Bird Friendly Certified

Bird Friendly® certified coffee is shade grown on plantations and farms that have agreed to adhere to strict, scientifically based standards for preservation of tropical forest ecosystems, in order to  maintain and enhance habitat for native and migratory birds.  Rather than being grown on land that has been cleared of all other vegetation, Bird Friendly® coffees are planted under a canopy of native trees. Not only is the Bird Friendly® certification better for tropical rainforests, it also results in a superior tasting coffee.  Shade grown coffee  ripens more slowly, resulting in a harder, denser bean with a cleaner, more “fruit forward” flavor.

Bird Friendly® coffees are the only coffees on the market that are certified as shade-grown and organic by an independent third-party inspector using criteria established by researchers at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) and Conservation Biology Institute. GCR is proud to be a member of the Bird Friendly® certified coffee program.  A portion of all sales of our certified Bird Friendly® coffees goes back to the SMBC to support their international bird conservation research and habitat preservation efforts.  More information