Knowing the origin of the coffee we consume has become not only a legal requirement, but also an aspect that increases the perceived value of the product by the end consumer.

Traceability is a term very commonly used in the coffee sector, in some cases in order to comply with supply chain management and food regulation requirementes, in other cases, it can be seen as a complement to sensory quality, and it can be defined as the "possibility to identify the origin and the different stages of the production and distribution processes of consumer goods" or as the "paper trail of a product´s traceability".

The coffee journey from farm to cup is long and we may identify two groups of operators in the context of traceability: on the one hand, the operators that assume responsibility for managing coffee throughout value chain; on the other hand, those who act mainly as service providers (transport companies, customs, etc.).

The former are:

1. Farmers: they take care of their coffee trees in order to grow and harvest coffee. Farmers record data regarding their crop (or at least they should do so), such as varieties, lots, harvest days, volumes harvested, among others.

2. Bulking companies (dry mills, cooperatives, exporters...): they purchase coffee from farmers in order to create lots large enough for an international sale. Lots must be handled so that their identity is preserved throughout all processing stages (destoning, hulling, screen sorting, density separation, colour sorting).

At the time of export, documents are prepared (Bill of Lading, Certificates of Origin, Weight, Quality, Phytosanitary Certificates, etc.). All of them are important for traceability matters, but the Certificate of Origin can be considered the most important one. When it is produced, the Departments of Agriculture in different countries assign to each lot from their country the ICO number, which identifies them in individually in terms of country of origin, exporting company and lot number. This number can be used as an Identity Card that allows us to maintain traceability until the coffee is roasted.

3. Importers: they act as the international link between producing and consuming countries, handling purchasing, quality control and logistics of the coffee from its origin country until the roasting companies.

4. Roasters/distributors: they are responsible for roasting and packaging the coffee for final consumption. In some cases, roasters themselves put the product in the market, making it accessible to the final consumer. They should keep their lots’ traceability at all times, as a guarantee of the industrial process.

This chain corresponds to the steps that the coffee could follow from where it’s produced up to where it’s consumed; in some cases, all of the above mentioned operators will take part; in others, some might not. If the steps taken are adequate and each operator performs her functions with responsibility, the intervention of each operator will allow her not only to receive a fair price for her work, but also to maintain and ensure the quality of the product up to the final consumer. Compromise and respect towards the other operators in the chain is the best guarantee to responsible and sustainable trading.

Traceability in the coffee sector is important for different reasons:

> Firstly, because it’s related to food safety; even though traceability itself does not ensure that the product is harmless (GAP and GMP, among others, must also be taken into account), data keeping in a traceability system contributes to increasing the performance of quality control.

> Secondly, because offering a product with a guaranteed origin and a quality description (or definition) increases its value and allows a more equitable division of earnings among the operators in the value chain.

The differences that we may encounter in each of the value chain operators are numerous and varied. We will try, from our experience, to offer an insight into the different realities of all operators in the coffee value chain, hoping that it will lead us to reflect upon the value that each one of them adds to the long journey of coffee from the farm to the end consumer.