what it means and what to look for.
If you're looking for an organic product, you need to be sure that what you're getting is the real thing. Many coffees currently on the market are advertised as organic, but unless they bear a label stating that they are certified organic, then you have no guarantee that the product was produced in compliance with any organic standards.
Organic coffee on the retail market that is described as organic, but without certification, most likely means that the growers of the coffee in the country of origin are certified organic producers. But this does not mean that the roaster is certified as an organic processor, which means that the coffee is not organic and should not be sold as such.
This is an important distinction, because for a product to retain its organic status, every company involved in bringing the coffee to your cup must have some form of organic certification that is recognised in Australia. The producers, the transport companies, the roasters and sometimes the retailers will all have documentation stating their compliance with an authorising organic agency. This means that the coffee you drink can be traced all the way back to the grower that originally grew the green beans. This system is what provides you as the consumer with the guarantee that what you are drinking is really organic.
BioBean Coffee is currently the only coffee roaster in Western Australia that has organic certification. Roasting coffees that are both organic and non-organic in the same facilities and using the same equipment becomes difficult and avoiding contamination is a major issue. We avoid this by only roasting coffees that have organic certification!
When you purchase coffee that is advertised as "organic" make sure that you can find the "bud logo" like ours shown below, on the packaging. This is your proof that the product is certified to be sold as organic.
