When it comes to "frog beans," many people may be unfamiliar with the term, because it is currently very niche and only mentioned in relation to certain coffee beans. So many people wonder: what exactly are "frog beans"? Is it describing the appearance of a coffee bean?

In fact, "frog beans" refers to coffee beans with Rainforest Alliance certification. After obtaining Rainforest Alliance certification, they receive a logo printed with a small green frog, which is why people call them frog beans.

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is a non-profit international non-governmental environmental protection organization whose mission is to protect biodiversity and achieve sustainable livelihoods by changing land use patterns, business practices and consumer behavior. At the same time, it is recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The organization was founded in 1987 by American environmentalist writer, speaker and activist Daniel R. Katz together with many environmental supporters. Initially it was only meant to protect the natural resources of the tropical rainforest, but later, as the team grew, it began to get involved in more fields. And in 2018, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ (International Mutual Trade) announced a merger.

UTZ is a non-profit, non-governmental, independent certification body based on the EurepGAP (Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group Good Agricultural Practice) standard. This certification body strictly certifies various high-quality coffees around the world, and the scope of certification includes every production step from coffee cultivation to processing. After coffee production has undergone independent environmental, social and economic review, UTZ will grant the recognized Responsible Coffee logo.

After the merger, the new organization is named "Rainforest Alliance" and issues certificates to farms and forestry enterprises that meet comprehensive standards, known as "Rainforest Alliance certification." Part of the Alliance's revenue is also used for wildlife protection in tropical rainforest animal reserves, improving laborers' living conditions, and more.

According to the current Rainforest Alliance certification standards, the standards are composed of three departments: nature protection, farming methods, and regional society. There are detailed regulations on protecting forests, water pollution, the working environment of employees, the use of chemical fertilizers, waste disposal, and other aspects. Simply put, it refers to the traditional farming method of planting under the shade of native forest trees without changing the original environment, and it is beneficial to protecting the ecology.

Coffee beans are an agricultural product, and therefore they are also something that can be assessed. Only coffee that has been assessed and certified can be called "Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee," and once certified, the certification is valid for 3 years, during which the Rainforest Alliance logo can be printed on the packaging of green coffee beans. Besides letting people know that the product has been recognized, this logo provides a great guarantee of the coffee's own quality, and it also means the product can have special sales channels and gain priority.

In addition, the Rainforest Alliance logo is very distinctive: it is not an ordinary frog, but a red-eyed tree frog. This tree frog basically lives in healthy, pollution-free tropical rainforests and is relatively rare. Furthermore, frogs are one of the commonly used indicators of the degree of environmental pollution, and since the original purpose of establishing the Rainforest Alliance was to protect tropical rainforests, in the second year after the alliance was founded it was decided to use the frog as the standard, and it has been used ever since.

At present, there are not many "frog beans" with Rainforest Alliance certification, mainly because this places relatively high demands on the growing environment, and not all coffee farmers will apply for certification, so they are relatively rare. At FrontStreet Coffee, the coffee beans that have obtained Rainforest Alliance certification include Diamond Mountain coffee beans from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda, as well as Blue Mountain coffee produced by Jamaica's Clifton Mount Estate.

Clifton Mount Estate has now also become the only estate in Jamaica with "Rainforest" certification. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee comes from Clifton Mount Estate, and when tasted it shows nut and cocoa flavors, with a silky mouthfeel and overall balance.

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