The platform, developed in partnership with AIDDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Digital Asset), integrates blockchain and artificial intelligence to ensure full traceability, transparency, and agility throughout the coffee supply chain, from the farm to the final buyer.

After a successful debut in the United States in April 2025, Expocacer has now inaugurated the Brazilian module of the platform, setting the stage for expansion into the UK, Europe, and more than 30 other countries.

“Coffee Chain was born with the purpose of bringing the field closer to the market, offering new business opportunities and greater recognition for producers,” said Sandra Moraes, Expocacer’s Specialty Coffee Manager. “The relevance and high competitiveness of the U.S. market encouraged us to further evolve the development of the Coffee Chain platform, allowing us to adapt to the specific demands of this market and enhance our logistical processes as a form of personalized service”.

Moraes: “The platform has shown consistent growth in its user base and sales volume, consolidating itself as a relevant solution for clients. This milestone marked the beginning of Coffee Chain’s expansion into key global markets and reinforced Expocacer’s commitment to connecting producers directly with international buyers”. The executive adds: “Together with our Essências (Essences) program, we reinforce our commitment to sustainable development and the excellence of Cerrado Mineiro coffee”.

Through Coffee Chain, buyers gain access to detailed information on each coffee lot, including producer profiles, sensory notes, and complete traceability data, while producers gain visibility and direct access to international buyers.

The system’s blockchain foundation guarantees authenticity and secure transactions, reducing bureaucracy and building trust across the supply chain.

The platform’s first major event, the Coffee Chain Auction, will take place on December 11–12, featuring specialty lots from Expocacer’s Essências (Essences) program. The auction aims to connect roasters and importers worldwide with some of Brazil’s most exceptional coffees. Interested buyers and roasters from around the world are invited to participate Registration is open to all companies and individuals in the coffee sector.

Technology Partner: AIDDA

The Coffee Chain platform was created in partnership with AIDDA, a company specializing in blockchain and AI-based solutions for global trade.“AIDDA and Expocacer share the same vision: to simplify and democratize access to international markets through technology,” said Lívia Brunetto, AIDDA’s Head of Strategy and Innovation. “By integrating traceability, documentation, and commercialization in a single digital environment, Coffee Chain connects producers and buyers around the world, unlocking smarter business opportunities with the potential to move over BRL 1 billion in coffee trade.”
This initiative reflects both organizations shared commitment to innovation, decentralization, and transparency in agribusiness.

Strengthening Expocacer’s global presence

Despite climate challenges affecting production across Brazil, Expocacer’s producers continue to stand out for their innovation and quality. “Our purpose is to generate value for our members, giving visibility to their work so they can continue positively impacting the coffee industry,” added Moraes.

With more than 40 export destinations and a growing presence in Europe and North America, Expocacer is reinforcing its global leadership in sustainable and regenerative coffee production.

About Expocacer

Founded in 1993, Expocacer – Cooperativa dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado represents over 680 coffee-producing families in the Cerrado Mineiro region, one of Brazil’s most recognized coffee origins. The cooperative exports to more than 40 countries and supports its members through sustainability programs, traceability systems, and its exclusive ECO-Score certification.

About AIDDA Group

Founded in 2021, AIDDA Group leverages cutting-edge technologies including blockchain, artificial intelligence, smart data, and White-Label Web3 platforms, to unlock business potential and drive digital transformation. With fully scalable and customizable solutions tailored to each client’s identity, the company delivers innovation, security, and sustainable growth.

Its mission is clear: to empower businesses with technology that evolves at their own pace.

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Tapping into the organisation’s decades long experience of supporting certified organisations to thrive and achieve their goals, Fairtrade is excited to announce that its standards are evolving to make them more effective, while remaining practical to implement and firmly grounded in its core principles and values.

The multi-year initiative is a strategic priority for Fairtrade and will support the organisation’s goal to increase the value it provides to farmers and workers, businesses, and consumers and also drive meaningful impact at scale.

“We know the world is shifting, we see the pressure farmers and companies are under, and we will be there supporting them with evolved standards that meet their practical needs as well as the requirements for a trade system that is fair and just,” said Marike Runneboom de Peña, Interim CEO of Fairtrade International.

The revision includes all of Fairtrade generic standards – Small-scale Producer Organisations – SPO, Hired Labour Organisations – HLO, and Trader, as well as all the product standards related to agricultural production.

Fairtrade’s new, evolved standards will be designed to help farmers, workers and businesses address their most pressing challenges.

Farmers and workers will be able to prioritise their actions to respond to the social, environmental, and economic challenges they face locally and gain recognition for other relevant certifications they hold reducing duplication and effort.

Companies and licensees will be able to more easily demonstrate their commitments and results in building resilient supply chains and the actions they are taking to meet relevant human rights and environmental regulations.

Fairtrade is innovating to make Fairtrade Standards fit for purpose by:

• Embedding human rights and environmental practices to ensure producers and companies can demonstrate actions they are taking to improve farmers’ and workers’ livelihoods, ensure fair working conditions, safeguard the environment, and build resilient supply chains.
• Adopting a risk-based approach to social and environmental topics drawing on Fairtrade’s comprehensive Risk Map to support producers to focus on what matters.
  Supporting producers and traders to build stronger systems to implement and manage effective action, increase transparency, and demonstrate measurable results.
• Making standards more user-friendly by reducing the number of standards, streamlining requirements, and making it clearer how requirements support meaningful action.

