Special brew: eco-friendly Peruvian coffee leaves others in the shade
Peru’s coffee-growing regions have some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, with about 300 tree species in just one hectare, according to Whaley. “If I took 20 insects from the canopy, half could be new species,” he says. “So much has not yet been recorded.” Crucially, coffee agroforestry systems also store carbon in the fertile soil and support the cultivation of nitrogen-fixing trees such as pacay, better known as the ice-cream bean tree, and the threatened Spanish cedar. In addition to the environmental benefits, shade-grown coffee production has economic and social value,...
Source: theguardian.com