10/20/2026
☕️ Most mass produced coffee is sun-grown, which is a method that allows for more mechanisation and faster production. This means more coffee, fast, which generally means a lower quality product.
☀️ Sun grown coffee also has a much more harmful impact on the land and environment it’s grown in. A few of these impacts are:
🪵 Deforestation-
Sun-grown coffee requires clear cutting the land before planting, so all the native trees and plants are removed entirely, which comes with its own list of environmental issues
💦 Excess water usage-
Sun-grown coffee requires a lot more water to develop. The lack of shade means evaporation is quicker, and the lack of an established root system from trees means less water is held in the soils for the coffee to utilize.
🦜 Destruction of ecosystems-
With deforestation comes with the destruction of local biodiversity. Birds and insects are especially targeted as their native homes are removed to accommodate sun-grown coffee.
☢️ Excessive pesticide use-
Without birds, natural predators, and shade to keep them at bay, pests and diseases can run rampant in sun-grown coffee unless they are controlled by widespread pesticide use. These chemicals spread into the soils and waterways.
SO HOW DO I KNOW WHAT I’M DRINKING?!
The best way to avoid sun-grown, mass-produced coffee is to look for brands (like ours) that advertise shade-grown coffee. Another clue is to check the label for the variety of bean—arabica beans are shade lovers, while robusta beans were cultivated to grow in direct sunlight. Most mass produced coffee distributors are using sun-grown robusta beans.