The journey ahead

The evolution of Fairtrade’s Standards is already underway. The process to shape the evolved standards will be conducted in collaboration with Fairtrade’s three regional producer networks, 25 national Fairtrade organisations and marketing organisations, and FLOCERT, our third-party certifier.

Fairtrade will engage key stakeholders throughout the process, including a full public consultation in 2026. Fairtrade strongly encourages famers, workers, partners and all other stakeholders to take part because participation will lead to more effective solutions.

Following the consultation with our stakeholders, Fairtrade expects to publish the new, evolved standards in 2027, and that certification against them will begin by 2028.

The evolution of Fairtrade’s Standards represents the organisation’s commitment to adapt and evolve to the external environment while supporting certified organisations and partners in building an equitable and sustainable future for all.

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“WCR’s model of collaborative variety development brings together new genetic diversity with a global network design that is focused on speed and cost effectiveness,” says WCR CEO, Dr. Jennifer “Vern” Long. “We know farmers need improved arabica and robusta varieties as soon as possible—to withstand climate change, increase profitability, and ensure sustainable supplies—and we can accelerate progress by working together.”

Innovea is the most ambitious and globally coordinated breeding program in history, bringing together collaborating countries to transform coffee breeding and create enhanced genetics at an unprecedented pace.

This partnership among government research institutions in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, is creating and testing a new generation of climate-resilient coffee trees on a global scale. It gives participating countries access to new arabica and robusta genetic materials, modern breeding approaches, and shared tools—all while connecting researchers across the world.

This partnership model transforms coffee breeding into a dynamic, collaborative force for innovation. The effort was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025.

WCR announced the expansion at a global gathering of coffee breeders from fifteen breeding programs around the world hosted by Cenicafé in Colombia.

In addition to welcoming Vietnam and Ghana, four existing network countries—India, Indonesia, Rwanda, and Uganda—will now add robusta breeding to their Innovea portfolio. Together, these six countries export 64% of the world’s robusta.

“Vietnam is proud to be the world’s top producer and exporter of robusta coffee, and we are eager to continue to support farmers in that success. This collaboration network provides an excellent opportunity to accelerate the development of varieties that meet farmers’ needs, achieve climate resilience, and secure exports for the long term,” says Dr. Ha of the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI).

“The Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute [ICCRI] is eager to join the Robusta breeding network initiated by WCR to accelerate progress in developing new, high-yielding, and climate-resilient Robusta varieties suitable for Indonesia,” says Dini Astika Sari, Director of ICCRI. “This collaboration with a global partner like WCR will help elevate Indonesia’s coffee sector, driving improved productivity, quality, sustainability, and smallholders’ livelihoods through cutting-edge technologies and inclusive innovation.”

The Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network is funded by WCR’s 200 member companies in 30 countries, whose collective investment ensures diverse and sustainable supplies of quality coffee today and for generations to come.

“There is tremendous, unlocked potential in robusta coffee based on its natural tendency toward higher yield and drought tolerance, and the expansion of the Innovea network will help us better understand how we can harness these qualities. This work will benefit smallholder farmers, help ensure origin diversity, and enable taste profiles we know our consumers crave,” said Jim Trout, Vice President, Coffee R&D, The J.M. Smucker Co. “This initiative is a great reflection of the work of World Coffee Research and a testament to the importance of agricultural research and development, which is one the most powerful tools we have to support a sustainable future for green coffee.”

The trees used to jumpstart Innovea’s robusta breeding include a collection provided by CIRAD, the French agricultural research and international cooperation organization.

The WCR breeding team crossed them together in new and unique combinations that will bring a huge infusion of new genetic resources to breeders in many important robusta origins. “Robusta varieties created from this program will bring highly productive and climate resilient trees into supply chains,” says Dr. Tania Humprey, WCR Research Director, “which will create both economic and resilience benefits for farmers and the sector as a whole.”

These new robusta variety candidates are already being propagated for distribution to network participants. Starting in 2027, each partner will receive 1,000 unique new trees from WCR for performance testing and will work collaboratively to identify climate resilient options with a focus on high yield, disease resistance, and enhanced quality.

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The three schemes – CROP by COFCO, VSS Midori Protocol by MITSUI, and Responsibillyty by illycaffé – are now recognized by GCP as equivalent to the Coffee SR Code, 2^nd party assurance.

“The recognition of these schemes reflects the momentum we see amongst our members to align around a jointly developed concept of coffee sustainability. Through the GCP Equivalence Mechanism process, each of these companies has taken a thorough and thoughtful approach to demonstrating how their sustainability schemes align with the foundational principles and practices of sustainable coffee production and continuous improvement towards better outcomes for farmers, workers, and landscapes,” said Annette Pensel, GCP Executive Director

The schemes join 29 others after having completed the rigorous process, in which schemes are assessed on meeting at least the levels of the economic, social, and environmental principles of the Coffee SR Code, as well as important operational criteria laid out in the Equivalence Mechanism 2.0 such as governance, standard-setting, assurance, data management, and claims integrity.

This brings the total number of GCP-recognized sustainability schemes – either 3rd party or 2nd party assurance systems – to 32 .

“We welcome the commitment of these GCP Members to strengthening the consistency and transparency of sustainability efforts across the sector,” added Pensel. “Their participation contributes to a clearer, more comparable landscape for coffee sustainability.”

Sector alignment for coffee sustainability

“Achieving recognition reflects a rigorous and comprehensive process that demands a deep understanding of the Coffee SR Code and operational criteria, and a genuine commitment to strengthen existing practices” said Gabriel Chavez, GCP Manager Sustainable Sourcing.

