plants that are grown under the shade tree canopy have no choice but to grow taller and stretch toward the sunlight. This extra effort results in a finer quality coffee bean. The shade-grown coffee has a smoother and richer flavor profile, and it also tends to have a less acidic taste.
Support Biodiversity
In the shade-grown coffee ecosystem, the trees provide a habitat for a wide range of fauna. Shade-grown coffee production brings with it increased biodiversity, which is essential for the overall environmental health in any given region. Trees also provide a habitat for migratory birds from the US and Canada, with up to 120 species of birds that live within the shaded coffee farms.
If it’s GOOD for earth, it is GOOD FOR YOU!
Next time you come to Puerto Rico come visit our coffee farm we love showing you around and it gives YOU a completely different perspective of what the art of growing, processing and roasting coffee really is.
Shade-grown coffee is the best coffee you can opt for if you want to enjoy a delicious and healthy drink while supporting sustainable coffee production. By consuming shade-grown coffee, you support a more complex and richer flavor profile, while also being environmentally conscious. So, the next time you're thinking about buying coffee, make sure to ask your local coffee store for shade-grown coffee. Cheers to better coffee and better health!