Our coffee is certified organic by CCOF and USDA through Pachamama’s certification - available upon request.

Certified organic coffee is free from synthetic fertilizers, antifungals or chemicals used in farming, which leads to cleaner beans, air, land, and water for all. Non-organic agriculture often involves the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that actively disrupt the many natural systems. It can harm plants, animals and water sources that are not intended to be the target but are in fact impacted deeply. These chemicals can run off into streams and infect the clean drinking water for the animals in surrounding areas, as well as the access for families and the rest of the community. In addition, pesticides are shown to decrease bee populations that are crucial to the pollination and production of coffee cherries.

Our coffee is roasted by Pachamama Coffee in El Dorado Hills, CA.

'Farmer Owned' means that unlike other coffee companies, Pachamama is 100% owned and governed by the coffee farmers all over the world. The Pachamama Coffee Board of Directors is run by a representative of each owner cooperative and receives 100% of the profits made by us.

'Shade grown' describes the agricultural method used to grow coffee. Coffee shrubs thrive under the robust shade of a diverse ecosystem made of up other fruit trees such as banana and mango. The flora and fauna protected by land dedicated to shade grown coffee production shelters wildlife, like birds, and provides food to farmer families.

Washed process is a standard across the coffee industry and is the most common processing technique. A washed process coffee means that the fruit from the coffee cherry is removed in a depulping process post harvest. After the fruit is removed, the coffee seed or bean is then 'washed' to remove any excess fruit or mucilage and then is dried. This removes any impurities and gives the coffee a cleaner taste. Once this process is finished it is sold as green coffee to coffee roasters like Pachamama. Learn more about wash processing here: https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/12/processing-101-what-is-washed-coffee-why-is-it-so-popular/

While Starwest Coffee is not Fair Trade certified, you will find that we take it one step further. Rather than rely on a middle man, Pachamama Coffee Farmer's sell their coffee directly to you through our vertically integrated business model.

TricorBraun Flex spent over two years developing the Biotre Film, an earth-friendly, heat sealable, barrier material. Biotre Film is made from 60% (by weight) renewable wood pulp. The wood pulp portion is biodegradable. Third party testing per ASTM tests D-6868 and D-6400 confirmed that nearly all of the wood pulp portion will disintegrate into healthy compost over 84 days in a backyard, home composting environment. The remaining 40% (by weight) of the bag is Polyethylene (PE) with an additive that is designed to make it disintegrate significantly faster than standard plastic. The tin tie, degassing valve and labels are not compostable. Please remove before placing in home compost. Learn more about how to compost our coffee bags here: https://www.starwest-botanicals.com/blog/how-to-compost-your-starwest-botanicals-organic-coffee-bag/

There is currently no industry protocol for testing coffee for heavy metals. While trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in the soil and in the plant itself, they seldom make it into the seed in concentrations that call for testing and evaluation. Most of the heavy metals testing is performed on instant coffee, rather than roasted coffee beans.

tarwest coffee is non-GMO. Certified organic coffee does not contain any genetically modified organisms.

To be classified as certified organic coffee Farmers cannot use synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, and can not be genetically modified.

We are partnering with Romer Labs, a food testing laboratory, to test for Ochratoxin A, which is the mycotoxin that has become the subject of the coffee mold discussion in the health community. Starwest Coffee, roasted by Pachamama Coffee, goes through a rigorous quality control process prior to roasting and packaging, which includes inspecting for the presence of fungal growth. Certified organic coffee is free from synthetic fungicides which helps support the ecosystems where coffee is grown. It also protects the farmers, production workers, and consumers. We are also performing moisture analysis on our green coffee prior to roasting. While moisture analysis does not detect mold per se, it provides insight on whether conditions for mold growth exist. We are receiving moisture readings well below the conditions that would support mold growth.

The coffee is 100% Arabica.