“Equivalence not only confirms alignment with the baseline but also demonstrates readiness to continuously improve and drive sustainability across the coffee sector.”

Once again, GCP partnered with the International Trade Centre, creator of the Standards Map, to independently conduct the Equivalence Mechanism assessment, ensuring impartial and comprehensive evaluations.

The newly recognized schemes are eligible for participation in the Sustainable Coffee Purchases 2026 Report, to be published in 2027. Through GCP’s transparency initiative, the annual Collective Reporting, roasters and retailers report their sustainable coffee volumes using common metrics that that strengthen comparability, transparency, and accountability. The latest results will be presented in the upcoming Sustainable Coffee Purchases 2024 Report, expected later this year.

Together, the Coffee SR Code, Equivalence Mechanism, and Collective Reporting form a suite of assets developed by GCP to promote a globally aligned, credible and practical approach to foundational coffee sustainability that promotes inclusion and continuous improvement, while supporting members to advance their own sustainability goals.

“Every new recognition adds to a more reliable and aligned sustainability landscape. It’s encouraging to see companies invest in this process and in the robustness of their systems,” said Chavez.

“As GCP reviews and strengthens the Coffee SR Code and the Equivalence Mechanism in 2026, we invite GCP Members to actively contribute and encourage all actors to stay engaged in this collective effort. Given the changing landscape within coffee and beyond, this review is a key opportunity to shape an even stronger and more coherent global reference for sustainable coffee.”

This announcement marks the close of the current recognition cycle under the Equivalence Mechanism 2.0, as GCP and its members look ahead to the next chapter of aligning for collective action through the upcoming review of the Coffee Sustainability Reference Code and the Equivalence Mechanism, ensuring these tools continue to serve a dynamic and forward-looking sector.

List of sustainability schemes recognized by GCP as Coffee SR Code equivalent at the time of publication

3rd party assurance system:

• 4C
• Fairtrade International, Small Producer Organization and Coffee Standard
• Fair Trade USA’s Agriculture Production Standard
• Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard

  2nd party assurance system:

• Agri Evolve’s ACE
• Comexim’s Green Trace
• Coocacer’s Café Sustentável
• Cooxupé’s Gerações
• COFCO’s CROP
• ECOM’s SMS Verified
• Enveritas’ Enveritas Green
• Expocacer’s ECO
• Exportadora de Café Guaxupé’s Guaxupé Planet
• HACOFCO’s CONNECT
• illycaffé’s Responsibillyty
• Louis Dreyfus Company’s Responsible Sourcing Program Advanced
• Minasul’s LEGACY Protocol
• MITSUI’s VSS Midori Protocol
• Montesanto Tavares Group’s GMT Green
• Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program
• Neumann Kaffee Gruppe’s NKG BLOOM, and NKG Verified
• ofi’s AtSourceV, and AtSource+
• Perhusa’s ARTS
• Racafé’s CRECER
• 3E by RGC Coffee
• Touton’s PACT
• Volcafe’s Volcafe Verified, and Volcafe Excellence
• Westrock Coffee Company’s RAÍZ Sustainability

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Below, we share her article published on 25 with an introduction by Mirna Nagi, CSF and SCA Research Program Manager, and Peter Giuliano, CSF Executive Director and Chief Research Officer.

The green coffee classification

by Mirna Nagi and Peter Giuliano

“The Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) Green Coffee Classification standard describes certain physical attributes of coffees as “defects,” which it defines as “a material property of the green or roasted coffee beans that is broadly seen as negative.” But why are these properties “negative” in the first place? Some defects are discolored or visually unappealing, but more significantly, they are assumed to contribute to negative flavors in the cup.

Recently, during a review of the scientific literature on these defects, we at the Coffee Science Foundation (CSF) realized that there is insufficient research actually linking these physical defects to negative flavors. As part of its commitment to grounding standards in sound science, the SCA provided funding to fill this research gap.

In late 2024, the CSF released a request for proposals, seeking scientists who were interested in studying this crucial relationship between physical coffee defects and flavor. The aim of the project is to investigate “defects” and their impact in the context of modern sensory, chemical, and toxicological science, in order to provide high-quality information to the SCA’s standards development group and inform their upcoming revision of the SCA Green Coffee Classification and the Coffee Value Assessment.

Upon reviewing the proposals, the CSF awarded a grant to the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), who are collaborating with CESURCAFÉ in Colombia on the project “Understanding Physical Defects in Green Coffee: Impact on Sensory, Aroma Formation and Green Bean Composition.”

The following feature, authored by our colleague Laurel Carmichael, gives us a glimpse into the research that is underway and shows how challenging flavor science can be. We’re excited about the research and other studies that are happening in parallel—it’s all part of our commitment to making coffee better through science and research.”

For over a century, coffee professionals have used their eyes to assess the quality of green coffee.

by Laurel Carmichael

“The process of identifying physical, visible defects in coffee—known as green grading, or physical assessment—is a core part of how coffee lots are separated, differentiated, and priced in the marketplace. Coffee professionals throughout the supply chain are trained to count and remove “imperfect” beans from “quality” or “clean” beans, a process has conventionally been part of assessing whether a coffee is “specialty” or not.

Some of these defects occur during the post-harvest processing of coffee, such as when beans get broken or chipped in a depulper or at the dry mill.

