Many people ask why shade grown coffee is important.  When you purchase shade grown coffee, you are supporting a sustainable product and helping to keep rainforests intact. Coffee that is grown in the shade is protected from harsh sun rays, and grows at a slower pace. This helps to keep the levels of acidity in the coffee at a minimum and produces beans with a lower caffeine content.

Shade grown coffee allows the true flavor of the coffee to come to the forefront, while the side effects of the acidity and caffeine are minimized, making for a more healthy coffee.

Each coffee tree produces approximately one pound of green coffee beans per year. The cherries from each tree must be handpicked when they are a deep, crimson red. After the seeds are cleaned and dried, they must be hand sorted and graded. Specialty coffee has a rating system with levels of “perfection”.

Buzzbox sources their beans from Camano Island Coffee Roasters because they only select level 1, top grade coffee. That means that out of the 2,000 beans found in each pound of Buzzbox Arabica coffee there are less than 40 imperfect beans. This is the highest standard in the world.

Many leading brands allow up to 200 imperfect beans per pound, and these coffee companies typically over-roast their coffee in order to mask the imperfect taste profile. Of all the coffee in the world, less than 1% of the world’s supply will even make it to the top grade of specialty coffee. That makes Camano Island Coffee some the best coffee in the world.