Kokoda Coffee

What does Organic mean to you? To Kokoda Coffee, it means that our Organic coffee has been certified by the most prominent certification body in the southern hemisphere, NASAA, The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia.  The organic concept is very simple. From the farm to your table or, cup in this instance, the coffee has to be free from cross contamination from conventional coffee inputs and handling, as well as being 100% chemical and additive free.

In 1987, while running a coffee factory in Aseki, Papua New Guinea, Shyam oversaw the planting of the coffee trees that were to yield the first organic coffee crops in that area. In 1990, he organised those trees to be certified Organic by NASAA. The beans used in Kokoda Organic come from those trees. 

NASAA Logo

The questions below are just some that we have been asked by our customers.  We believe that the answers are worth knowing.

Why is an organic product more expensive than its conventional counterpart?
In this day and age especially in agri-business, more and more technology is being used to increase yields on existing agricultural crops to feed a growing population world wide. This technology resorts to more efficient fertilisers and chemicals, more high yielding plants, genetically modified crops etc.

An organic farmer uses sustainable agricultural practices, only using inputs that are natural. This results in lower yields per acre when compared to conventional farming. With coffee being grown in countries of origin that are predominantly under developed, this is a hardship for the organic farmer.  They tend to lose approximately 20% of their farm revenue due to lack of yield of organic crops. This is taken into account when pricing for organic produce is decided, and is why organic products are usually more expensive.

We sell Kokoda Organic for a higher price than our conventional coffees.  A lot of customers are not willing to pay the higher price for our Organic, when compared with our conventional coffees or even other roaster's organic products.  Let us give you an insight into the reasons and facts behind the pricing of Kokoda Organic.

• Green bean for Kokoda Organic is grown on 100% organic farms in Papua New Guinea.  The vast majority of these farms were not converted from conventional farming to organic farming. These farms were started as 100% organic from day one. Any residue from previous conventional farming practices is not present in these farms.
• Kokoda Organic green bean is purchased directly from these farms.  We do not source our coffee through importers/exporters and other middlemen.  We don't purchase our coffee through middlemen because in some situations, these middlemen can use their huge buying power to "bully" the small farmers into selling to them for a lower price. The middlemen may, but usually will not pass on that price saving to the green bean buyer.  We buy direct so that we can make sure that the extra money is going to the farmers instead of lining the bank accounts of huge companies.
• Kokoda Organic is 100% certified by NASAA.  They certify the green bean all the way from the farms, right through the entire coffee production process to our coffee roasting facility here in Brisbane, Australia. The advantage of having only one certification body certify the entire operation is integrity.  If more than one board is used to certify different aspects of the entire process, for example one to certify the processing and another to certify the roasting, what guarantee is there that the integrity of the organic coffee has been maintained throughout the entire process?
• The most important reason for using only one certification board is the fact that not all boards are the same.  Each will have their own certification requirements, their own cutoffs, their own quality assessment etc.  There is nothing to stop a roaster from purchasing a coffee certified organic by a lesser certification, and then just getting a renowned certification for their roasting operation.  Even more importantly, there is nothing to stop a roaster from buying conventional coffee, but getting their roasting (or production) plant certified organic.  Have you ever seen a coffee packet with "organically grown", or maybe "organically produced", on it?  Why does it not say "100% organic from the tree to the cup"?  The only thing that stops roasters being able to do things like this is an informed customer. As a customer, the roaster is asking you to pay more for an "organic" product; they should be able to justify why.

A Kokoda Organic coffee packet

What do the different organic certification standards mean?
There are many different certification bodies all over the world and they all have different standards. Some may only certify certain aspects of Organic farming whereas others certify the whole farming aspect. When we say the "whole aspect" we mean right from the tree or crop, through the entire production processes and all the way to your table or cup. 

IFOAM stands for International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and and they are the International Organic Certification Body and as they state, "In the rapidly growing environment of marketing and trade of products claiming to be "organic," IFOAM provides a market guarantee of the integrity of organic claims. The Organic Guarantee System (OGS) unites the organic world through a common system of standards, verification, and market identity. It fosters equivalence among participating certifiers, paving the way for more orderly and reliable trade."
NASAA is accredited by IFOAM to provide organic certification in the Australia-Pacific region.  We chose to get our Organic Certificiation from NASAA, as they are accredited internationally through IFOAM, then from a local certification board who would only be recognised in Australia. Every certification board has its own way of doing things.  They will all have their own way of doing the actual certifications, their own way of ensuring that certification standards are upheld and so on.  

How do I know my coffee is really organic?
As explained above, IFOAM is the only international body that can guarantee a product is truly organic. Most countries would have numerous National certification bodies but IFOAM iis the only international one. There are many other certifying bodies that certify certain aspects in the coffee chain, giving certain manufacturers the ambiguous right to claim their coffee as "organic". Certain products also claim "organically grown" without any certifying body signing off on that.  When buying any organic food, make sure that the certification provided is internationally known and trusted.  The producer's organic license number should be clearly visible on the packet.  If you have any doubts, you should contact that certification board and inquire about the producer's license number.

Kokoda Organic's NASAA license number, as well as the NASAA logo is clearly visible on all of our Organic Products.

If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to Contact Us.