Coffee growing in Nicaragua

Coffee traceability

Coffee farms are often small, family-run farms only a few hectares in size. Therefore, we buy our green coffee from thousands of farms and farming communities – through long term partners who have a strong presence in the countries of origin. All our coffee can be traced back to production cooperatives or communities – and in most cases to individual producers.
Coffee farm in Nicaragua

What does traceability mean?

Traceability is an important part of our sustainability work and a key requirement for verifying coffee as sustainable. In a nutshell, it means tracing and consistently monitoring the entire journey coffee makes from the farm where the beans are cultivated to the cafés and retailers that sell our coffee.

Close, comprehensive cooperation with our partners in the countries of origin is essential for ensuring traceability. The better we know the origin of our coffee, the more information we get about the quality of the raw coffee we use as well as the ethics of our supply chain. Together with our partners, we are continuously developing the sustainability, profitability and resilience of coffee cultivation and the entire production chain.

Coffee cherries

Coffee travels a long way to reach us

Paulig buys a significant portion of the world’s green coffee, a total of up to 40 million kilograms per year. This coffee travels to us by sea from over 15 countries, such as Brazil and Colombia. Coffee farms are often small, family-run farms only a few hectares in size. Therefore, thousands of farms and farming communities are required to produce the amount of green coffee that we buy.

There are several stages in the journey of coffee from farms to shipment, varying by region and farm. For example, after harvesting, some farms process their own coffee while others send it to larger processing plants.

All our coffee can be traced back to production cooperatives or communities – in most cases to individual producers. This transparency allows us to collaborate with farmers and coffee suppliers to improve the sustainability and profitability of coffee cultivation and the entire production chain.

Paulig sees the increasing demands for coffee traceability as a positive development. An important example of this is the EU Deforestation Regulation, which we firmly support. Read more about Paulig’s policies and certification requirements regarding deforestation here.