Supply Chain and Traceability

From Cherry to Container

When a roaster in Tokyo or Berlin opens a bag of specialty green coffee and reads the label -- farm, plot, variety, process, altitude, SCA score -- they are seeing the end result of a documentation chain that started months earlier in a Colombian coffee field. Traceability is what allows specialty coffee to command premiums over commodity. Without it, every bag is anonymous, and anonymity destroys value.

The Lot Lifecycle

A single lot of coffee passes through multiple custody points, and at each one it must maintain its identity:

1. Cherry Collection (Farm)

• Harvested cherries are weighed by collector and plot
• Each day's collection from a specific plot becomes an initial wet lot
• The conversion factor (kg cherry per arroba of parchment) is recorded -- this measures cherry quality and picker selectivity
• Lower factor means better quality: a factor of 50 means excellent cherry; above 80 signals poor selectivity

2. Wet Mill Processing

• Depulping, fermentation, washing, and initial drying happen at the farm's beneficiadero
• Each lot maintains its identity: plot code, variety, process method, fermentation hours, drying method
• The lot receives a wet mill code (e.g., SM-1294) that travels with it permanently

3. Parchment Storage (Bodega)

• Dried parchment coffee (pergamino) rests in the bodega at 10-12% humidity
• Lots remain separated by origin, process, and quality tier
• Inventory is tracked by weight, moisture, and storage duration

4. Dry Mill (Trilla)

• Parchment is hulled to produce green coffee
• Screen grading separates by size; density tables remove defects
• Each green lot receives a dry mill code linking back to the original wet lot
• Physical grading and cupping evaluation determine the quality tier
• Weight loss during hulling is typically 18-20% (parchment weight)

5. Export Preparation

• Approved lots are bagged in GrainPro-lined jute bags (69 kg standard)
• Each bag is labeled with lot code, origin, weight, and quality grade
• A standard 20-foot container holds approximately 250 bags

6. Export Documentation

• ICO certificate -- required for international coffee trade, issued by the exporting country
• Phytosanitary certificate -- from ICA (Colombia's agricultural authority), certifying pest-free status
• Certificate of origin -- proves Colombian origin for tariff and regulatory purposes
• Bill of lading -- shipping document that transfers ownership
• Quality certificate -- cupping scores, physical grading, moisture readings

Why Lot Separation Matters

The economics are compelling. A farm that mixes all its coffee into one large lot sells at the average quality level -- losing the premium that its best plots could command. A farm that separates by plot, variety, and process can:

• Price each lot independently based on its cup score
• Provide full traceability that buyers increasingly demand
• Identify which plots, varieties, and processes produce the best results -- feeding back into farm management decisions
• Build reputation as a traceable, transparent origin

On our farms, we maintain over 2,100 wet mill lots and 219 dry mill lots with full traceability from cherry collection through export. Every lot can be traced back to the specific plot, harvest date, process method, and fermentation protocol that produced it.

Container Logistics

The final step is physical: moving coffee from the dry mill to the destination port. This involves:

• Inland transport -- truck from dry mill to the port of Buenaventura (Pacific) or Cartagena (Atlantic)
• Fumigation -- required by some destination countries
• Container loading -- supervised to ensure bag count, weight, and lot identity are correct
• Ocean transit -- 3-6 weeks depending on destination, during which temperature and humidity can affect quality
• Customs clearance -- at both origin and destination, with full documentation required at each step

Every break in the documentation chain is a potential point of failure. Traceability is not just marketing -- it is operational discipline.

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This post is adapted from Module 17 of our Advanced course. Want to see how we trace lots from cherry to container across 6 farms? Join the free community at [skool.com/particular-3064](https://skool.com/particular-3064) for real supply chain data and export logistics insights.