ALLY COFFEE IS FIRST IMPORTER ACCREDITED BY CERRADO MINEIRO DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN INTEGRATING THE COFFEE CHAIN PROGRAM
On Saturday, April 13th, Ally Coffee became the first importer accredited under the Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin’s Integrating the Coffee Chain program. The Designation of Origin pioneers a new way to integrate the coffee chain, where each member carries out its role, valuing the producer, connecting to origin, and guaranteeing quality for consumers. The Integrating the Coffee Chain Program brings together cooperatives, exporters, and importers as the accredited channels of the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation.
The program begins on the farms of Cerrado Mineiro, Brazil, where the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation first established the Designation of Origin in 2013 and has since grown the program to encompass nearly 100,000 hectares of land. 1,069 farms, 967 producers, 7 cooperatives, 5 warehouses, 3 exporters, and 1 foundation currently comprise the program’s chain of custody.
Adding Ally Coffee as the first importer broadens the scope of the Designation of Origin, which recognizes both the geographic provenance of coffee grown in Cerrado Mineiro and the agricultural best practices of producers, as required by the Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation.
The Designation of Origin was first released in the United States in 2014 and in Europe in 2017. The program is known for its QR codes sewn into bags of green coffee, allowing roasters to access the coffee’s full farm and production profile with a single scan. “Our purpose is to integrate, develop, and connect people,” says Gustavo Guimaraes, agronomist and international promotion specialist with the Cerrado Federation. “This new partnership with Ally Coffee permits us to influence the transformation and evolution of the coffee world.”
Ally Coffee is a green coffee company with a network of global offices, bringing specialty coffee to roasters in Europe, the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. “We are proud to be a part of integrating the coffee chain, from the farms of Cerrado Mineiro to connecting their great coffees with our roasting partners,” says Ricardo Pereira, COO of Ally Coffee.
During the SCA Expo in Boston, both Ally Cofffee and the Cerrado Mineiro Region held cuppings at their booths to showcase the flavors in coffees from Cerrado Mineiro. The official signing commemorating the new partnership took place at the Cerrado booth with parties present from Ally Coffee, Cerrado Mineiro Coffee Growers Federation, as well as export partners.
This coming harvest, look for more of Ally’s offerings sourced through the integrated coffee chain and bearing the Cerrado Mineiro Designation of Origin seal, indicating a lot with traceability and provenance verified by the Cerrado Mineiro program and by the producer him or herself.