Many others—including small holes that insects bore into coffee cherries as they grow on the tree—occur naturally, impacted by the vibrant and sometimes unpredictable ecosystems in which coffee grows. As Camila Khalifé points out in her 2024 talk “Tasting the Standards,” “coffee doesn’t grow without defects.”[1] It’s not uncommon to find a piece of concrete from a drying patio, a kernel of corn (which, yes, might literally pop inside the roaster), or a whole, dried coffee cherry in a bag of green coffee—a testament to the journey coffee takes before it even reaches a roastery.

As well as implementing agricultural practices designed to optimize coffee quality, producers and coffee pickers often perform sorting during harvesting: separating overripe, underripe, or damaged cherries. Before coffee is exported, there’s extensive sorting at wet and dry mills, completed by hand and/or with a series of machines that can separate coffee based on color, size, and density.

Why is so much labor expended on a process that ultimately reduces the volume of coffee sold, or coffee sold at a premium price? Why is it considered worthwhile to remove beans that—even if imperfect—have spent months ripening on a tree before being handpicked and meticulously processed?

It’s because it’s generally accepted that these defects have a negative impact on the sensory quality of coffee and, accordingly, reduce coffee’s value. This logic underpins numerous grading systems around the world (see figure 1), including the Green Arabica Coffee Classification System, created by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) in 2001 and explained in the 2004 Washed Arabica Green Coffee Defect Guide.[2] Green grading is high-stakes: as noted in the Specialty Coffee Association’s Cupping and Sensory Handbook, “the presence of defects or lack of uniformity are existential issues,” impacting coffee sellers’ ability to attain premium prices, or even to sell their coffee entirely.[3]

The Current State of Green Grading

Within the Green Arabica Coffee Classification System, defects are categorized into two groups based on their presumed severity: category 1 (primary) and category 2 (secondary) defects. The system assigns defects different weightings, according to how significantly they impact the affected bean and based on an understanding of how they impact a coffee’s overall quality (see figure 2).

For example, one “full black bean” (a category 1 defect where the entire bean appears a blackish shade, see figure 3) is equivalent to three “partial black beans” (a category 2 defect). A grader must count five broken, chipped, or cut beans (category 2) before these are considered equivalent to a full category 2 defect. The 2004 cupping protocol—now superseded by Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) standards—stated stringent requirements for specialty grade coffee: “zero category 1 defects” and no more than “five full category 2 defects” in a 350 g sample.[5]

Despite the importance of green grading in the coffee supply chain and economic system, the sector has little objective and scientifically validated information about the impacts that visible defects have on cup quality, and even less so, the threshold at which they impact what we can taste and smell. With little evidence about their sensory impact, defects are assigned fixed values, formally detracting value from the cup. The importance that we assign to the visual identification of physical defects is complicated further by the fact that some of the most impactful defects on cup quality—sensory defects such as phenolic (including the so-called Rio defect), potato, and mold—are usually not visible to the naked eye.[6]

If we’re doing arithmetic to calculate coffee’s quality, we want to be sure that the logic behind these equations reflects not just what we can see, but what we smell and taste. Are we excluding coffees with great sensory potential because of their physical appearance, the coffee equivalent of judging a book by its cover?

Interrogating the System

With this question in mind, the Coffee Science Foundation (CSF)—a sister organization of the SCA—launched a research project into physical green coffee defects, focusing on their impact on the cup and, importantly, the thresholds at which tasters can perceive them. This research aims to revisit and modernize long-standing standards, quantifying defects not exclusively based on what we can see, but by determining the point (or sensory threshold) at which we can reliably taste a defect.

“Current green grading guidelines are based on tradition, rather than on sensory science,” shares Peter Giuliano, head of the CSF. “This research allows us to build more informed standards,” continues Mario Fernández-Alduenda, the SCA’s Technical Officer. “We want to build a system that’s informed, rather than arbitrary.” These aims are also driven by the SCA’s CVA, a paradigm that focuses less on scores as an exclusionary threshold for defining quality and “specialty” and more on the multiple attributes that make coffees valuable in the marketplace.[7]

Researchers at the Coffee Excellence Center at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Switzerland are collaborating with CESURCAFÉ, a coffee research center at the Universidad Surcolombiana in Colombia, to test if the current logic of the SCA green grading protocol is justified. This study, along with research conducted by University of California Davis on defects from Brazil and Guatemala, will inform an update to the CVA Physical Assessment and Form.

“Coffee is a natural product that spends a long time on the tree during cultivation and undergoes extensive post-harvest processing,” shares Dr. Sebastian Optiz, a green coffee expert and the project lead from ZHAW. While conventions punish certain defects very heavily, this weighting isn’t always based on the sensory science of what we can perceive in the cup, Sebastian shares. “Identifying defects isn’t always a black-and-white process.”

Seeking Defective Coffee

Instead of rigorously removing defects, this research involves deliberately sourcing them. To achieve this, the team from CESURCAFÉ has been gathering and manually selecting defective beans from coffee farms, collection points, and processing mills in southern Huila, Colombia. The specific defects are taken from pasilla lots—coffees with high defect counts typically not destined for export.

Led by Professor Nelson Gutiérrez Guzmán and Nicolás Tovar Jacobo, the team dedicated weeks of meticulous attention to gathering and classifying 500 g of each of the 12 targeted defects from both the category 1 and category 2 list of the Arabica Green Grading system (see figure 4). These defects are sourced exclusively from arabica lots, primarily consisting of Castillo, Colombia, and Caturra cultivars.

