WHAT IS SHADE GROWN COFFEE ????

WELL SINCE YOU ASKED........

Coffee (Coffea sp.) is a small understory tree or shrub, and has traditionally been grown amongst forest trees, in the shade. Various studies indicate that arabica coffee has the highest yields under 35 to 65% shade. In addition, growing coffee under shade also discourages weed growth, may reduce pathogen infection, protect the crop from frost, and helps to increase numbers of pollinators which results in better fruit set. Coffee grown in the shade takes long to ripen and is often thought to taste better because the long ripening times contribute to complex flavors. 
However, in order to produce faster, higher yields and prevent the spread of coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), many coffee plantations began to grow coffee under sunnier conditions. The fewer shade trees that are in coffee plantations, the less biodiversity there is in those plantations.
This loss of biodiversity, especially in birds, has led conscientious consumers to look for "shade grown" coffee.  However, coffee is grown under a continuum of conditions, from rustic or traditional, to full sun, and these "shades of shade" are not all equal when it comes to the health of ecosystems. Unfortunately, there is no official definition of "shade grown," so coffee so labeled may be grown under what are technically shady conditions, but which are little better full  sun.
It is important to understand the various levels of growing coffee under shade.  This lists the five most typical categories, from the most desirable, traditional growing method, to the least diverse, most modern and technified method.

• Rustic. Often used on small family farms. Coffee is grown in the existing forest with little alteration of native vegetation. Tree species are diverse, with an average of 25 species. Shade strata (layers of vegetation) three or more. Shade cover = 70-100%.
• Traditional polyculture. Coffee is grown under a combination of native forest trees and planted tree and plant species, including fruit and vegetables both for the farmer and for market, fuel wood, medicinal plants, etc. Common tree species under which coffee is frequently grown include Inga, Grevillea, Acacia, Erythrina, and Gliricidia. Shade cover = 60-90%.
• Commercial polyculture. More trees removed in order to increase the number of coffee plants, and shade is provided mostly by planted timber and fruit trees. Canopy trees are regularly pruned, and epiphytes are typically removed. More often ivolves use of fertilizers and pesticides due to the lack of vegetative cover which helps prevent loss of soil nutrients, etc. Typically only two vegetation layers, the canopy, and the coffee. Shade cover 30-60%.
  
• Shaded monoculture. Dense plantings of coffee under an overstory of only one or two tree species (usually Inga), which are heavily pruned. Epiphytes are removed. Shade cover = 10-30%.
• Full sun. Lacks a tree canopy, or has a few isolated trees. No shade cover.

And here is a diagram from a paper by Patricia Moguel and Victor Toledo [1] to help you visualize the categories:

As you can see, coffee grown in a shaded monoculture could technically be labeled "shade grown," but it would probably not be what the consumer, concerned about biodiversity, is looking for.
Several organizations are working to certify shade grown coffees that are grown under conditions that preserve biodiversity, including the Rainforest Alliance and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Healthy Coffee Announced That It Will Sign Up With Pink Sheets

NEWPORT BEACH, CA,-- Healthy Coffee International, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: HCEI) announced today that it has completed its current financial statements and will sign up with Pink Sheets OTCIQ and upload the financials within 10 days so the company can move up to limited information status. The posting of these updated financials, along with accompanying documents being filed with Pink Sheets will qualify Healthy Coffee International for "Limited Information" status with Pink Sheets. The board has approved that the authorized shares be reduced from 4 Billion shares to 100 million shares, and this should show on the Secretary of State web site and on Pink Sheets in the next few days.

In response to this announcement, Healthy Coffee International CEO Rick Aguiluz commented, "These events mark a huge milestone in Healthy Coffee International's growth as a publicly traded company and provide the public with concrete evidence of management's continued efforts to build the long-term viability of the company. The recent launch of Healthy Coffee's EnerGi products and International expansion has placed us in a strong position in the market place, and we have now taken steps to place ourselves in an equally strong situation in terms of financial reporting and trading options."

ABOUT HEALTHY COFFEE INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Healthy Coffee International, Inc. is focused on bringing health to the world's largest and most popular drink, coffee. The company's proprietary formulas combine the health benefits of Ginseng, Reishi Mushroom, and other top quality ingredients with the world's finest coffee beans to create a line of deliciously healthy instant gourmet coffee drinks. Healthy Coffee is well positioned in the market place at the intersection of three mega-billion dollar industries: coffee, wellness and energy drinks, and has quickly established offices in 8 countries and distributors in 23 other countries thru its marketing subsidiary Healthy Coffee USA, Inc. (www.healthycoffee.com) which uses a simple and unique Internet-driven international business model that allows the average person to own and operate a local, national, or international coffee distribution or coffee house business with very little capital investment or overhead. For more information, visit www.HCEI.biz.

Safe Harbor Statement: This release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the results of operations and business of Healthy Coffee International, Inc., which involves risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual future results could materially differ from those discussed. The Company intends that such statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other forward looking statements be subject to the "Safe Harbors" provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Contact:
Rick Aguiluz
CEO
Healthy Coffee International, Inc.
(949) 209-8850
Email Contact

SOURCE: Healthy Coffee International

WHAT IS LOW ACID COFFEE

Acidity is a term used in at least three overlapping ways in the world of specialty coffee. For the coffee aficionado, acidity is the dry, bright sensation that distinguishes fine high-grown coffees from duller, low-grown coffees. For these sophisticates, the brighter and more acidy a coffee the better. But for many other coffee drinkers, acidity is a word for an upset tummy and an unpleasant astringent sensation that ruins a beverage they otherwise enjoy.

