<p>I suppose flavor won't be changed. Most coffee beans are grown <strong><em>just like that</em></strong>. They require shade or they will die of too much sunlight. Having too much water will sometimes drown the plant to death. Here is a <a href="http://www.coffeehunter.com/articles/shade_grown_coffee_agronomist%E2%80%99s_perspective" rel="nofollow">website</a> that lists three main disadvantages and some advantages to shade grown coffee.</p>

<ul>
<li>Too much shade will cause fungal infections</li>
</ul>

<p>If the plant is under too much shade, fungi-related infections will attack and feed on the plant. This will ruin your plant and destroy it. Yet having too much sunlight will burn the plant instead.</p>

<ul>
<li>The real definition of shade-grown is not really rock-solid. Many places will have varying amounts of shade due to their altitudes.</li>
</ul>

<p>You can't say that this type of shade gown plant is used in every country of different altitudes.. Some places require more shade (those with a high altitude) and others less shade (those with a low altitude). It depends on where you will plant your coffee plant.</p>

<ul>
<li>The further south (or, north) a farm is located from the Equator, the less need there is for shade cover to protect coffee plants from the rays of the sun: the strength of the sun's rays in, for example, Brazil (where the sun is at an angle) is far less than the direct overhead rays from Central America. Thus, while shade cover may prove advantageous in Central America it might actually lead to a fall in yield of crops in Brazil.</li>
</ul>

<p>This directly copied from the website, word for word. The amount of shade needed will also depends on the sunlight's strength. Nearer the equator, it is stronger so more shade is required. Farther from the equator, it is weaker so less shade is needed.</p>

<p>There are maybe more, but these are some basic and critical disadvantages to shad grown planting. I hope this helps you!  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-20T02:32:47.700Z
"most coffee beans are grown just like that" - really? That seems at odds with the OP finding it less common and more expensive, and with the fact that the industry has bred plants to be more sun tolerant.
Cascabel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-20T12:44:44.490Z
Can you please stop criticizing every post I make!? It is getting a little frustrating here...
Anthony Pham
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-20T17:00:41.033Z
Sorry, I just saw this question on the front page and looked. I'm not targeting you. And I understood that most coffee was *not* shade grown, so I'm just trying to figure out if you might've misspoken or if there's something I don't know (have a source for it?).
Cascabel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-24T18:55:41.337Z
@Jefromi - coffee grows best in the shade and that is why pythonMaster mentioned that "most" beans are grown that way. What the OP is seeing in the store are brands that are  certified as shade grown. That certification can cost more which is one factor in the higher cost. Unfortunately, the largest percentage of coffee produced is low cost and low quality, so clear cutting areas is used and plants do not get the best level of shade.
Justin C
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-24T18:58:21.850Z
@JustinC I know that's what the plants originally preferred, but... The wikipedia page on shade-grown coffee says "As a result of modernization and a push for higher yielding crops, sun-tolerant coffee plants were created to produce larger yields through higher-density, open planting, but the cultivation practices used for them are considered unsustainable and often have a negative impact on the environment." And if you do a [Google image search for coffee plantation](https://www.google.com/search?q=coffee+plantation&tbm=isch), you'll see an awful lot of what looks like open planting to me.
Cascabel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-24T19:04:30.647Z
So that is a semantic issue. Instead of "most" it could say "naturally" I guess.
Justin C
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-24T19:27:02.490Z
@JustinC Call it what you like, but the answer says something that's not quite true. "most" and "naturally" don't mean the same thing, and the next sentence says they'll die without shade (also not true nowadays). PythonMaster, perhaps it'd be more accurate to say something like "Coffee beans were originally all shade-grown; without shade the plants would die from the sunlight. But modern agriculture has bred plants for sun tolerance to allow open planting, without shade." Up to you, though - I don't like editing answers in ways that change the meaning.
Cascabel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-24T22:46:34.660Z
You guys might want to continue in chat
Anthony Pham
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-20T00:56:07.503Z
2015-02-20T00:56:07.503Z
Anthony Pham
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shade-grown_coffee">Shade grown coffee</a> seems like a great way to support sustainable agriculture in forest areas.</p>

<p>From the few examples I have seen these beans seem more expensive than the cheapest brands of bean but it is by no means the most expensive.</p>

<p>So, what are the disadvantages of shade growing coffee? Does it generally affect flavour in a noticeable way?</p>

<flavor><beans><bean-varieties>
Are there any disadvantages to shade grown coffee?
James
# Are there any disadvantages to shade grown coffee?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-19)

[Shade grown coffee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shade-grown_coffee) seems like a great way to support sustainable agriculture in forest areas.

