Alliance for Coffee Excellence partners with Oritain

The Alliance For Coffee Excellence is now able to trace the origin of coffee through new partnership with scientific traceability company, Oritain

Scientific traceability company, Oritain, are now working with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence to verify the origin of coffee submitted for auction in the global ‘Cup of Excellence’ competition.

With thousands of entries from competitors in over 10 different countries, the Cup of Excellence is the most respected coffee competition in the world, securing the highest value for its farmers and growers while identifying some of the world's best coffees. And, now, the competition is further cementing its reputation for integrity and transparency through a partnership with scientific traceability company, Oritain. Oritain will analyse coffee from the Cup of Excellence, building up a database of coffee from all over the world that can then be used to prove the origin of coffee.

Through their partnership, both Oritain and the Alliance for Coffee aim to provide greater supply chain verification, providing commercial opportunities for coffee farmers, traders and other companies operating in the coffee industry in the future. The ability for coffee farmers to prove the origin of their respected coffee beans will allow them to recognise the true value for their coffee, with buyers safe in the knowledge that the coffee they are paying for is exactly the same coffee they receive.

Everything that is grown, reared, or made, absorbs a unique ratio of elements and nutrients from its environment. This is what Oritain measures; using world leading forensic science, it analyses the natural properties found in coffee and uses the data to create an Origin Fingerprint for that particular coffee bean. Once established, this fingerprint is used to verify the authenticity of that coffee as it moves throughout the supply chain, all the way up to the shop floor.

For Alliance for Coffee, they will be able to introduce a traceability tool in the coffee industry to increase transparency, demonstrate compliance with sustainability and responsible sourcing standards, manage risk and strengthen the reputation of high-level coffee origins. ACE Executive Director, Darrin Daniel, says: “This partnership is at the cutting edge of verification of origin and we are delighted to begin this partnership as a service for our many stakeholders in the specialty coffee supply chain.”

About Alliance for Coffee Excellence & Cup of Excellence®

Alliance for Coffee Excellence is a non-profit global membership organization dedicated to advancing excellence in coffee. Cup of Excellence, a program which gives out the most prestigious award in coffee, has affected thousands of farmers. Its unmatched focus on quality discovery, farmer premiums and transparency has changed the specialty coffee industry. For more information about membership, juries and to register for the Cup of Excellence or national winning samples and their auctions log on to: allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org.

About Oritain

Oritain is a world leader in using forensic science to trace the origin of products. It works with Mother Nature and doesn’t rely on barcodes, packaging or other tracer systems. Everything that is grown, reared, or made, is a product of its environment, absorbing a unique ratio of elements and nutrients depending on where in the world it comes from. This is what Oritain analyses, using a unique combination of forensic science and statistics to accurately verify the origin of products. Oritain's services have been applied to increase transparency in global supply chain and, through scientific verification of origin, to mitigate social and environmental risks along several products' supply chains.