Peace Coffee Birchwood Organic Medium Roast Whole Bean (12 oz)

1. Beans & farming 25% of the rating 4 of 5

   USDA lists the Birchwood Blend, and the page names three farmer co-ops (CENFROCAFE and PANGOA in Peru, COMUCAP in Honduras) and calls the coffee organic and fair trade. No harvest year is given, and fair trade is the maker’s word.

2. Independent testing 35% of the rating 3 of 5

   One independent test: Clean Label Project ranked it among the 16 cleanest of 57 coffees in 2025, by rank only, with no mold-toxin results. Peace publishes no results of its own.

3. Roast & packaging 15% of the rating 3 of 5

   Whole beans come in 12 oz, 20 oz and 5 lb bags, and Peace’s team says on Target’s Q&A that bags carry a Best By date, but no roast date is mentioned on any page we read and the bag material is not stated.

4. Trust 10% of the rating 4 of 5

   No FDA recall, CPSC recall or Prop 65 notice names it, B Lab lists it as a Certified B Corporation, it names its co-ops and says its machinery only ever handles organic beans, and its decaf is described as water processed. It gives no test numbers or roast date.

5. Value 15% of the rating 3 of 5

   About $1.50 an ounce at the maker’s $18 for 12 oz, or $1.42 at Target: mid-range, above Peet’s and Death Wish at retail but below Purity.

The rating, 3.4 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank coffee and our standard.

• Target (opens in a new tab) approx. $16.99 for 12 oz whole bean. The page is titled for the 12 oz whole bean Birchwood Blend and names no marketplace seller; its Q&A answers are signed Peace Coffee Team. About $1.42 an ounce, $1.01 less than the maker. Target prices can vary by store.
• Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $16.99 for 12 oz whole bean. Sold and shipped by a third-party seller (TheNewMall), not by Peace Coffee; the listing shows 16 offers from $16.99, and the other two we saw were $24.81 and $25.27. Its copy says the beans are from Sumatra and Peru, which does not match Peace’s page (Peru and Honduras), so the listing text or stock is out of date.

Prices as we saw them on November 3, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

1. Organic arabica coffee beans (Peace’s FAQ says “100% coffee arabica beans”, 100% certified organic, and that nothing is added to any of its coffees; Amazon’s ingredient line reads “Coffee”)

• Paid certification USDA National Organic Program, through QAI (a certifier Peace Coffee pays) October 2026

  Lists Peace Coffee, PBC as a certified organic handler (status effective 22 April 2003, profile updated 30 October 2026, anniversary date 15 July 2027), with Birchwood Blend Coffee among its products. Organic rules cover farming inputs and handling, not mold toxins, heavy metals or pesticide residue levels. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Independent Clean Label Project (a nonprofit that also runs a separate certification program for brands); coffees bought at retail August 2025

  Birchwood (organic, medium roast, bag) was among the 16 lowest-scoring of 57 coffees for heavy metals, pesticides, glyphosate, BPA and BPS, phthalates and acrylamide, tested by Ellipse Analytics, an ISO/IEC 17025 lab. Ranks only, no numbers; mold toxins are not one of the six scored categories and no mycotoxin results are published. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Was Birchwood tested for mold toxins, pesticides or metals?

Peace Coffee posts no results. The only outside test we found is Clean Label Project’s 2025 study, which tested Birchwood for heavy metals, pesticides, glyphosate, BPA and BPS, phthalates and acrylamide and ranked it in its Clean Sixteen (opens in a new tab). It publishes ranks, not figures, and says its ranks are not an endorsement of nutritional value or product claims. Mold toxins are not among its six scored categories and no mycotoxin results are published, so see our mold-toxin guide for what that leaves open. We found no Lead Safe Mama or Mamavation result for Peace.

Is organic coffee free of pesticide residue?

No. Clean Label Project (opens in a new tab) found AMPA, a glyphosate breakdown product, in every organic coffee it tested in 2025. Birchwood was one of those tested and still ranked among the 16 cleanest of 57, but we have no figure for it.

Is it really fair trade?

Peace’s page calls it organic and fair trade, and its FAQ (opens in a new tab) says it buys 100% certified organic coffee from Fair Trade certified cooperatives. Its About page (opens in a new tab) says it was created in 1996 and co-founded Cooperative Coffees, an importer of fair trade and organic coffee, in 1999. B Lab’s directory (opens in a new tab) lists it as a Certified B Corporation since November 2017 (the About page dates its first B Corp certification to 2018). Its farmer page (opens in a new tab) says CENFROCAFE has 2,618 farmer members. We did not open a Fair Trade certifier’s listing, so the Fair Trade claim stays the maker’s word.

Is there a roast date on the bag?

Peace’s team says in a Target Q&A that its bags carry a Best By date, which it ties to quality and freshness. We found no roast date on the Peace, Target or Amazon pages. Ask Peace or look at the bag before relying on freshness.

Why does an Amazon listing say Sumatra?

Amazon’s listing (default seller TheNewMall, a third party) and the Whole Foods-branded page for the same listing both say “100% USDA certified organic coffee beans from Sumatra and Peru”, while Peace’s page and Target’s highlights name Peru and Honduras. Peace may have changed the blend over time, and the listing text or stock looks out of date, so buy from Peace or Target to match the page.

