How to Obtain Rainforest Alliance Certification? What Are "Frog Beans"? What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Blue Mountain Coffee?

In recent days, FrontStreet Coffee heard from customers and friends about a rather niche term for our current times: "Frog Beans"! Most new friends are likely unfamiliar with such a term, because FrontStreet Coffee rarely mentions it separately except in the introduction of specific coffee beans.

So, the question arises! What exactly do "Frog Beans" mean? Do they refer to raw coffee beans that are as green as frogs on the outside? Or do they refer to a physical characteristic of coffee beans, similar to "hoof beans"? (Hoof beans are a "specialty" of Indonesia's wet-hulling process, where overly aggressive machinery causes coffee beans to be squeezed and deformed during the pulping process, resulting in a hoof-like appearance.)

NONONO, neither is correct! So-called "Frog Beans" refer to coffee beans certified by the Rainforest Alliance. The reason why Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee beans are called "Frog Beans" is entirely because their logo features a frog图案! So the question becomes: What exactly is the Rainforest Alliance? Do coffee beans with its certification have any special significance?

Since everyone is so curious, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly share about this today~

Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working at the intersection of agriculture, forestry, and commerce! It was established in 1987 by 24-year-old New Yorker Daniel R. Katz and other environmental supporters. (Daniel R. Katz is pictured on the left)

Initially, the Rainforest Alliance was established solely to protect the natural resources of tropical rainforests! But as the organization grew, they began to venture into more fields! In the following year, the Rainforest Alliance pioneered independent third-party certification! And the logo below featuring a frog is the product of this project!

This certification primarily targets farms, and only those meeting the requirements will receive Rainforest Alliance certification! The requirement for obtaining this certification is that farms must implement sustainable agriculture and natural resource management measures! Once a farm obtains certification, the Rainforest Alliance will protect the farm and its surrounding ecosystem, evaluate benchmarks such as waste management, and then establish relevant standards. Most importantly, it will place certain restrictions on pesticide use to ensure the farm can better achieve sustainable development. Coffee is an agricultural product, so naturally it can also be evaluated! The most important rule in the Rainforest Alliance's evaluation requirements is: the traditional farming method of cultivation under native forest shade must be adopted. Simply put, coffee must be grown without altering the original environment and must be farming that benefits ecosystem protection. After evaluation by the Rainforest Alliance, certified coffee can be called: "Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee." The packaging of raw coffee beans can be imprinted with the Rainforest Alliance logo to verify that it is Rainforest-certified organic coffee.

Everyone should not underestimate the Rainforest Alliance certification. This certification is not only to let people know that this product has been recognized by the Rainforest Alliance, but also allows the product to have special sales channels and obtain priority selling rights. Therefore, for most farmers, the presence of this frog is a very important matter.

Why a Frog in the Logo?

The frog in the logo is not an ordinary frog, but a red-eyed tree frog! This tree frog only exists in healthy, pollution-free tropical rainforest environments and is extremely rare. As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned at the beginning, the original vision of the Rainforest Alliance when it was founded was to protect the natural resources of tropical rainforests. Therefore, the Rainforest Alliance chose this tree frog as its logo, symbolizing that wherever it exists, the environment is suitable for living and pollution-free.

However, "Frog Beans" with Rainforest Alliance certification are not very common, both because the requirements for coffee bean growing environments are relatively high and because not all coffee farmers apply for certification. Therefore, "Frog Beans" are a relatively rare existence in the coffee world! But this does not necessarily mean that Rainforest-certified coffee beans are premium or delicious—after all, the certification mainly evaluates the growing environment, not the taste of the coffee beans! Among the coffee beans currently sold by FrontStreet Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain is the only coffee bean with Rainforest Alliance certification. As the coffee emperor of the previous generation, we used a relatively dark roast to recreate the delicious taste of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain from those years! Silky and rich, with gentle acidity and an exceptionally outstanding balance—this is the delicious flavor cultivated from FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain under careful cultivation.

Finally, it's important to know that not all Blue Mountain coffee has Rainforest Alliance certification—only "Clifton Estate" has this certification.

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473