The team at the Coffee Excellence Center then roasts both the defective and non-defective coffees to a “medium” degree. Sebastian explains that the roast profile was developed based on a clean reference lot (sourced from the same region, a similar blend of cultivars, and considered “specialty”), with the aim of optimizing its sensory qualities. To simulate real-world roasting conditions, this clean coffee roast profile is then replicated for each of the defective lots. Subsequently, these carefully sourced and roasted defects are used to “spike” the “clean” reference lot.

Sensory thresholds and perception

This process of spiking a clean coffee with certain ratios of defects and completing sensory analysis is the core of the research. Research is conducted with a trained panel of coffee professionals in two steps: descriptive assessment and triangulation (the triangle test). First, the team conducts a descriptive analysis, testing how the defects manifest in the cup at different concentrations. To record their results, the panel uses a customized version of the CVA Descriptive Form.

The initial descriptive assessment exercise ensures that the panelists are calibrated to identify the defects, ensuring that they know what they’re looking for when they later identify the thresholds for sensory perception.

The defects, says Samo Smrke, acting head of the Coffee Excellence Center, vary subtly at different concentrations and even temperatures, meaning that it’s important to build a “character profile” for each of the key defects. Beyond calibration, this process builds more precise descriptors—based on the SCA Flavor Wheel and Lexicon—for the wider sector.

Once the defects have been characterized, the next step is to determine the threshold at which they’re perceptible. The panel conducts weekly triangulation tests—a common style of discriminative sensory test, where cuppers attempt to identify the “odd one out” of sets of three cups.[8]

For these triangulation experiments, the team spikes the defect-free reference lot with different ratios of defects, ranging from 1 g of defects per 60 g of clean coffee (approximately 1.67%) to 30  g of defects per 60  g (50%). These ratios are the same as the cuppers learn to describe and identify the defect at during descriptive calibration. They then group one “defect spiked” cup alongside two “clean cups” in triangles—a format similar to the Cup Tasters Championship—with defect ratios presented at random along the table.

The goal for the cuppers is to consistently identify the cup containing the defects, if any, that they learned to identify during the descriptive analysis. When they can reliably do so, this establishes the sensory threshold—the specific ratio of defective to clean coffee at which the defect becomes reliably perceptible.

As a hypothetical example: if panelists can’t consistently identify a defect at a 1:60 g or 3:60 g ratio but consistently identify it at 5:60 g (or 8.3%), then 5:60 g is established as that defect’s sensory threshold. The implications for the wider sector are significant: if a panel of coffee tasters can only identify a defect at a threshold of 7.5% in a controlled experiment, this indicates that consumers are highly unlikely to notice a flavor impact below this threshold, especially in a café or home-brewing context.

The Chemistry of Green Defects

A coffee assessor’s nose, Sebastian notes, can be the most sensitive tool for analyzing coffee’s aroma. However, conducting chemical analysis on physical defects allows the research team to build an additional layer of information, turning what we can smell into data—in this case breaking down defects into a series of chemical compounds.

The team at the Coffee Excellence Research Center uses a process called gas chromatography (GC) to separate individual compounds, and a technique called mass spectrometry to identify these compounds.[9]

A further step, known as gas chromatography coupled to olfactometry (GC-O), combines sensory and chemical analysis. Once the compounds are separated by GC, their odor is shot out of an olfaction port, giving the researchers a chance to smell the individual odor compounds in concentrated form.

Sour beans, for example, have a number of fruity and sour-smelling compounds, but the coffee sector and scientists don’t always know what they are. Using GC-O, the researchers can identify compounds by smell while the machine identifies their chemistry, allowing them to positively identify the causes of the aroma.

The team is also using a solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (S.A.F.E.) method to gently extract  volatile aromatic compounds from coffees.[10] They can concentrate these volatiles and then conduct sensory tests on them at different dilutions, mirroring how they might present in coffee.

Beyond identifying compounds associated with certain sensory characteristics, chemical analysis allows the team to test for toxins, such as ochratoxin, a mycotoxin commonly associated with fungus-damaged coffee. This research will help give insights into the possible health risks (if any) associated with physical defects in coffee.

Revising the system for the sector

The goal of this research is to ensure that green grading systems are rooted in rigorous, contemporary science. The findings, alongside research from the University of California Davis Coffee Center, will directly inform a revision of the SCA’s CVA Physical Assessment Standard in the coming years. This critical revision, Nicolás from CESURCAFÉ shares, could lead to “a more accurate and transparent system for evaluating coffee, based more on sensory features than just the visual count of defects.”

History shows us that perceptions of physical defects can evolve; peaberries—small, round beans that occur when a coffee cherry forms one seed instead of two—were once deemed defects but are now often prized for their unique qualities. The sector is changing: new processing methods are reshaping our idea of what coffee beans should look and taste like, and climate change is making it harder to protect coffee from insects and unpredictable weather during ripening. The way we assess green coffee must evolve to reflect this, helping all actors in the value chain form clearer understandings of each coffee’s sensory attributes.”

                                                                                                     Laurel Carmichael

References

[1] Camila Khalifé, “Tasting the Standards: A Comprehensive View of Green Coffee Defects,” Roast Magazine Roast Summit, 2024, https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=feSfLNGXYiI.

[2] Specialty Coffee Association of America, Arabica Green Coffee Defect Handbook (Specialty Coffee Association of America, 2004).