From the few examples I have seen these beans seem more expensive than the cheapest brands of bean but it is by no means the most expensive.

So, what are the disadvantages of shade growing coffee? Does it generally affect flavour in a noticeable way?

**Tags:** flavor, beans, bean-varieties


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-02-20. Score: 3

I suppose flavor won't be changed. Most coffee beans are grown ***just like that***. They require shade or they will die of too much sunlight. Having too much water will sometimes drown the plant to death. Here is a [website](http://www.coffeehunter.com/articles/shade_grown_coffee_agronomist%E2%80%99s_perspective) that lists three main disadvantages and some advantages to shade grown coffee.

* Too much shade will cause fungal infections

If the plant is under too much shade, fungi-related infections will attack and feed on the plant. This will ruin your plant and destroy it. Yet having too much sunlight will burn the plant instead.

* The real definition of shade-grown is not really rock-solid. Many places will have varying amounts of shade due to their altitudes.

You can't say that this type of shade gown plant is used in every country of different altitudes.. Some places require more shade (those with a high altitude) and others less shade (those with a low altitude). It depends on where you will plant your coffee plant.

* The further south (or, north) a farm is located from the Equator, the less need there is for shade cover to protect coffee plants from the rays of the sun: the strength of the sun's rays in, for example, Brazil (where the sun is at an angle) is far less than the direct overhead rays from Central America. Thus, while shade cover may prove advantageous in Central America it might actually lead to a fall in yield of crops in Brazil.

This directly copied from the website, word for word. The amount of shade needed will also depends on the sunlight's strength. Nearer the equator, it is stronger so more shade is required. Farther from the equator, it is weaker so less shade is needed.

There are maybe more, but these are some basic and critical disadvantages to shad grown planting. I hope this helps you!

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: "most coffee beans are grown just like that" - really? That seems at odds with the OP finding it less common and more expensive, and with the fact that the industry has bred plants to be more sun tolerant.  
> **username_1**: Can you please stop criticizing every post I make!? It is getting a little frustrating here...  
> **username_2**: Sorry, I just saw this question on the front page and looked. I'm not targeting you. And I understood that most coffee was *not* shade grown, so I'm just trying to figure out if you might've misspoken or if there's something I don't know (have a source for it?).  
> **username_3**: @Jefromi - coffee grows best in the shade and that is why pythonMaster mentioned that "most" beans are grown that way. What the OP is seeing in the store are brands that are  certified as shade grown. That certification can cost more which is one factor in the higher cost. Unfortunately, the largest percentage of coffee produced is low cost and low quality, so clear cutting areas is used and plants do not get the best level of shade.  
> **username_2**: @JustinC I know that's what the plants originally preferred, but... The wikipedia page on shade-grown coffee says "As a result of modernization and a push for higher yielding crops, sun-tolerant coffee plants were created to produce larger yields through higher-density, open planting, but the cultivation practices used for them are considered unsustainable and often have a negative impact on the environment." And if you do a [Google image search for coffee plantation](https://www.google.com/search?q=coffee+plantation&tbm=isch), you'll see an awful lot of what looks like open planting to me.  
> **username_3**: So that is a semantic issue. Instead of "most" it could say "naturally" I guess.  
> **username_2**: @JustinC Call it what you like, but the answer says something that's not quite true. "most" and "naturally" don't mean the same thing, and the next sentence says they'll die without shade (also not true nowadays). PythonMaster, perhaps it'd be more accurate to say something like "Coffee beans were originally all shade-grown; without shade the plants would die from the sunlight. But modern agriculture has bred plants for sun tolerance to allow open planting, without shade." Up to you, though - I don't like editing answers in ways that change the meaning.  
> **username_1**: You guys might want to continue in chat  

---

