Why 97% of Coffee Contains Pesticides — and How Our Puerto Rican Coffee Stands Apart
Coffee is one of the most beloved beverages in the world, but did you know that 97% of coffee is heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides during cultivation? These chemicals not only impact the environment but can also affect the quality and safety of the coffee you drink. At Hacienda Tierra Viva, we’re changing the game with pesticide-free, regenerative Puerto Rican coffee.
The Problem with Conventional Coffee
World-wide, 97% of coffee farms use dangerous chemicals to control insects and weeds. This practice creates soil degradation and water contamination to local rivers and streams that feed into and damage the ocean. Chemicals also destroy the natural microorganisms in the soil where coffee is cultivated. This practice depletes the soil, converting it to a nutritionally deficient substance, devoid of the wonderful attributes that nature has to offer. For personal consumption, this practice depletes the beneficial effects of coffee by contaminating the coffee you drink with harmful chemicals and also making less available antioxidants and polyphenols, as well as the many other wonderful health benefits of coffee. For these reasons we have chosen regenerative farming. A very important evolution in the practice of coffee cultivation.
We do not use the term "regenerative farming" as a sales technique, a tagline, or clickbait. We truly engage in regenerative/restorative farming practices, utilizing natural organic matter, beneficial plants, worm castings, worm teas, clean animal compost, and various fermentations, all designed to return the natural microbial life back to the soil, with an emphasis on a wonderful group of white fungi called Mycorrhiza. For those familiar with regenerative farming, these are foundational principles that you are already aware of. For those not familiar with these practices, we will be updating this information so that it can be shared with others and also to allow you to know our product better.
How Hacienda Tierra Viva Stands Apart
Our Puerto Rican coffee is grown without pesticides or herbicides, using regenerative farming practices that restore soil health and protect the ecosystem. We are blessed to have animals throughout our farm. Sheep, for example, eat the very grasses and weeds that other farmers reject, using harmful chemicals. However, sheep reduce the weed population and insect pressure through their eating practices and by-products. This approach enriches the soil and provides an organic, rich environment for coffee cultivation. This and many other regenerative practices (intercropping nitrogen producing plants, citrus and cacao trees, worm composting, fermentations) create a clean coffee that provides our chocolaty-rich, award winning flavor. Our elevation, fertile volcanic soil, tropical rainfall also ensure that our coffee stands out in both quality and taste.
Award-Winning Recognition
It’s no surprise that our careful cultivation has earned accolades: Hacienda Tierra Viva was recently rated as the best Puerto Rican Coffee by Coffee Review (an independent, internationally acclaimed coffee rating institution). Our dedication to regenerative farming, careful cultivation, and coffee selection directly contributes to the award-winning quality of our beans.
Why Clean Coffee Matters
Choosing pesticide-free Puerto Rican coffee supports your health, the environment, and sustainable farming communities. At Hacienda Tierra Viva, we believe coffee should be enjoyed responsibly — and that the future of coffee depends on clean, regenerative practices.
Taste the difference today: Shop our award-winning Puerto Rican coffee and experience clean, flavorful coffee that stands apart from the rest.
