What's in a Name?

Sustainable. Certified organic. Bird friendly. Shade grown. Fair trade.

There are more ways to define virtuous production of tea and coffee than ever before. And for every opinion about the “right” way to grow, harvest, transport and process them, there’s a counterpoint to consider.

For coffee and tea professionals, understanding the wide range of options is important for product selection, as well as for communicating to customers what each variety means to them and to the environment—and in some cases, why it’s worth paying a higher price for these products.

And we thought the espresso versus drip coffee debate was a thorny one.

ORGANIC VS. SUSTAINABLE
From a distance it may seem as if organic and sustainable products might be the same thing, but they clearly are not. In general, organic means the item is grown without using complex man-made chemicals, particularly artificial fertilizers and pesticides. (A more complete definition appears on page 44.) In some countries, organic standards are formulated and overseen by the government. The United States, the European Union and Japan have comprehensive organic legislation, and only certified producers may use the term “organic.”

Meanwhile, sustainable refers to something grown using an energy-neutral production process. In other words, a sustainable farm gives as much back to the land and people as it receives. Sustainable practices often are measured by the size of the “carbon footprint,” with inputs such as fertilizer, fuel and electricity used in manufacturing, and fuel used for transport. Coffee and tea grown and harvested using energy-efficient methods (such as wind and hydropower) have a smaller carbon footprint, for example. Although no federal government certification is provided for sustainability, a number of nonprofit and private organizations, such as Rainforest Alliance, offer certification.

Apparently, there’s no single answer as to which is best. Some consider organic certification to be the ultimate standard and dismiss the concept of sustainability as vague pie-in-the-sky ideology. Others believe that a focus on overall sustainability is the way to go, and if it’s done right, organic practices will naturally follow.

Nigel Melican, managing director of U.K.-based Teacraft, asserts that there’s no point in identifying one solution as “better” than the other. “Is an apple better than an orange?” he asks. “One is not better, both are desirable.” However, it can be challenging to find both aspects in the same product: An organic product air-freighted 10,000 miles is not a completely sustainable one; by the same token, Lipton has committed to sustainable production methods that will go into effect by the end of this year for all its tea bags sold in Europe. However, they will not be made with organic tea.

One argument for selling organic coffee and tea is that customers can quickly identify what “organic” means. In the past 20 years, the rise of Whole Foods and other stores promoting organic food has brought the concept into the mainstream. “What started as a complete sideshow niche in the coffee industry is now a cornerstone of our industry,” says Mark Inman, immediate president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and owner of Sebastopol, Calif.-based coffee roastery Taylor Made Farms. “I couldn’t imagine being in this industry and not being interested in organic agriculture.”

Indeed, the Organic Trade Association estimates that the North American organic coffee market reached $1 billion in 2007, and that the organic coffee sector represented 3 percent of the total U.S. “green” coffee imports that year, growing an average of 32 percent annually between 2000 and 2007. This dwarfs the estimated 2 percent annual growth rate of the conventional coffee industry.

Some stalwarts argue that “sustainable” doesn’t have a clear definition in the industry. Bob Fish, founder of Midwest coffee retailer Biggby Coffee, likens “sustainable” to the use of the word “lite” in the 1980s. “No one knew what it was—lighter in fat, lighter in calories? That’s where sustainable is right now. And until someone locks down a definition, I’m uncomfortable using it.” Instead, he focuses on organic coffee at his stores: “Either you are [organic], or you’re not.”

Others say that while good, “organic” doesn’t go far enough. “Sustainability, that’s what we should be looking for, instead of rubber-stamp ‘organic’ bureaucracy,” says Teacraft’s Melican, “seeking to maintain long-term supply with a minimal ‘footprint’ and recognizing that, to keep inputs low, we might occasionally need a degree of chemical intervention.”

“Sustainability encompasses the environmental, social and economic,” Inman explains. However, “It all points to organic in the end.”

CERTIFICATION
Perhaps because sustainability is such a broad, catch-all term, some producers, roasters and buyers find it easier to purchase products with specific certifications—assurances that at least some of the most critical sustainable components are being met.

Rick Peyser, director of social advocacy and coffee community outreach of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, swears by the combination of organic and fair-trade pricing as the “gold standard.” Others, like coffee consulting company TampTamp, lean toward Rainforest Alliance certification, which provides its seal of approval based on the social and environmental standards at farms. But what takes it one step beyond, says TampTamp’s Anne Nylander, is Rainforest Alliance’s partnership with the Coffee Quality Institute: “They are the only certification that also takes quality into account.”

GREENWASHING
Beware the pitfall that is greenwashing—using organic/sustainable language or packaging to promote a business without a commitment to actual sustainable practices. “So many companies are trying to get involved in green initiatives, but for marketing purposes only,” protests Sarah Scarborough, co-founder and owner of Fair Trade Teas. “I know of a tea shop that has its own internal ethical trade certification. But what nobody knows is that they made up this certification; it’s just a marketing tool and has nothing to do with third-party certification. Any company can create their own seal. But it’s important to have some credibility.”