Does “hazelnut” in the tasting notes mean added flavor?

No. Peace’s FAQ (opens in a new tab) says its coffees are free of gluten, dairy, nuts and any other additives, and that notes like “nutty” are flavor descriptions, not ingredients. Its machinery only ever handles organic coffee.

Has Peace Coffee had recalls or notices?

We found none. No FDA food or device enforcement record names it (openFDA (opens in a new tab)), no CPSC recall, and no California Prop 65 notice: the Attorney General’s list has 24 notices with “Peace” in the violator’s name (Prince of Peace, Peace Pies, Peace Out and others), and none is Peace Coffee (searched 3 November 2026).

• Clean Label Project, which bought 57 popular coffees and had an ISO 17025 lab test them for heavy metals, pesticides, glyphosate, BPA and BPS, phthalates and acrylamide, ranked Birchwood among the 16 lowest-scoring.
• USDA’s Organic Integrity Database lists Peace Coffee, PBC (certifier QAI, certified since 2003) with Birchwood Blend Coffee among its products.
• The page names the co-ops behind it (CENFROCAFE and PANGOA in Peru, COMUCAP in Honduras), and Peace’s farmer pages say who they are.
• Peace says its roasting and packaging machinery only ever processes organic beans and that nothing is added to its coffees.

• The outside test is a rank, not a number: no figure for lead, cadmium, pesticides or AMPA in Birchwood is public, and mold toxins are not in its scoring.
• No roast date, harvest year or bag material is stated on the pages we read; Peace’s team says bags carry a Best By date.
• Fair trade is the maker’s claim; we did not open a Fair Trade registry.
• The Amazon listing we opened is a third-party seller with different origin copy; Target sells the same bag for $1.01 less than Peace.

1. Peace Coffee: Birchwood product page. Maker’s page. Seen 2 and 3 November 2026: $18 for 12 oz whole bean ($27.50 for 20 oz, $95 for 5 lb); medium roast; farmer co-op sources CENFROCAFE and PANGOA (Peru) and COMUCAP (Honduras). Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
2. Peace Coffee: FAQs. Maker’s page. Source for the 100% arabica, certified organic, organic-only machinery, no-additives and water-processed decaf statements, and for its note that complaints about Amazon or Target purchases go to those sellers. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
3. Peace Coffee: About. Maker’s page. Timeline: created 1996, bicycle delivery from 1997, co-founder of Cooperative Coffees in 1999, first B Corp certification in 2018. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
4. Peace Coffee: CENFROCAFE farmer partner page. Maker’s page. 2,618 farmer members; the page describes a 20+ year relationship with Peruvian partners behind its signature medium roast, Birchwood. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
5. USDA Organic Integrity Database: Peace Coffee, PBC. Certifier or regulator listing. Re-opened 3 November 2026. Certified handler, QAI, status effective 22 April 2003; the product list includes Birchwood Blend Coffee. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
6. B Lab: Peace Coffee, Certified B Corporation. Certifier or regulator listing. Opened 3 November 2026. Certified since November 2017, standards version 1.6, Minnesota. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
7. Clean Label Project: Clean Sixteen coffees, 2025. Test report. One-page ranking. Lists Peace Birchwood (medium roast, bag, organic) among the 16. States that no listed product has received Clean Label Project certification and that ranks are not an endorsement. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
8. Clean Label Project: coffee study, August 2025 (57 coffees, 45 brands). Test report. Method (Ellipse Analytics, ISO/IEC 17025) and the AMPA finding in every organic coffee. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
9. Clean Label Project: coffees tested in its 2025 study. Test report. Lists Peace – Birchwood, Medium (Bag) among the 57. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
10. Target listing: Peace Coffee Birchwood Blend whole bean, 12 oz. Independent source. Opened 3 November 2026. $16.99 ($1.42 an ounce); highlights say Peru and Honduras; a Peace Coffee Team answer says bags carry a Best By date. No roast date listed. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
11. Amazon listing: Peace Coffee Birchwood Organic Whole Bean, 12 oz. Independent source. Opened 3 November 2026. $16.99, shipper and seller TheNewMall (third party); 4.3 of 5 from 78 ratings; copy says Sumatra and Peru. The Whole Foods-branded page for the same listing (https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/grocery/product/12-ounce-pack-of-1-b006dmazqs (opens in a new tab)) shows the same text and no price. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
12. openFDA: food enforcement reports, recalling firm Peace Coffee. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 2 and 3 November 2026: no matches (the device endpoint also returned none). Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
13. California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search (violator “Peace”). Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 3 November 2026: 24 notices, all read; none names Peace Coffee. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
14. CPSC recall database, title search for Peace Coffee. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 2 and 3 November 2026: no recall. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

• Death Wish Organic Espresso Roast Has two independent labs’ results, including pesticides, mold toxins and metals (one trace of cadmium in 2025), but names no farms and states no roast date.
• Peet’s Organic French Roast Ground About $1 an ounce, clean in Mamavation’s 2024 test, with a Freshest By date that Peet’s sets 365 days after roasting.
• Counter Culture Apollo Organic washed Ethiopian blend with named lots and a roasted-on date, but no outside test of Apollo itself.

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