Stories about producers and the value of CQIs Q system
The Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) Q Certificate is a common language communication between a buyer and a seller. Green coffee that is Q Certified goes through the CQI Q Grading System, where an In-Country Partner gathers three certified Q Graders to evaluate the coffee blind, providing a third party, verifiable quality score. The Q Certificate communicates the coffee’s quality, while also providing feedback to the producer that can be used to help improve. This certification also helps producers market their coffee as it is based on a common language spoken globally through the third-party evaluation.
We are sharing experiences from producers – or organizations representing producers - who have had coffee evaluated through CQI’s Q Coffee System. We checked in with SIMEXCO DAKLAK LTD, recognized as one of the leading exporters out of Vietnam, as they use the data from Q Certificates to educate producers, continue to improve quality, and help these producers enter new markets.
SIMEXCO has been in business since 1993, recently celebrating their 30-year anniversary. The team includes traders, marketing experts and Q Graders. We spoke with a few members of the team:
· Beauty Le (Thuy Dung) – focuses on trading and marketing with 15 years of coffee experience.
· Phan Thanh – part of the Quality Control team, and a trader, working directly with producers.
· Tran Phi Hung – Q Arabica/Robusta Grader, with more than 23 years of coffee experience.
Each team member has a different relationship and connection to CQI – however one thing they all have in common is that they invested in education for themselves, staff, and the local coffee community to train coffee professionals how to properly evaluate and identify Fine Robusta.
Mr. Le Duc Huy, the CEO of SIMEXCO, became a Q Robusta Grader in 2016. The quality control team began to evaluate samples submitted from the Ea tan Cooperative located in the Krong Nang district and realized that the samples would be classified as Fine Robusta. This led SIMEXCO to submit samples through a CQI In-Country Partner to get an official Q Grading report and ultimately a Q Certificate that can be used as a marketing tool for interested buyers.
SIMEXCO is now more confident when they approach sellers – showcasing their Q Graders on staff and Q certificates for samples to verify coffee quality and standardized protocols. They sell to both local and international markets, so it is important to them to use the same standards and speak a global language of coffee.
Q Certificates have been used to promote Vietnamese coffee to over 75 different markets. Additionally, the staff at SIMEXCO noted that producers continuously inquire about the quality of their coffee, and they like to see the results generated from the Q Coffee System to understand and further improve quality.
Click here to learn more about coffee certification.
