Many of the quality arabica beans we roast at Bueno Bean Roasterie are “Shade Grown" coffees – coffees that are grown under a canopy of sun filtering trees.

While many of the larger coffee ‘plantations’ elected to remove shade-trees and plant more sun-tolerant varieties of coffee in order to increase production, the smaller farms and farmer-run cooperatives cultivate their crops high on the mountain slopes – just as they have done for generations.

These shaded coffee farms perform as sanctuaries for numerous species of resident and migratory birds and other animal life and produce what are referred to as “Bird-Friendly” Coffees. The presence of the birds is significant for the coffee farmer because the bird population controls pests, resulting in a far lower risk of infestation. in addition, because the coffee plants are intermingled with native vegetation under a canopy of fruit trees and hardwoods, the trees provide a natural fertilizer thereby suppressing weed growth and soil erosion.

Although the yield of coffee is not as high as it would be on a plantation, the shaded coffee plants produce wonderfully flavorful coffees!