About Big Year Coffee
Big Year Coffee (BYC) is the premier coffee and cocoa destination for every bird enthusiast seeking Smithsonian Bird Friendly® Certified Coffee and cocoa. Founded by avian ecologist and PhD student (UBC) Avery Meeker, Big Year emerged from Avery's recognition of the necessity for bird-friendly growing practices that prioritize avian welfare. the business is rooted in the Pacific Northwest where Avery was born and raised.
Avery's journey towards sustainable coffee practices was ignited during a visit to the tropics as a young college student at the University of Washington. Confronted by the profound repercussions of industrial agriculture on tropical birds during his visit, Avery's mentality about his consumption of everything including coffee was stirred while gazing upon fields of sun-grown coffee monocultures juxtaposed against lush, biodiverse forests teeming with life. This experience crystallized during an encounter at a local family-owned finca cultivating shade-grown coffee, where Avery, accompanied by a distinguished professor of avian ecology, conducted bird counts that revealed a stark contrast in avian abundance and species diversity between shaded and sunlit environments. Subsequent scholarly research, notably Ruth Bennet and Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, reinforced the pivotal role of shade-grown coffee in preserving avian habitats and fostering robust bird populations.
The imprint of this experience fueled Avery's passion to establish his own coffee enterprise from the ground up, with a steadfast commitment to featuring shade-grown, bird-friendly® certified coffee on the menu. Motivated by an unwavering dedication to safeguarding the biodiverse ecosystems of tropical regions, Avery ensured that the coffee sourced for Big Year Coffee adheres to the highest standards of shade-grown techniques, using organic cultivation, free from genetically modified organisms and pesticides. Thus, the coffee beans procured by Big Year Coffee epitomize purity and flavor, encapsulating the essence of nature in every brew.
The namesake for Big Year Coffee originates from the classic quest of every birder, to see as many birds as possible, which was brought to light by the great comedic movie "The Big Year". For Avery, the concept of a Big Year embodies the spirit of adventure, exploration, and goal pursuit. Symbolizing the inception of their entrepreneurial endeavor, the name "Big Year Coffee" evokes the ethos of embarking on new frontiers and embracing life's adventures, mainly through the lens of seeing amazing birds.
In 2024 we added bird friendly certified cocoa to our lineup. We partner with premier cocoa chocolateirs and only source their bird friendly certified cocoa products. So far we are working with Rakaa and Fruition chocolate which both source from Zorzal eco reserve in the Dominican Republic, a bird reserve made to protect the Bicknell's Thrush on migration.
At its core, Big Year Coffee aspires to harmonize the familiarity of a superb cup of coffee with the joy of birding, exploring nature, and protecting the environment. As fellow birders traverse the globe, embarking on twitching expeditions, or savoring slow mornings at their bird-feeders with a steaming cup of coffee, Big Year Coffee wants to be their steadfast companion along their journey. Stay connected with us through our blog or Instagram, and share your own "Big Year" moments with us.