One question that we often receive is whether our coffees are “certified organic.”  In the United States, this means a USDA organic certification.  While many of the coffees we offer are organically grown, we are not a USDA certified organic roaster and as such cannot legally market the coffees as organic.  If you are curious if a business has a USDA organic certification you can search here by city, state, or even business name.   

In order for a coffee roaster to legally market their roasted coffee as certified organic, 1) the coffee itself must have a USDA organic certification meaning that every step from the farmer to the milling station to the exporter to the importer must have a USDA organic certification and handle the product accordingly; 2) the roaster must obtain the USDA certification; and 3) the coffee must be roasted, de-stoned, ground, and packaged with equipment only used for processing organic coffee or the equipment has to be thoroughly cleaned according to a USDA approved plan.  Practically, this means a coffee roaster either only roasts organic coffees or they must have separate equipment to roast, de-stone, grind, and package non-organic coffee, which is cost prohibitive and almost never done.  This is why there are very few USDA certified organic coffee roasters.   

While many coffees are grown using organic farming methods, the reality is that most coffee farmers and mill operators cannot afford the costs of purchasing the yearly USDA certification.  While an organic certification is great, the reality is that it is not practical for many in the coffee supply chain and is no reflection of the quality of the coffee.  If organic certified coffee is what you are looking for, we encourage you to use the this link to see which roasters are and are not USDA organic certified.