[3] Mario R. Fernández-Alduenda and Peter Giuliano, Coffee Sensory and Cupping Handbook (Specialty Coffee Association, 2021), p. 111.

[4] International Coffee Council “National Quality Standards,” 122nd Session of the International Coffee Council, London, United Kingdom, September 17–21, 2018, August 23, 2018.

[5] The SCA proposes a definition of specialty coffee that celebrates attributes that add perceived value in a market. A lack, or minimal presence, of physical defects is just one of many attributes that could help to define a coffee as “specialty.” Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), Towards a New Definition of Specialty Coffee

(2021), sca.coffee/sca-news/just-released-new-sca-white-paper-towards-a-definition-of-specialty-coffee.

[6] The causes and chemical compounds responsible for these defects have been widely studied, as well as their impact on sensory characteristics. Because they impact a cupper’s impression of quality, phenolic, mold, and potato defects are recorded in the Affective Assessment component of the SCA’s CVA.

[7] Towards a New Definition of Specialty Coffee.

[8] The team organizes this experiment according to standards on sensitivity of taste (ISO 3972:2011) and the triangle test (ISO 4120:2021), established by the International Organization for Standarization.

[9] Thermo Fischer Scientific, Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) Information, accessed on 29.06.2025 at https://www.thermofisher.com/ch/en/home/industrial/mass-spectrometry/mass-spectrometry-learning-center/gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry-gc-ms-information.html?.

[10] Solven-assisted flavor evaporation methods are time-consuming and rarely used in the coffee sector. These methods allow the researchers to detect volatiles at  higher sensitivity.

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NCA President and CEO Bill Murray commented: “NCA applauds President Trump’s action to remove reciprocal tariffs on most coffee imports, which will ease cost-of-living pressures for the two-thirds of American adults who rely on coffee each day, as well as secure coffee supplies for the U.S. companies who turn every $1 in coffee imports into $43 of U.S. economic value.

The President has also secured important new trade deals with Switzerland, Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala, which deliver further benefits for securing the supply of America’s favorite beverage.

NCA urges all trading partners to advance similarly successful negotiations with the United States.”

About the National Coffee Association

The National Coffee Association (NCA), established in 1911, is the United States’ oldest and largest trade organization representing coffee businesses of all types and sizes, including the producers, roasters, brands, and other companies responsible for 90% of U.S. coffee commerce.

More American adults drink coffee each day than any other beverage other than bottled water, and coffee supports 2.2 million U.S. jobs—operating in every U.S. state and territory and contributing nearly $350 billion to the U.S. economy every year.

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Balancing nature and livelihood

HAMBURG – Biodiversity – the variety of all living organisms on Earth – is under threat. Climate change, deforestation, pollution and the overuse of natural resources are causing a rapid decline in species, and consequently in the vital services they provide to people and the planet. For smallholder farmers, this global challenge is felt in practical ways: Declining soil fertility and pollination, irregular rainfall, and new pests directly affect their yields and incomes.

Against this background, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung hosted an event during the Hamburg Sustainability Week 2025, held alongside the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, to address one of the most pressing questions for the future of coffee farming: How can smallholder farmers strengthen their livelihoods while adopting practices that preserve biodiversity? The event titled “The Smallholder Dilemma: Balancing Nature and Livelihoods” brought together experts and practitioners to discuss both the challenges and opportunities of aligning biodiversity conservation with economic realities.

A recording of the event is available here.

Understanding the smallholder dilemma

“Smallholder farmers face the dilemma of meeting their daily needs while also protecting the natural resources that their farms depend on”, said Michael Opitz, Director of HRNS, as he opened the event. Modern agriculture largely relies on monocultural systems that deliver short-term gains but deplete soils, reduce biodiversity, and make farms more vulnerable to pests and climate change.

“This is the result of the fact that, in recent decades, priority has been given to the mechanization and commodization of large-scale agriculture”, explained Martin Frick, Head of the World Food Programme’s Berlin office.

Coffee has not been immune to these trends. Monocropping and dependence on chemical inputs make farms increasingly vulnerable. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and spreading pests reveal the limits of these practices.

If coffee is to remain a viable source of income, there needs to be a shift in agricultural thinking – one that incorporates biodiversity into farm and landscape management while ensuring that smallholder livelihoods remain secure.

“If we understand smallholder farmers not only as producers of food, but actually as the mechanics who keep our life-support system working, we would treat them in a completely different way”, Frick emphasized.

Implementing biodiversity in coffee regions

HRNS’s work in East Africa, Latin America, and Asia show how biodiversity can be successfully integrated into smallholder coffee systems.

“One key way is through agroforestry”, said Morgan Mkonyi, HRNS’s Co-Country Manager for Tanzania, when presenting the organization’s current projects in the country. By combining coffee with shade trees such as banana or avocado, farmers can improve soil quality, reduce water evaporation, and diversify their income. Shade trees also provide habitats for pollinators and other species essential to healthy ecosystems (read Navigating the Transition from Monoculture in the Coffee Sector to learn more about agroforestry).

Other effective interventions include soil and water conservation through composting, mulching, and the use of biofertilizers, as well as integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) – using natural predators and biopesticides instead of synthetic pesticides while also ensuring the safe handling of chemicals.

“Tree planting campaigns in schools and community-based water protection also help to promote biodiversity at the landscape level”, Mkonyi added.

Find out more about projects that HRNS is carrying out in Honduras, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Indonesia, and learn about different ways in which biodiversity can be integrated into coffee-growing regions.

