You may know Crystal Lutton as the author of the popular parenting book Biblical Parenting, but did you know that she is also a coffee aficionado? I asked her to share some of her knowledge on all things coffee with us today:
Coffee is a staple in my home. Not only did I use it to self-medicate severe ADD for years, but all of my children have some level of hyperactivity thanks to the science of genetics, and our family specialist supported my own research and experience when he assured me that for children with ADD/ADHD one valid option many families choose is a cup of coffee in the morning (or at the most easily distracted time for a child) over medications. And coffee offers some health benefits, but that isn’t what I want to talk about here. Instead, this is about what I’ve learned about coffee in the last few years and how dramatically that has changed what coffee we purchase.
First, not all coffee is created equal. If you have any ability to taste you’ve likely figured that out by now, but it goes beyond taste. I am truly a coffee snob and I am HUGELY picky about what my children and I intake. In our diets and everything I try to research what we are putting into and on our bodies. Finances and other practical needs play a large factor as well, but I have goals and ideals I try to live up to.
1) Coffee made in Sumatra and areas near it in the world are naturally low acid. Coffee made in South and Central America is higher acid. Here's why -- in South America the coffee bean is milled to remove the hull because this is a faster process. It allows for quicker production but also leaves the acid in the coffee. The process of making coffee low acid is another process that it has to go through involving chemicals, similar to what it takes to decaffeinate coffee. Coffee from Sumatra and the surrounding areas is laid out on the ground for several days while the sun dries up the hull and it falls off naturally. This allows the acid to leave with the hull and results in a naturally low acid coffee. I have had problems with acid reflux for years, something I know runs in my father’s family, and I was recently diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, and when I drink regular coffee it burns terribly. Sumatran coffee causes me no problems with acid at all. It also tastes better.
2) Fair Trade coffee results in coffee that has been grown under naturally beneficial conditions for the coffee bean -- usually in shade and with other plants surrounding the area of the plants that allow it to be organic because those other plants provide nutrients and keep bugs away. By entering into fair trade contracts the coffee growers agree to certain growing standards that benefit the plant and the customer. It is healthier for you.
3) Fair Trade coffee fights the drug industry. One of the reasons that coffee and drugs are so interconnected is not just that drugs are shipped in coffee beans - it's WHY it is. When Folger's and other corporations go into impoverished nations and offer the coffee grower X amount of money TODAY (fair trade for today) for their coffee that is going to be harvested however far into the future, the desperate farmer takes that offer to keep his family alive but then the corporations manipulate the market value so that they are paying very little and then manipulate it again so that when they sell it to you the market value has increased so much that they make a huge profit, even though they charge you less than it will cost you for Fair Trade. It's very much like how our government subsidizes the corn industry so that the beef industry can buy corn to feed cows on cow lots a corn diet for less than the actual cost of production if you are familiar with how that works. Everyone suffers for this practice except for the corporations that make the maximized profit.
In order to make up for the difference and not die because of their involvement with the coffee trade many (if not most) farmers in contracts with Folgers, et al., engage in drug growing and trafficking on the side. It allows you able to buy cheap coffee and allows them able to keep a roof over their family's heads.
When you buy fair trade coffee you are buying through an organization that not only requires the coffee grower to meet certain standards but also promises them fair market value at the time of harvest for the coffee beans they grow. Fair Trade contracts often require that they not engage in drug growing and trafficking because, and even without that demand it takes away the need to do so. They get more coffee grown under these better conditions and you get better coffee. You help a family survive in an already impoverished area of the world, and fight against illegal drugs coming into our country. Everyone wins.
If you like to buy coffee online you can check out Saint's Coffee for organic fair trade coffee from a Christian organization that feeds an orphan child in a 3rd world country for a month with every pound of coffee you buy. I figure the more people who win in the process, the better.
Oh, Crystal! Such helpful information and education about one of my favorite topics - coffee! From one coffee snob to another, thank you for sharing this.
You can read more about Crystal's family and ministry at The Lutton Family.
