Audubon Coffee causes a stir

National Audubon Society (BirdLife in the USA) have launched a new line of habitat-friendly and socially-responsible coffees.

The new range of shade-grown, organic coffees is certified by the Rainforest Alliance and will help to protect many rainforest bird species and their habitat, as well as raising the quality of life for people in the world's coffee growing regions.

"Audubon Premium Shade Grown Coffee proves you can provide consumers with excellent coffee and do so in a progressive way that takes into consideration environmental and social concerns." —Patrick Milliman, Chief Communications Officer, National Audubon

The coffee is made exclusively from carefully selected Arabica beans cultivated by farmers in the world's premier coffee regions. The farmers use traditional techniques to grow beans as nature intended - under a lush canopy of tropical trees, which are home to hundreds of bird species and other wildlife.

This is in stark contrast to the way that much of the world's coffee is now grown. To boost production, many coffee farmers have switched to full sun farming - destroying native shade trees and leaving less wildlife-friendly habitat. The introduction of Audubon Coffee will hopefully start to reverse this destructive trend.