Join BirdNote tomorrow, November 30th!
Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!
On Friday, July 19th, BirdNote partnered with Chesapeake Coffee Roasters for a unique virtual coffee tasting event that combined our love for coffee and bird conservation. This exciting event featured a guided tasting where participants learned about the distinct flavors and profiles of specially selected coffees, expertly led by a team member from Chesapeake Coffee Roasters.
Our panel of speakers who will shared insights into the important Bird Friendly farming and production processes that make these coffees not only delicious but also sustainable, and how purchasing Bird Friendly® coffee is beneficial for wildlife.
About the coffees:
Bird Friendly® Ethiopia
A certified Bird Friendly® coffee from Africa that is light roasted and produces a light bodied cup with tasting notes of blackberry, chocolate and lavender.
Bird Friendly® Guatemala
A USDA Certified Organic and Bird Friendly® coffee from Central America. It is medium roasted and produces a medium bodied cup with tasting notes of dark chocolate and orange.
Bird Friendly® Honduras
A USDA Certified Organic and Bird Friendly® coffee from Central America. It is medium roasted and produces a medium bodied cup with tasting notes of dark chocolate, cherry and honey.
Bird Friendly® Nighthawk Decaf
A USDA Certified Organic and Bird Friendly® coffee from Central America. It is medium roasted and produces a medium bodied cup with tasting notes of dark chocolate, cherry and honey.
Pour-Over Kit: Melitta 1-Cup Pour-Over™ Coffee Brew Cone
Plastic brew cone designed to fit many size mugs, and cone design enables you to see into the cup without lifting to avoid overfill. Comes with a start-up supply of 9 Melitta #2 cone filters. BPA free & top rack dishwasher safe.
About our Speakers:
Tony Barnett, Chesapeake Coffee Roasters
Tony has been working in the coffee industry for over thirteen years. His love of coffee started as a child at a local bookstore’s coffee shop playing scrabble and drinking mochas and eventually spending summers working in a grocery store coffee kiosk. Tony eventually went on to graduate from Le Cordon Bleu Los Angeles where he focused on restaurant management, food safety and menu development. Tony has spent years refining his palette and specializing his knowledge of the food industry.
After Le Cordon Bleu, Tony returned to the coffee industry and has worked in nearly every aspect of the retail side of the coffee business: barback, barista, beverage creator, manager, consultant, trainer, and educator. The last five years have been devoted to honing his skills as a coffee roaster with the Chesapeake Coffee Roasters where he is also using his education to support the company’s quality standards both in terms of the green bean selection and the FSMA PCQI industry requirements. Tony supports the sustainability focus of Chesapeake and has been key to developing the Bird Friendly program.
James Astuhuamán, Sustainability Specialist
James has over 14 years in the coffee and cocoa industries, and his expertise lies in sustainable agricultural practices, including agroforestry systems, and carbon footprint measurement. As a certified coffee quality specialist and Q grader, he brings a profound understanding of high-quality coffee production. He has led initiatives with organizations such as TechnoServe, World Coffee Research, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, focusing on sustainability practices and climate change mitigation. Currently, James is a consultant specializing in sustainability solutions for the coffee and cocoa sectors. His work emphasizes promoting circular economy, regenerative agriculture, reducing deforestation, and enhancing producers; resilience to climate change while advocating for bird-friendly practices. James holds a degree in Agronomy Science with additional qualifications in international trade and project management. His dynamic leadership and innovative approaches continue to drive positive change in the coffee industry, supporting sustainability-focused initiatives.
Ruth Bennett, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center Ecologist
Ruth leads the Bird Friendly certification and research program at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Guided by the mission to conserve birds and biodiversity in tropical agricultural landscapes, Ruth has built an interdisciplinary team that assesses and addresses the causes of habitat loss and bird population declines in coffee and cocoa farming landscapes. Prior to Smithsonian, she obtained a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and a M.S. in Applied Ecology at Michigan Technological University, where she studied the ecology and conservation of the threatened Golden-winged Warbler on its winter grounds in Central America. Ruth developed a love of migratory birds and coffee farming systems while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras. Ruth continues working with scientists, the coffee and cocoa industry, and landowners across the tropics to conserve birds in agricultural landscapes.
About Chesapeake Coffee Roasters:
Established in 2002, Chesapeake Coffee Roasters has been roasting and providing specialty-grade coffee to the communities around the Chesapeake Bay for the last 20+ years. They’ve committed to give back 2% of their earnings to support clean water and environmental health, which extends throughout their supply chain, through the choices they make as a business and into local communities.
Chesapeake Coffee Roasters is guided by their mission of Coffee, Community and Clean Water, and they believe that a great cup of coffee has the ability to bring people together in appreciation of the world we share.
For more about Chesapeake Coffee Roasters, visit their website.
About Smithsonian Bird Friendly® certification:
Developed by Smithsonian scientists, Bird Friendly® is the only certification that guarantees every coffee bean sold is grown in a way that protects habitat for birds and other wildlife. As the gold standard in biodiversity-friendly certifications, all Bird Friendly coffee comes from organic and deforestation-free farms that sustain diverse, native shade trees on their land. In 2023, the Bird Friendly program certified over 14,000 hectares of land in 12 countries, with 3.58 million pounds of coffee moving through the certified supply chain. To learn more about the Bird Friendly program and where to buy certified coffee, visit https://birdfriendly.si.edu.