Green coffee beans

Hawaii Coffee Association

Verifying Origin

Providing origin confidence for Hawaii-grown coffee.

Relying on the tenets of science, the Hawaii Coffee Association (HCA) has inked an agreement with Oritain to build a statewide “Origin Fingerprint” database to verify the origins of Hawaii-grown coffee.

Our new partnership marks a significant step in deterring counterfeit coffee by protecting the reputation of an important speciality crop.

Hawaii Coffee Association's partnership with Oritain.

Oritain uses scientific testing to measure a product’s stable isotopes and trace elements and verify its origin. The methodology originated in the criminal forensic field and has since been peer-reviewed in scientific journals over the last two decades.

Oritain runs this data through its statistical models to produce an “Origin Fingerprint” that it then uses to test subsequent samples as they move through the supply chain. Any samples that are inconsistent with the “Origin Fingerprint,” have likely been adulterated.

"Hawaii-grown coffee has earned a world-renowned reputation for its specialty status, farming practices and flavour profile. It is coffee that is unrivalled from anywhere else in the world. However, with such a strong reputation brings a temptation to cheat by substituting coffee from other origins and labelling it as Hawaiian. This partnership marks a significant step in deterring this behaviour by protecting the integrity and reputation of an important specialty crop."

- Grant Cochrane, CEO, Oritain

Coffee Beans Before Grinding On Table

Traceability like no other.

Oritain’s unique methodology applies forensic science and data to detect naturally occurring elements in a product or raw material. Soil composition, climate, altitude and other environmental factors all reveal the details of a product’s origin - which we call an Origin Fingerprint.

Once we’ve created an Origin Fingerprint, it can be used to audit our clients’ products at any point in the supply chain - to clearly differentiate the legitimate from the fraudulent.

Learn More About Our Process