Mail Order Organic Coffee

Why Organic Coffee?

People who choose organic foods often want to buy organic products whenever they can. It makes sense to start your day with a cup of organic coffee.

According to the Organic Trade Association, organic coffee is produced in a way that has a low impact on the environment. Like other organic products, it has to be grown and processed without the use of manmade chemicals and pesticides, with a buffer between the organic crop and any conventionally grown crops nearby, and using good crop rotation practices to keep the soil healthy.

Organic coffee is grown all over the world, but the biggest producers are Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru. Organic coffee may also be fair trade, which ensures that the growers receive a fair price, or bird friendly, which means the coffee is grown in the shade of other trees and without synthetic chemicals.

Buying Mail Order Organic Coffee

There are many different mail order sources for organic coffee, which makes it easy to shop around and find a variety you like. Here are a few resources to get you started:

• Diamond Organics offers organic coffee in more than 15 varieties, including a couple that are decaffeinated without chemicals. The coffee can be ordered online or through mail order. Shipments are sent overnight and as whole beans for maximum freshness.
• The Roast and Post Company in Bristol, UK, offers a good variety of fair trade, organic and organic fair trade coffees. Orders can be placed online, by phone or fax, or through the mail.
• Tessa's Organic Coffee has both regular and decaffeinated organic coffees and coffee blends. The site has a printable order form as well as the ability to take orders online.
• Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has a wide variety of organic and fair trade coffee, which can be ordered online or through a catalog. You can also set up automatic delivery of your favorite brew so you never run out.

Take Care of Your Beans

Once you've taken the time to get great mail order organic coffee, you should take the time to store it in the proper way for the best drinking experience. Some people recommend storing coffee in the freezer. However, if you're drinking coffee every day, the change in temperature between the freezer and the counter can bring moisture into the bag. This won't help keep your coffee fresh. Freezing is a better choice for unopened bags that you need to store long-term.

The best way to protect beans from moisture and funky flavors in the freezer is to keep the beans in their original package and put that in a freezer storage bag with as much air as possible squeezed out. If you're really worried, you can place the package in a paper bag or wrap it with foil for another layer of protection.

Only take the bag out of the freezer when you're ready to thaw it, and let it sit at room temperature until it warms.

For the coffee bag you're working on right now, store it in an airtight, dark container in a cool, dry place. Don't put coffee in the refrigerator because it's not cold enough to freeze the coffee, meaning it will get exposed to a lot of moisture there.

Ceramic canisters are a good choice for coffee storage because they can protect the goods from light, moisture and funky odors. Try to keep only about as much coffee as you can drink in a week on the counter, and store the rest in the freezer.