Making biodiversity a business case

For smallholder farmers, adopting biodiversity-friendly practices depends on their economic viability. “Before smallholders can consider biodiversity, their basic needs must be met”, reported Pablo von Waldenfels, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Tchibo.

Von Waldenfels illustrated this reality with a story from a visit to Honduras:

“One of the farmers said to me, ‘It’s very easy. As long as we don’t have our basic needs fulfilled, the monkey that comes to my farm and eats the fruit from the trees is my enemy. But when my family’s bellies are full, he becomes my friend, and I enjoy watching him eat the fruit grown on my farm.’”

“This is a nice picture of how farmers see biodiversity”, von Waldenfels reflected – a reminder that harmony with nature is possible when livelihoods are secure.

All panelists agreed that demonstrating the business case for biodiversity is the best way to promote it. “As coffee quality and yield are the most important factors for farmers, these are good points to start the transformation”, von Waldenfels added. Indeed, healthy soils and balanced ecosystems can enhance both. “In addition, shade trees and companion crops provide products for home consumption or sale, helping to diversify income and increase”, explained Theresa Ruperti, Program and Partnership Manager at HRNS.

Reduced reliance on chemical inputs does not only increase the resilience to market shocks: IPDM, as well as compost and biofertilizers produced on-farm, can also be cheaper. And while income from carbon credits remains limited, it has the potential to grow in the future.

Overall, diverse farms tend to be more resilient and profitable in the long term – proving that moving away from traditional practices can benefit both people and nature.

Key factors for long-term success

A central factor for success is farmer-centered approaches that consider local and individual realities. “We collaborated with local research institutions in Tanzania to design agroforestry models that address farmers’ specific challenges. This proved to be incredibly helpful”, Mkonyi said.

Transformation also works best when introduced gradually. Planting shade trees in stages helps manage costs and allows farmers to adjust step by step. HRNS experience further shows that demonstration plots, where farmers can learn about and trial new practices, are a powerful driver of change.

“Farmers are more willing to adopt new techniques, when they can see their impact”, Ruperti noted.

Combining measures – such as agroforestry, soil conservation, and beekeeping – amplifies impact and increases resilience. Equally important are strong farmer organizations, which help maintain new systems, provide access to resources, and market diversified products. Mkonyi and Ruperti therefore emphasized the importance of strengthening and collaborating with these organizations.

Shared responsibility for bridging knowledge and finance gaps

Despite promising strategies and examples, considerable knowledge and finance gaps remain.

Many farmers still lack reliable information on biodiversity and practical guidance on its application. “In many areas, farmer field services have disappeared due to a lack of public funding, and agrochemical companies have filled this gap”, Frick explained. To close these gaps, HRNS supports the creation of regional Communities of Practice connecting farmers, local organizations, and private actors to exchange knowledge and coordinate action. “Our project experience shows that Communities of Practice are an effective way of disseminating techniques and lessons learnt”, said Mkonyi. In addition, advocacy is required to equip policymakers and local administrators with the knowledge and strategies necessary for integrating biodiversity into agricultural planning.

Financing the transition to biodiversity-friendly systems is another challenge, especially during the early years. Agroforestry and other ecological measures often require more labor and an initial investment – from tree seedlings to training. These costs are usually too high for farmers to bear alone. “As with climate change, shifting responsibilities only delays solutions”, Frick emphasized.

“It is unfair to place the burden on smallholder farmers, who are the most vulnerable in the system. For transformation to succeed, all parts of the value chain must work together.” Governments can support farmers and their organizations with targeted funds or subsidies; development banks, UN organizations and non-governmental organizations such as HRNS can provide direct assistance; consumers, who can afford it, can contribute by paying more for sustainably produced coffee; and companies can integrate sustainable coffee into their portfolios, offer fair prices and, ideally, long-term purchase agreements.

In fact, farmers, companies, policymakers, and consumers all share a common interest: to continue producing, selling and enjoying coffee. This shared interest provides a basis for collective action and the opportunity to move from individual projects to systemic change.

As von Waldenfels noted, companies like Tchibo already recognize their role in this transformation: “If we want to keep sourcing high-quality coffee in the future, we must ensure that the ecosystems it depends on remain intact. Investing into biodiversity is therefore also investing in the future of our business model.” Building on its long-standing field experience, HRNS is offering solutions for integrating biodiversity and livelihood goals across the coffee sector.

The transformation requires a lot of time and investment, but these costs will only be temporary and, ultimately, there is no alternative. As Martin Frick reminded the participants, “Biodiversity is not a luxury but the basis of human life on the planet.”

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The 2025 Origin edition was held on October 1 in Houston, Texas, and brought together roasteries from the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

The Overall Regional Winner, Casa Landino from Bogota, Colombia, earned the title of Best Roaster in a Producing Country.

How did the competition work?

All coffees were blind-judged by an international panel of experts, including certified Q graders and professionals with experience in the Cup of Excellence and World Barista Championships.

Each coffee was evaluated across multiple categories: Filter, Espresso, Flat White (Dairy), and Flat White (Alternative Milk), using an objective and transparent scoring system designed to provide constructive, actionable feedback.

Each participant received individualized feedback from judges, including roast development suggestions, sensory notes, and food pairing recommendations, supporting professional growth and continuous improvement across the industry.

“As an industry, we rarely recognize roasters in producing countries, and that’s what makes this edition so valuable,” said Jayson Galvis, two-time Cup of Excellence international lead judge and Lead Judge for the GCA Origin competition. “It highlights the excellence happening at origin and the people driving it.”

