Ulster County Birds & Beans Coffee Drinkers Help Save Birds

Aug. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- WOODSTOCK & SAUGERTIES, NY.—  Sunflower Natural Market and Mother Earth’s Storehouse share several passions in common. Both are dedicated to providing natural, wholesome and organic products for their customers. Both are also committed to responding to customers’ growing interest in foods that support sustainable agriculture and habitat protection by now offering Birds & Beans organic, sustainable shade grown coffee, joining the growing number of markets, cafes, and natural food stores throughout the Valley to do so.

First attracted to the product by its credentials, each of the store’s coffee buyers were then sold by its taste. Birds & Beans coffee is USDA-approved, 100 percent organic, and certified Bird Friendly® by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC).  That means a guarantee that the coffee comes from farms meeting the highest possible standards of habitat quality and protection. And coffees with the SMBC certification means 100 percent certified shade grown beans in every bag; other shade-grown coffees may contain as little as 30 percent shade-grown beans.

“I was interested in Birds & Beans® coffee from the time I first heard about it,” says Andrew Shober, Purchasing Manager of Sunflower Natural Market. “Then I sampled the coffee, and knew I wanted to have it in the market. We just completed an expansion of our coffee section, which gave us the room we needed to introduce this wonderful coffee. I’m happy to say we now offer all four roasts – Scarlet Tanager, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Wood Thrush, and Baltimore Oriole.”  

Mother Earth’s Storehouse in Saugerties has just completed renovating and expanding their coffee section as well.

Just introduced a year ago in New York State, Birds & Beans® coffee can also be found at Nature’s Pantry, Newburgh; the Cornwall Community Co-op in Cornwall; Otto’s Market in Germantown; Back to Earth Nutrition Center, New City; the Black Dirt Gourmet in Pine Island; The Herb Shoppe, Port Jervis; Tables Local Market in Bedford Hills; Near & Natural Market in Bedford Village; and the Audubon Connecticut Greenwich shop. A little farther north, Wild Birds Unlimited in Saratoga Springs, Ithaca, and Johnson are carrying it, to their customers’ satisfaction.

According to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, over half the traditional shade coffee farms in Latin America and the Caribbean, once rich habitat for birds with their multi-storied shade canopy, have been converted to plantations where coffee is grown in the sun requiring heavy chemical spraying.

In contrast, Bird Friendly® coffee farms, primarily family owned, provide winter shelter and sustenance to huge numbers of migratory birds that summer in New York including—thrushes, warblers, orioles, tanagers, and more.

Each month Orange County Audubon Society receives 5% of sales generated by Birds & Beans customers and subscribers in their member area. Ten percent of profits company-wide are donated to research. “By drinking SMBC-certified Bird Friendly coffee, we help safeguard the migratory birds we know and love during their time away from North America,” says Lynn Barber, OCAS President.

Additionally, the USDA-approved 100 percent Organic Birds & Beans coffee is Fair-Trade or Rainforest Alliance approved and the beans are freshly roasted right here in the Northeast. Buying coffee from Birds & Beans will support the Orange County Audubon Society as well as small businesses, while helping to preserve tropical forest habitat for birds and other wildlife, providing fair profits for farmers, and reducing pesticides where the coffee is grown. Learn more by visiting www.birdsandbeans.com.

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About Birds & Beans: Birds & Beans® 100%-organic shade grown coffee is dedicated to the conservation of New England’s and New York’s migratory birds. When enjoying Birds & Beans® you are helping to promote and preserve truly Bird Friendly® family farming. Our commitment to quality and service ensures that fresh roasted, great-tasting ‘Birds & Beans the good coffee’™ flies straight to your door and into your cup.