And for the technically inclined, acidity is chemistry, something to be measured and quantified. The common measurement for acidity is pH, with a figure of 7.0 indicating a neutral substance and numbers under 7.0 indicating increasing levels of acidity. Lemon juice, for example, registers a pH of around 2.0, tomato juice 4.0, and milk 6.5. A typical bright, acidy breakfast coffee might register a pH of 4.7 or so. I find that my palate tends to identify acidity as a major component of flavor at a pH of 5.0 or below.

Unfortunately for those who would like to rely on numbers alone, rather than taste, the measured pH, or relative acidity/alkalinity, of a coffee may does not equate in a simple way either to the bright, dry sensation admired by aficionados nor to the stomach-threatening edginess deplored by acidity avoiders. Coffee chemistry is complex, and the relationship among the various kinds of acids found in coffee and other factors that influence taste (and, presumably, impact on digestion) of brewed coffee the impact of these acids on the body is intricate and only partly understood. Nevertheless, our modest experiments suggest that a coffee brewed at normal strength that registers a pH of 5.0 or above deserves to be called a "low acid" coffee.

Acid-Avoiders Neglected

Ever since I began listening in to coffee drinkers via e-mail I've been struck by how the specialty coffee establishment, with its infatuation with big, acidy coffees, has overlooked both the needs and the palates of those who might prefer less acidity in the cup. I also suspect that a preference for sweeter, less acidy coffees may be behind the current popularity of extremely dark-roasted coffees. Dark roasting tends to kill acidity while simultaneously developing certain bitter tastes that mask it.

What if American specialty roasters were to begin paying as much attention to developing a sweet, low-acid Brazil as they do to a blazingly acidy Costa Rica or Kenya?

If they did, perhaps the overlooked Americans who prefer a sweet, low-acid coffee might be better served than they are now, when their main option is coffee roasted so dark that not only the acidity, but most of the rest of the flavor, has been relegated to the roasting chimney.

Not a Lot of Options

Certainly, if this month's sampling is any indication, there are not many options available to a coffee drinker in search of flavor without acidity.

Coffee Review assembled a group of coffees that embody a variety of strategies to delivering a flavorful but low-acid cup. They include coffees treated to reduce acidity, and other "irritants," coffees with an acid-buffering agent added, low-acid Sumatras brought to an acid-reducing dark roast, lower-grown (and hence lower-acid) Brazil and India coffees, one naturally low-acid blend, and coffees that have been aged or "monsooned," both procedures that reduce acidity.

Surprises but no Revelations

Among this assortment of coffees I was hoping for at least one low-acid revelation -- a coffee with little acidity but memorable richness, complexity, sweetness, resonance.

Not this time around. There were some pleasant surprises -- the two India coffees and the aged Sumatra were far better and more interesting than I had expected -- but no real standard-setters for low-acid quality emerged from the pack.

One thing is certain. Treating the beans or dumping antacid compounds into them, or dark roasting them to the limit of possibility, is not nearly as effective in producing a fine flavorful low-acid cup as finding a lower grown coffee with naturally low acidity that has been picked and processed with care and brought to a moderate roast that develops the sugars without burning them. Yet even here, with the India Mysore from A'Roma Roasters, the Martinez Brazil, and the Café La Semeuse Classique blend, I was disappointed by the lack of resonance and round, chocolaty sweetness.

Everything but the Sweetness

Perhaps the problem is that lower grown, less acidy coffees often are assumed to be inferior to start with, and consequently are not picked and processed with the same care lavished on the finest higher grown coffees. I suspect, for example, that the lack of sweetness in the otherwise impressive A'Roma India Mysore is owing to too many unripe, green coffee cherries in the final mix. Nothing new here, of course. Currently only a handful of the world's coffee origins are consistently processed from strictly ripe, sweet fruit.

Such generously sweet, low-acid coffees do exist. At least three coffees I cupped recently fit the big, sweet, low-key but resonant profile: a Brazil Fazenda Lagoa from The Roasterie in Kansas City, the limited release, prize-winning Brazil Fazenda Estiva from Diedrich Coffee in the Los Angeles area, and Nizza Blend from La Colombe Torrefaction in Philadelphia. All of these coffees are naturally sweet, chocolaty, and rich, with little bite or snap.

But for those acid-sensitive coffee drinkers looking for an interesting dark-roast coffee, or a dry, cocoa-toned moderate roast, this month's cupping does offer some intriguing and attractive options.

Degree of Roast, pH, and Flavor

Here are the ratings of the ten coffees, matched to their pH, or instrument-measured acidity, and their degree or darkness of roast:CoffeepHDegree of Roast Rating Guatemala Antigua, Coffee Tamer added4.9Medium83Trader Joe's Low-Acid Coffee4.9Medium83Martinez Brazilian Capim Branco5.1Medium86A'Roma Indian Mysore La Semeuse Classique5.2Medium-Dark85A'Roma Blue de Brasil5.4Dark80Silver Canyon Sumatra5.6Very Dark83Silver Canyon Aged Sumatra5.6Very Dark85Tamer treated Low Acid Coffee, Regular5.7Very Dark70White Horse India Monsooned Malabar5.8Very Dark81

It would appear that dark-roasting is the most efficient way to reduce acidity, choosing a naturally low-acid green bean is the next most efficient way, and treating or adding neutralizer to an otherwise acidy coffee the least efficient approach. Note that, although the Tamer coffee that was treated to reduce acidity does indeed register a low acidity, it is also a very dark-roasted coffee, and (judging from the results with the other coffees) dark roasting may have more to do with its low acidity than does the treatment to which it was subjected.

In terms of taste, the results of this modest sampling are even clearer: Those in pursuit of a coffee with low acidity and high flavor are best served choosing a green bean with naturally low acidity (Brazil, Sumatra, India) brought to a relatively dark degree of roast.