Market insights and trends

The Origin competition highlighted the diversity and innovation of roasting at origin, with entries from Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Vietnam, and India, among others.

The Filter category once again proved the most popular, reflecting the growing appreciation for pour-over and filter coffee culture in producing countries.

Traditional washed and honey-processed coffees remained dominant, while a rising number of experimental lots, including anaerobic and carbonic fermentations, showcased a new level of craftsmanship and sensory exploration.

“Roasters at origin are redefining what it means to add value locally,” said Henry Wilson, Founder of the Global Coffee Awards. “They’re building stronger brands, creating jobs, and keeping more of the coffee story within their own countries. The quality we’re seeing is world-class.”

Top winners

Overall winner: Casa Landino in Bogotá, Colombia

Category winners:

Filter – Casa Landino
Espresso – Galani Coffee in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Flat White Dairy – DeLa Finca Specialty Coffee in Managua, Nicaragua
Flat White Alternative – Café de las Nubes in Alvarado, Mexico
All Category Gold Medalists will advance to the Global Finals, held at Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) El Salvador on March 26–27, 2026, where they will compete for the title of World’s Best Roaster.
You can find all the Origin category and subcategory winners here.

Recognizing producers behind every winning coffee

The GCA team reverse-engineered every winning coffee to identify and credit the producer behind it. Each producer receives an official GCA Certificate of Excellence and winner’s seal, and will be invited to the Global Awards Ceremony at PRF El Salvador 2026.

“A key part of the GCA is ensuring that roasters at origin receive more of the global spotlight,” said Wilson. “By recognizing both the roaster and the producer, we’re strengthening visibility and connection across the entire value chain.”

About the Global Coffee Awards

The Global Coffee Awards (GCA) is an international competition that celebrates roasting excellence and the producers behind each coffee.

Regional competitions include the U.S. & Canada, Origin, and Europe editions, culminating in the Global Finals at PRF El Salvador 2026.

Unlike other competitions, the GCA recognizes the entire roastery while also celebrating the producer, helping strengthen transparency and collaboration across the coffee value chain.
The GCA is organized by PDG Global, the media and events company behind Perfect Daily Grind and Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF), which reaches millions of coffee professionals worldwide.

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The CVA utilizes analysis across four assessment types: physical, descriptive, affective, and extrinsic. The company’s Evolved Q Graders and Coffee Technologists follow the SCA standards for sample preparation, tasting mechanics, and sensory assessments. Confirming adherence to specifications, contract terms, and consumer expectations is critical to business success

Dan Cox, president and founder of Coffee Enterprises explains, “We launched new Coffee Value Assessment testing packages following Specialty Coffee Association protocols as an important additional option for coffee testing. Our Green Coffee Analysis testing package using the SCAA 2004 Cupping Form is also available as another valuable option for coffee companies.”

Coffee prices are volatile. Your quality should be stable and consistent. Independent coffee analysis helps ensure you get what you paid for and what your consumers expect.

CVA testing packages include Physical Assessment (PA), Descriptive Assessment (DA) and Affective Assessment (AA) which may be completed individually or combined together. Extrinsic assessment (EA) is coffee identification information provided by the client.

Visit www.CoffeeEnterprises.com, contact the company at (802) 864-5760 / (800) 375-3398 or email info@ce.coffee to request “The Coffee & Tea Testing Guide”.

About Coffee Enterprises

Founded in 1992, Coffee Enterprises is an independent company providing world-class consulting, technical laboratory services, and business intelligence to the coffee and tea industries. Coffee Enterprises does not sell coffee or tea; we test coffee and tea. Our experience enables us to provide insights that assist our clients in making informed decisions in managing their coffee and tea programs by addressing practical issues from a scientific perspective.

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TIME’s annual list highlights 300 extraordinary innovations changing the way we live, work, and thrive. To compile the list, TIME solicited nominations from editors and correspondents worldwide and evaluated each contender on originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.

Launched in 2022, Innovea is the most ambitious coffee breeding effort in history. The network unites governments and research institutions across Latin America, Africa, and Asia to accelerate the pace of genetic improvement for both Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta).

By leveraging cutting-edge breeding tools, a world-class scientific team, and global cooperation, Innovea is creating enhanced genetics at an unprecedented pace to deliver climate-resilient, disease-resistant, higher-yielding, and better-tasting coffee varieties. 

“Innovea embodies the power of global scientific collaboration,” said Dr. Jennifer “Vern” Long, CEO of World Coffee Research. “We are honored that TIME has recognized Innovea as a transformative force for the global coffee sector. We share this award with the 11 partners around the world who make up this unprecedented collaboration network and who together produce over 40% of the world’s coffee.”  

The 11 national partners collaborating through the Innovea Network to secure a vibrant, sustainable future for farmers and industry include:  

·  Costa Rica: ICAFE (Instituto del Café de Costa Rica)

·  Ghana: CRIG (Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana)

·  India: CCRI (Central Coffee Research Institute)

·  Indonesia: ICCRI (Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute)

·  Kenya: KALRO (Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization)

·  Mexico: Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

·  Peru: INIA (Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria)

·  Rwanda: RAB (Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board)

·  Uganda: NaCORI (National Coffee Research Institute)

·  United States: USDA ARS (United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service)

·  Vietnam: WASI (Western Highlands Agroforestry Scientific and Technical Institute)

See the full list of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025 here: time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025.

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