We buy our coffee only from farms that have demonstrated an interest in environmental responsibility. This means farmers must maintain native plants and wildlife as a natural shade cover, practice natural methods of fertilization and pest control, and preserve soil and water supplies.

In fact, the majority of our coffee is shade-grown, with the coffee trees planted among naturally occurring trees and foliage. This not only protects the environment, but it produces a higher quality coffee (although the yield is much lower). Yes, it is more expensive this way, but the benefits at the farm and in your cup far outweigh the costs. We work with a number of organic certified farms, and these coffees can be found on our Organic Coffee Company brand. But you can rest assured that all of our coffees, no matter what brand, are crafted with concern for nature and respect for the environment.

The Rogers’ Organic Coffee Farms
What makes our company different from nearly every other coffee company is that we actually farm some of our own coffee. We currently own three farms, are part owners of two others, and actually own two coffee processing mills. Below are two of our farms (known as "fincas" in Spanish).

Finca Santa Barbara

During an annual tour of dozens of coffee farms some years ago, Pete Rogers, our green coffee buyer, found ninety-four acres of abandoned cattle land in Panama that was trampled and devoid of soil nutrients (see photo below). He convinced the rest of us at the Rogers Family to invest in the land in order to prove that organic farming techniques could indeed rehabilitate the lands and produce high quality coffee.

So we purchased the land, released 12 million earthworms for composting the community's waste, dug irrigation channels, planted native tree species as well as 82,000 coffee trees, and waged a constant battle with the cattle grass that sprouted because we refused to use chemical herbicides. We also left a good portion of the land to regrow in its natural state.

Today, on this once wasted land, a truly shade-grown, organic coffee farm has emerged. (See photo to the left.) A rainforest now flourishes amidst the high-quality coffee trees, harboring forty-two species of birds and fourteen species of mammals. The local village of Jaramillio has reported to us that their supply of clean drinking, spring water has actually reemerged where previously it had dried up. And now, many government and school groups are touring our land to learn how to duplicate such efforts in other areas of Panama.

New! Try it yourself, your very own taste of 100% Organic Private Reserve, Finca Santa Barbara coffee on our Gourmet Coffee & Tea Market.

Finca Las Brujas
Our newest, wholly-owned, coffee farm that we purchased recently is also located in Panama and is called Finca Las Brujas (the witches!). Here we are growing fifteen hectares of certified organic coffee, three hectares of organic tea, and two hectares of experimental products such as exotic spices for our tea products.

Coffee Can Restore the Earth's Health!
In April 2002, the World Bank reported: "When grown properly, coffee is one of the rare human industries that can actually restore the Earth’s health." As millions of acres of rainforest - aka "the lungs of the earth" – vanishes each year, we hope our farms will serve as an example that we can all make a difference on the planet- no matter how small.