Today organic is buzzword which has become synonymous with premium prices and a “healthy” lifestyle. However, what was organic at some point in the production process has generally been fumigated by customs when it arrives from overseas. Now fumigation is essential to prevent various pests from infesting our local agricultural industry. Unfortunately, Coffee beans are like a sponge and have a tendency to absorb any gas or liquid which they come into contact with, which explains why coffee can develop a straw like taste when stored in heshen bags for an extended period of time.
When most companies bring in organic coffee from overseas they are shipped in 60 kg Heshen bags, which are obviously not sealed, allowing the Methyl Bromide (the fumigation chemical) to be absorbed into the coffee. So the “Organic 100% Arabica beans” have been exposed to a potent herbicide, pesticide and fungicide.
We can only hope that in the future organic coffee will be transported internationally in fully sealed aluminium packaging to prevent the absorbtion of chemicals into the coffee beans, allowing them to remain, in every sense of the word, organic.
Filed under: Coffee truths
If the beans are brought in green in sealed white bags and roasted here could that be classed s organic?
Yes this could be classed as organic. As long as they are sealed and the various chemicals cannot penetrate the packaging the meet the general criteria. The problem is that alot of so called “organic” products produced by “big agriculture” do meet the technical definition but cut many corners and are in alot of ways purely designed for marketing and help justify a premium price.