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Before talking about biodynamic coffee, it is important to know the basics of what biodynamics is. Many people do not know what biodynamics is, or think they do, but do not know all of its characteristics.
Etymologically speaking, bio is the living and dynamics implies movement. It is therefore the result of all the movements linked to the living.
In order to grasp this notion more concretely, it is therefore essential to better define the principle of biodynamic agriculture. This way, it is easier to understand what characterizes it, and consequently, to better understand its concepts, its role and its advantages.
Indeed, biodynamics can influence the quality of products, and in particular that of coffee. Biodynamics has its advantages, but it also has its limits. Finally, these different practices can be subject to labels and certifications. On this occasion, we will mention the Demeter label which, among the organic coffee labels, allows for the consideration of a "biodynamic quality".
Although we can easily conclude that no one can claim to be the "father" or "mother" of biodynamics, as its origins can be correlated to the beginning of human cultures, there are some strong names in history:
This non-exhaustive and diversified list of profiles tends to show that biodynamics transcends all types of thinking. It is a concept that only wants to rely on the common sense of observation and the notion of balance of the plants, with all that is living (animals and humans) within the framework of the direct environment (water, earth, air, fire) and indirect (stars, weather and seasons).
On an agricultural scale, it is a theory of everything, which wants to demonstrate that what is necessary for the perfect and optimized production of plants (coffee or not) is already present, but sometimes hidden. Thus, good observation alone, combined with good practices at the right time, can replace all artificial inputs and chemical fertilizers. Diseases can be fought by natural methods and the farm soils can be fed naturally.
Biodynamics, more than an idea, corresponds to the synergy of 3 major principles, which aim to create and maintain a balance for any culture that follows. This balance is based on fundamental axes that we must detail to better understand.
The influence of the stars is an integral part of biodynamics, because our world occupies a precise place in the universe. Each star is capable of influencing itself as much as it influences the others. The ancients practiced this part of biodynamics by sowing at precise dates according to the periods of the moon, or even the phases of lunar perigee or apogee.
Certainly, many cultures can achieve good results without worrying about the phases of the moon, just as some people may legitimately think that no connection can be made. However, the moon and the sun alone can lift the oceans. It is therefore legitimate to think that their influence acts on the living of this world.
Very important parts of biodynamics, the natural preparations are 9 in number, which can however be grouped into fewer families in order to facilitate their apprehension. Classified from 500 to 508 by their original nomenclature, they group together various recipes which will allow :
This third and final notion places any crop or farm at the heart of a living whole. Therefore, whether it is the farmers or the producer, the neighboring crops, the surrounding trees and hedges, the water and life points, etc., all of them will be considered as having an indirect action on the crop (for example on the coffee trees present).
To use our example, it is as if the coffee grown in a valley depended as much on the presence of the surrounding water bodies (with all their ecosystems) as on the houses present (even if they are far away), as well as on direct and indirect human actions. This is instinctively similar to permaculture.
Coffee, a plant that is easily preferable to organic, is also subject to this type of practice. For example, in the Araku Valley in India, there is the largest certified organic coffee plantation in biodynamic agriculture in the world. Spread over more than 520 villages, surrounded by mango and eucalyptus trees, but also implanted on a natural soil rich in iron, these coffee plantations benefit from an environment conducive to the excellence of coffee growing.
It is a set of disciplines and principles that give this coffee a flavor unlike any other. Araku Valley coffees are different from others, and all connoisseurs agree. Although there may be exceptions, it is common to find that coffees from biodynamic cultures reveal different flavors.
The Demeter label is one of the only ones that can regulate biodynamic practices within the labelled crops such as coffee. First of all, because it has succeeded in translating biodynamic imperatives into established rules (calendars of cultivation actions according to lunar phases), but also because the organic aspect is part of its DNA. Thus, to obtain such a label, it is to succeed in proving that the cultures are not only organic, but that they also obeyed an additional schedule of conditions, which gathers the whole of the 3 axes mentioned above.
Everyone is free to have their own opinion on the limits of biodynamics, but no one can refute that the more science advances, the more it tends to show that we are only the fruit of our combined environments (direct or not). The shortcut of applying this to our cultures is a common sense one that, until now, has not been refuted either. And we must not forget that the more a product meets the requirements, the better it will be for the consumer. This truth alone should be enough to convince you of the virtues of biodynamics.
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