USA: More and more venues feature organic coffee

Organic coffee has become the beverage of choice in food service establishments ranging from highway convenience stores to fast-food chains, OTA reports. It is also offered in college dining halls, the National Zoo and Smithsonian cafeterias, destination spas, and some of the finest restaurants in the USA. According to the Organic Coffee Collaboration, a project of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), the greater availability comes as consumers increasingly adopt all things “green,” and roasters work with restaurateurs to create special blends for a wide variety of demanding palates. The Collaboration features leading firms from Vermont to California and from Florida to Canada. The participants represent the full organic coffee supply chain spectrum, from sourcing coffees at origin to roasting, decaffeinating, and brewing them. In an increasing number of cases, restaurants are offering organic coffees on menus akin to wine lists. They also are becoming the choice of college-branded coffee offerings. In other cases, the roaster or retailer has decided to use organic coffee to increase the quality of its offerings without telling consumers.

Some examples of roasters and retailers seeing their organic coffee sales increase in today’s restaurant world include: Golden Valley Farms Coffee Roasters offers dual-certified organic and bird-friendly coffee at more than 400 food service operations ranging from traditional eateries to convenience stores, diners, and coffee shops, as well as the National Zoo cafés, which have seen sales double in the year since converting from conventional coffee. Green Mountain Coffee supplies organic coffee to Bruegger’s Bakery Cafés, national parks (through Xanterra Parks & Resorts), and hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide.  It also supplies Newman’s Own Organics coffee to over 600 McDonald’s restaurants in the Northeast USA. S&D Coffee provides organic and other sustainable coffees to 600 convenience stores, museums cafés, and college and corporate campuses nationally. Five Smithsonian Institution museum cafés along with restaurants nationwide are featuring its organic, Fair Trade, and Bird Friendly blend, which has received praise for its quality. Sun Coffee Roasters provides premium Fair Trade organic coffees to colleges and universities, serving numerous dining facilities, campus cafés, and campus restaurants with a range of custom coffees to suit every palate. 
 
More information on the Organic Coffee Collaboration is available here