Why is Rainforest Alliance certified coffee known as Frog Bean?

Rainforest Alliance certified coffee is nicknamed Frog Bean because the certification's logo is a red-eyed tree frog. The label has nothing to do with bean color or shape. It marks farms that meet the organization's sustainable agriculture and natural resource management standards, and certified beans gain priority sales channels.

The Rainforest Alliance was founded in 1987 as an international non-profit working across agriculture, forestry and business. Its criteria require coffee to be grown under the shade of native forest trees using traditional methods. Certification reflects the growing environment rather than cup quality, so it does not guarantee outstanding flavor.

Have you ever heard the term "Frog Bean"? It doesn't mean the green coffee beans look like frogs, nor does it refer to the goat-hoof beans caused by Indonesia's wet-hulling method. Instead, it refers to coffee beans that have received Rainforest Alliance certification—because the logo of this certification is a red-eyed tree frog. The Rainforest Alliance was founded in 1987 and is an international non-profit organization operating at the intersection of agriculture, forestry, and business. Its certification focuses on whether farms adopt sustainable agricultural and natural resource management practices, with a particular requirement that coffee be grown under the shade of native forest trees using traditional farming methods. Coffee beans that pass certification can use the Rainforest Alliance logo and have priority sales channels. However, having certification does not necessarily mean the flavor is outstanding; it mainly evaluates the growing environment. The Blue Mountain coffee currently sold by Front Street Coffee is the only bean with this certification, and within the Blue Mountain region, only Clifton Mount Estate holds the certification. Let's now take a closer look at Frog Beans, the Rainforest Alliance, and the flavor performance of Front Street Blue Mountain.

Recently, Front Street Coffee heard from a guest friend about a term that has become quite obscure nowadays: "Frog Bean." Most friends new to coffee would likely find this term very unfamiliar, because Front Street Coffee usually only mentions it in passing when introducing certain specific coffee beans, and rarely explains it on its own.

So the question arises: What exactly does Frog Bean refer to? Does it mean the green coffee beans are emerald green like a frog? Or, like goat-hoof beans, is it a type of appearance characteristic of coffee beans?

(Goat-hoof beans are a "specialty" of Indonesia's wet-hulling method. The machine processing is too rough, causing the green coffee beans to be squeezed and deformed during depulping, taking on a shape similar to goat hooves.)

No, no, no, none of those. The so-called Frog Bean actually refers to coffee beans with Rainforest Alliance certification. And the reason Rainforest Alliance certified coffee beans are called Frog Beans is entirely because their logo is a frog design. So a new question arises: What exactly is the Rainforest Alliance? And what special meaning do coffee beans bearing its logo have?

Since everyone is so eager to learn, today Front Street Coffee will give a brief introduction.

Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working at the intersection of agriculture, forestry, and business. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel R. Katz, then a 24-year-old New Yorker, along with other environmental supporters.

(Daniel R. Katz is on the left in the photo)

Initially, the Rainforest Alliance's founding goal was simply to protect the natural resources of tropical rainforests. But as the team grew, they began to venture into more areas, and the following year launched an independent third-party certification. The logo with the frog below is precisely the product of this project.

This certification is primarily aimed at farms, and only those that meet the requirements can obtain Rainforest Alliance certification. The condition for obtaining certification is that farms need to implement sustainable agricultural and natural resource management measures. After a farm obtains certification, the Rainforest Alliance will protect it and the surrounding ecosystem, assess benchmarks such as waste management, and then develop relevant standards. Most importantly, it imposes certain restrictions on pesticide use to ensure farms can better achieve sustainable development.

Coffee is an agricultural product, so it naturally falls within the scope of assessment. The most important rule in the Rainforest Alliance assessment is: traditional farming methods under the shade of native forest trees must be adopted. Simply put, coffee must be grown without altering the original environment, using farming methods that benefit ecosystem conservation. After assessment by the Rainforest Alliance, certified coffee can be called "Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee." The Rainforest Alliance logo can be printed on green coffee bean packaging to prove it is Rainforest Alliance certified organic coffee.

Don't underestimate Rainforest Alliance certification. It doesn't just let the public know that the product has been recognized by the Rainforest Alliance; it also means the product can have special sales channels and gain priority selling rights. Therefore, for most farmers, the presence of this frog is very important.

Why is the logo a frog?

The frog in the logo is not an ordinary frog, but a red-eyed tree frog. This tree frog only lives in healthy, pollution-free tropical rainforest environments and is very rare. As Front Street Coffee mentioned at the beginning, the original vision of the Rainforest Alliance 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 pollution-free and suitable for life.

There are not many "Frog Beans" with Rainforest Alliance certification, partly because it has high requirements for coffee growing environments, and partly because not all coffee farmers apply for certification. So "Frog Beans" are a relatively rare presence in the coffee world. But this does not mean that coffee beans with Rainforest certification are necessarily exceptional or necessarily delicious—after all, the certification mainly targets the growing environment, not the taste of the coffee beans.

Among the coffee beans currently sold by Front Street Coffee, Front Street Blue Mountain Coffee is the only coffee bean with Rainforest Alliance certification. Blue Mountain, as the coffee emperor of a previous generation, we use a darker roast level to recreate the deliciousness of Front Street Blue Mountain Coffee from back in the day. Silky and rich, with soft acidity and an extremely outstanding balance—this is the flavor that Front Street Blue Mountain Coffee presents under careful nurturing.

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

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.