National Wildlife Blend – A Bird Friendly Coffee

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters joined forces with the National Wildlife Federation in an effort to protect the natural habitat of migratory birds. They are working together to promote increased production of organic and shade grown coffee and the development of sustainable methods of coffee growing. The two organizations now produce the National Wildlife Blend and the National Wild Life Decaf roast. They support the important link between shade grown coffee habitats and the long term survival of many species of migratory birds of the Americas.

For years, coffee was raised on farms where the hills and valleys were cloaked in thick forests of trees that were full of birds and a varied population of mammals, bugs and snakes. Then things began to change in the 1970’s, when bigger coffee interests began cutting down the trees in Latin America and later East Asia. Over 40% of the coffee farms in Mexico, Colombia, the Caribbean, and Central America were converted to sun-grown plantations.  Sun-grown coffee is often inexpensive, of lower quality and produces a brew that is much less complex or full-bodied than a shade grown blend

The National Wildlife Blend is shade grown, a mix of Fair Trade and Organic coffee beans from Central and South America. They were produced on small family owned farms that raise shade grown coffee, without dumping chemicals and fertilizers on the plants to encourage rapid growth. These small scale farmers in Mexico and Peru use organic techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Pesticides are unnecessary because the insects that flourish along-side shade coffee are eaten by the birds.

Some of these beans came from the La Trinidad cooperative, located in the mountains of Oxacaca. They are mixed with beans from the slopes of the Sierra Mountains in southeast Mexico. Here, the beans are raised by farmers in a cooperative that recently opened two Community Stores, to provide low cost goods to people living in these little remote villages. This cooperative also gives farmers 10 to 20 small trees every year to plant among their coffee bushes. These trees shade the plants, promoting the natural growth of more flavorful beans, while providing habitat for birds and wildlife.

Ken Davids, of www.coffeereview.com, describes the National Wildlife Blend as ‘…In the cup gently acidy, light-bodied but silky in the mouth feel and mild in flavors, with hints of caramel, cocoa, pear and sweet flowering grass. Very sweet but simple finish.”

Another review by www.singleservecoffee.com says, “The taste is very good. The blend is from coffee beans from Mexico providing a unique, spicy chocolate note, and notes of ripe, dark flavor. In addition, the blend includes Organic Central and South American coffees. From the first sip, you can definitely distinguish the Central American coffee characteristics, which tend to be more vibrant, with a citrus finish….”

National Wildlife k-cup coffee is available in bags of whole beans, ground roast or in K-Cups, specially designed to use in your Keurig Single Cup Coffee Maker.