Partnering or selling products with credible organizations that have rigorous standards, such as Rainforest Alliance and U.S. fair-trade certifier Transfair USA, helps wholesalers and retailers avoid the appearance of merely jumping on the “green” bandwagon.

Further, shop proprietors should keep in mind that while selling organic or sustainable products is an important step to take, it’s equally important to commit to “greening” other aspects of the facility—for example, providing reusable mugs instead of disposable cups or using sustainable energy practices to run a roastery.

CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES
In theory, organic and sustainable practices sound like a great idea for the tea and coffee industry. So why aren’t more products widely available?

From the farmer’s point of view, explains Green Mountain’s Peyser, it can take extra time and resources to meet the rigorous standards for various certifications. For some, especially smaller farms, that can mean the difference between a profit and no profit for that year. While a certification’s official stamp of approval can help them charge a premium for their crop, attaining that stamp is not always easy.

And for coffee and tea shop owners—especially now, during an economic recession—it can be hard to shell out a premium for organic/sustainable products and to ask customers to pay more for their beverage. “Businesses need to understand, and it’s confusing if you don’t have the background,” Scarborough concedes. “If you don’t know about organic certification and how that works and how the pricing all comes out, it’s daunting, even scary.”

Another potential obstacle is the perception that organic products, while virtuous, are of inferior quality compared to their non-organic counterparts—for example, there’s the old stereotype that organic tomatoes always will be misshapen and bruised, while non-organics will be sturdy, unblemished, perfectly red globes. However, many organic and sustainable products are winning awards based on quality, experts say. “If you look at the Cup of Excellence awards for the past couple of years, the top 10 have been roughly split between organic and non,” Inman says. “Organics are rating just as high as super-premiums, so we can charge a premium.”

MARKETING TO THE CONSUMER
Experts agree that education is the key to selling organic and/or sustainable products, starting with shop owners educating themselves, and then passing along their expertise to customers. “There is undoubtedly a hill to climb,” Melican says. But, he adds, “I have seen tea and coffee shop customers becoming increasingly more interested in knowing how their favorite beverages are grown and produced, and about the conditions they grow in and the people that grow them. This interest is particularly strong with specialty products, be they teas or coffees, wines or hams. This interest can readily be converted into a sale.”

Although some consumers will indeed experience what Melican terms “a twinge of ecological conscience,” knowing that tea and coffee routinely is grown and harvested thousands of miles away from their favorite shop—tea and coffee are rarely locavore products for North America or Europe—shop owners can help alleviate this concern by stressing measures that are taken to grow the plants sustainably, efficiently and with the very minimum of chemical inputs.

A growing number of outfits, such as roaster Café Bom Dia, use their Web sites to help build the connection between farm and cup, featuring photos and video interviews with farmers.

THE CUP IS KING
But perhaps the single most important take-away is to select excellent organic and/or sustainable products to sell.
Customers may select a particular blend because it has all the “right” trappings, experts say, but they’ll only drink it—and keep drinking it—if the product tastes good. And if it costs more, the stakes are doubly high. The message to continually reinforce is that what’s in the cup is a superior product that just happens to be virtuous.

To help educate consumers, Scarborough recommends interactive cuppings and tastings—between organic and non-organic, and between different regions and blends. “Getting people to enjoy tea and coffee and getting them to try the differences between high-quality organic teas and the alternatives is better than guilting people for not purchasing the ‘right’ tea or coffee.”

Packaging also is important for emphasizing both quality and virtue, Inman says. While it should be easy for consumers to identify whether the product is certified organic, etc., keep the presentation streamlined and upscale to attract an affluent “gourmet” customer base, he warns. “I have been very careful not to load my product up with a lot of certification,” he says. “Everything we do is 100-percent organic, but there’s a limit to how much you can or should label—shade friendly, bird friendly, turtle friendly!” Without exercising some restraint, he warns, “You look like some lefty car with bumper stickers.” His compromise: “I mention the farm, the region and the variety. But I don’t beat you over the head with, ‘We’re organic, and you should beat yourself up if you’re not supporting me.’”

For products sold through supermarkets, Green Mountain’s Peyser agrees that the packaging is critical. “The packaging has to create a compelling message to tell the consumer why they want to take that home. And this is very important: You need to tell them the quality of whatever’s in that bag is excellent.”

Overall, experts agree, the key to cutting through the clutter of all the definitions and certifications is to educate yourself and the consumer, as well as to emphasize that the most important thing overall is taste. “In the end, it’s about a superior cup of coffee,” Inman affirms. “And it happens to be grown with thought and intention behind it.”

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