Bird Friendly Coffee FAQs
The Smithsonian Bird Friendly® certification is the environmental gold standard in coffee and cocoa production. Every Bird Friendly farm is organic, deforestation-free, and conserves biodiversity through agroforestry or forest conservation practices.
Bird Friendly does more than any other certification to protect habitat, ecosystems, and wildlife. It is the only certification that guarantees every coffee and cocoa bean sold is grown in a way that protects wildlife habitat. Instead of clearing forest for coffee and cocoa production, Bird Friendly crops are cultivated beneath and alongside diverse, native trees, preserving healthy ecosystems.
Bird Friendly coffees are the world’s only shade-grown, organic coffees certified by third-party inspectors using criteria established by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. These criteria are based on years of research and are scientifically proven to provide bird habitat second only to undisturbed forest.
Bird Friendly certified coffees also promise 100 percent product purity. Some other certifications allow a portion of non-certified product or permit product dilution, allowing as little as 30 percent of their product to meet their standards while still sporting their certification label.
Like much of the world's coffee, most Bird Friendly coffees are grown in the highlands of Latin American countries from Mexico to Peru. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is working to expand habitat protected by Bird Friendly standards beyond this area, and certified farms in Ethiopia, India and Thailand show that these gold standards can protect birds in habitats across the globe.
Sometimes Bird Friendly coffees cost a few cents more per cup than conventional coffees. This is a small price to pay for the benefits to birds and other wildlife, coffee farmers, your health and the health of the planet.
Bird Friendly farming practices produce high-quality coffee and cocoa that often surpasses the taste of non-certified products. Coffee and cocoa grown underneath and alongside trees have a more complex, robust flavor, when compared to conventionally grown alternatives.
Bird Friendly coffees can be found around the world and at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Learn more.
If your neighborhood grocery or café does not carry Smithsonian Bird Friendly® coffee, let the manager know why it matters to you that they support the gold standard in conservation. Send them this prepared letter.
