What is quality control in coffee?

Quality control in coffee is the set of practices and checkpoints used to verify that green and roasted coffee meets defined standards at every stage of the supply chain - from farm to cup.

At origin, QC includes cherry selection at harvest, monitoring fermentation and drying conditions, moisture testing of dried parchment, physical defect assessment of green samples, and cupping pre-shipment samples. At the import and warehouse level it means verifying incoming lots match the approved sample in appearance and cup character, and monitoring storage conditions over time.

At the roastery, QC covers incoming green assessment, calibration of roasting profiles against target parameters (Agtron colour meters, roast logging), production batch consistency checks, and sensory tasting before release. A rigorous QC programme catches quality issues before they reach the customer, protects your reputation, and provides the data needed to make better sourcing decisions for future crops.