The top complaint of organic food is cost. I admit that I too get sticker shock on organic food at times. A recent example was during a farm visit at Hawaiian Cloud Forest Coffee Farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. A pound of coffee cost me $28 before shipping.

But is organic coffee more expensive? At my local Von’s grocery store, I did a little comparison shopping in the coffee aisle.

I looked at the cost of the K-Cups, those small single serve coffee pods found in many home kitchens and workrooms across America. Even my father-in-law, once a grind-it-himself coffee guy prefers the ease and speediness of the K-Cup.

I looked at Starbucks and McCafe (the McDonald’s brand). Even the cheapest McDonald’s brand cost $2 an ounce on sale, a quarter more than the bag of organic shade grown coffee. When shipping is added, the organic coffee is .10 more an ounce than McCafe but still lower if you purchase more than a pound (because you save on shipping).

The non-organic Starbucks is $2.85 an ounce, $1.10 more than the organic shade grown coffee per ounce (pre-shipping).

 

You can argue that it is an unfair comparison since a premium price is placed on the convenience of the K-cup (it is estimated the number of mostly non-recyclable single cups can wrap around the Earth’s equator 10.5 times).

If we pay a premium for convenience why wouldn’t we pay a premium for food that conserves and preserves clean water for the planet?

Returning to the initial question, is organic coffee more expensive than the conventionally grown variety? No.

We pay the same or more for convenient coffee without blinking, as 9.8 billion K-cups sold in 2014 alone according to an article posted on the Kill the Cup website.

And according to my husband, my family’s resident coffee connoisseur, the flavor of organic coffee varieties he purchases from small coffee estates are heads and shoulders above the coffee sold under the popular conventional labels.

Michael covets the bag of Hawaiian Cloud Forest Coffee, he compares the flavor to Jamaican Blue Mountain. I don’t think anyone will claim that comparison to the McCafe or Starbucks K-cup.

To purchase Hawaiian Cloud Forest Coffee visit their website. And instead of reaching for the K-cup box reach for a pound of certified organic shade grown coffee. You’ll save money, drink more flavorful coffee and support sustainable agricultural practices.

Eat less water at the kitchen table!

There is power in the collective.

 

Be well,

Florencia