What is Bird Friendly® certified coffee?

• Bird Friendly® coffee is the only certification that guarantees every coffee bean sold is grown in a way that protects habitat for birds and other wildlife.
• Bird Friendly® coffee comes from certified farms that protect habitat for birds and other wildlife. Instead of clearing rainforest, Bird Friendly® coffee grows under the shade of native trees.
• While other coffees may claim to be “shade grown,” only Bird Friendly® certified coffee maintains strict environmental criteria proven to support wildlife, making it the most biodiversity-friendly coffee on the market.
• Bird Friendly® coffee habitat flies above the rest by ensuring a combination of canopy cover and tree diversity proven to provide quality habitat for birds and other wildlife living on coffee farms.

Why is Bird Friendly® coffee important?

• Three-quarters of the world’s coffee is farmed using practices that leave no place for birds, or worse, actively destroy forest habitat.
• Three billion birds have disappeared from North America since the 1970s. Migratory and resident birds depend upon the habitat provided by coffee farms, and the way in which coffee is grown can support this habitat or destroy it.
• Bird Friendly® coffee farms can support as many bird species as undisturbed forests. Providing this important habitat helps maintain biodiversity and support a healthy ecosystem in coffee growing regions.

Bird Friendly® certified coffee does more to protect birds and wildlife than any other certification on the market. It’s the only coffee that is 100% organic, and guarantees that every bean purchased is grown in a way that protects biodiversity.

Bird Friendly®

The Bird Friendly® certification criteria were developed by Smithsonian scientists, who determined that coffee farms with a tall and diverse shade tree canopy can support as many birds as nearby undisturbed forests. All Bird Friendly® certified coffee farms provide wildlife habitat that has:

• At least ten tree species
• Three distinct layers of canopy
• A minimum of 35% shade coverage
• Tree height of 12 meters or more 

100% of coffee sold as Bird Friendly® is grown in a way that meets or exceeds these standards, ensuring habitat protection.