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Ethio Coffee Import and Export PLC is a family-owned Ethiopian coffee exporter shipping green coffee beans to roasters, importers, and distributors worldwide.
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A sample archive protocol for green buyers and roastery quality teams
Key Takeaway
Green coffee retained samples are sealed portions of unroasted coffee kept as a physical record of a documented lot and sampling event. Assign each pouch a unique ID, record its seal and custodian, and reserve enough coffee for the agreed follow-up tests. Keep a separate working portion and check for active holds before disposal.
A shipment arrives, your team questions the cup, and the pouch marked “Guji” turns out to be the one used for training. Green coffee retained samples give buyers and roasters a physical record they can retrieve when a shipment or storage question arises. The archive has to tell a second person exactly what was sampled, whose seal is on the pouch, and how much coffee is still available for testing.
Set up that record when the sample is divided. A tidy shelf can still hold coffee with no usable link to the approved lot. The steps below start at the point of division and follow the pouches through storage, use, and disposal.
Archive the sample that supports a named decision. For an approved pre-shipment sample (PSS), preserve a sealed portion from the same mixed material that supplied the evaluation portion. If your receiving team needs a baseline for later warehouse checks, give the arrival retain its own record tied to the receipt.
Use the green coffee sampling protocol to define what the draw represents. At division, assign one parent ID to that draw and a different child ID to each portion. A buyer archive pouch and an exporter archive pouch can share a parent while carrying separate seals, locations, and custody records. Record the testing portion as a sibling so the approval notes point to the same draw.
For Ethiopian purchases, ask the exporter to confirm which preparation run produced the approved draw and which bag marks it represents. A washing station name and grade can appear on several lots. If the mill re-screens the coffee or changes the bagged lot after the draw, record what changed and agree whether the approval needs a new sample. Keep the earlier record under its original ID and mark its status.
Size the retain around the work it may have to support. Confirm the test method, minimum usable mass, and packaging with whoever will do the work. Set aside separately sealed portions for destructive tests and for an independent lab if the parties expect to use one.
| Portion | Example net mass | Planned use |
|---|---|---|
| Sensory retain | 240 g | Two 100 g green charges and 40 g allowance for handling |
| Physical retain | 350 g | One in-house physical assessment under the agreed method |
| Independent reserve | 500 g | Unopened handoff to the named laboratory, which confirmed this intake mass |
| Total reserve | 1,090 g | Additional to the material used for the original evaluation |
These quantities are planning assumptions for the example. Confirm whether a physical test leaves material fit for another method before counting the same beans twice. A separate analysis that requires its own draw adds to the total. Plan the mass before anyone samples the lot, so the sampler can collect enough material under the agreed procedure.
The ISO 4072:1982 sampling standard covers preparation, packaging, marking, storage, and transport for green coffee samples from consignments of at least ten bags. Confirm the governing procedure for your lot before using an internal mass budget. For sensory work, use your documented green coffee sample roast method to calculate each charge.
Put enough information on the pouch to identify it if it leaves the cabinet. Keep the full history in a shared register keyed by the pouch ID. Record the seal identifier separately so a custodian can check whether the closure matches the intake record.
Print the pouch ID, lot code, stage, draw date, and net mass. Add the seal ID and a contract or purchase-order reference that the holder can look up. The JDE Peet's green coffee sourcing terms give a buyer-side example by requiring its contract or PO number on the PSS label.
Record who created each portion, what it represents, where it is, and who can authorize access. Link the parent draw to the sampling report and written approval. Make the register searchable by both the exporter's lot code and your own receipt or inventory code.
When Ethiopian bag marks are the physical link to a prepared lot, keep a legible photo or exact transcription in the parent record. If a destination warehouse assigns a new code on receipt, record the mapping without replacing the origin code. The green coffee bag-marking guide explains which fields to cross-check.
Store the pouches under stable, documented conditions in a clean, dry, odor-free cabinet away from heat, direct light, and chemicals. Use a closure appropriate to the test and its storage conditions. Designate an archive custodian and an alternate so someone can find and release the right pouch when the regular cupper is away.
The International Coffee Organization's 2005 circulation of green coffee buying guidance includes the ISO instruction to protect moisture-sensitive portions in airtight, moisture-proof containers. Follow the agreed method and log any storage excursion or suspected seal failure. Have the quality lead assess which uses, if any, the affected portion can still support.
Record the sender, receiver, purpose, date, and seal condition at checkout. On return, record whether the pouch stayed sealed or was opened, the remaining usable mass, and the replacement seal number if the remainder is reclosed. Keep the original seal entry in the event history.
For an outside lab, send the approved instructions with the sample ID and record the carrier tracking and the recipient's acknowledgement. If a pouch arrives damaged or the seal number differs, document the condition before anyone opens it and refer the decision to the named quality contact. Use the existing green coffee quality claims workflow if the result is tied to a dispute.
Set the review date using the agreed acceptance terms and applicable customer or company retention requirements. Confirm that the governing period has passed and check whether a complaint, investigation, or hold still requires the material. Assign one person to record who approved disposal, when it happened, and which pouch was removed.
Keep the register entry after the pouch leaves the archive. An entry marked disposed with a date and an approver lets the next custodian explain the empty slot. A pouch with no confirmed location needs an exception record and a search.
A specialty roaster receives two washed Guji lots under one purchase order in this fictional November 2026 example. The QC lead checks that each receipt line points to its own approved draw and that the corresponding sealed portions are accounted for. Both lots were evaluated under the same product brief, so the PO alone cannot distinguish the pouches.
For the first lot, the exporter's preparation code GJ-41 maps to the roaster's receipt line R28-01. The approval record points to parent draw GJ41-P02. The buyer's sensory pouch is GJ41-P02-S, and its seal matches the cabinet record. The exporter confirms a sibling pouch with the same parent draw ID and a different seal. A separate arrival draw, R28-01-A01, goes in the register with its receipt date and represented bags.
The second lot's cabinet entry points to a pouch from an earlier milling run. The roaster logs an identity exception, preserves that pouch under its original record, and asks for the final preparation reference and a correctly identified retained portion. If the exporter can confirm a sibling from the approved draw, the roaster can restore physical coverage while keeping the exception history. A fresh warehouse draw can establish a receiving baseline under a new ID. The quality lead records the decision under the green coffee receiving inspection procedure.
In the same example, the lead uses one 100 g charge from the first lot's 240 g sensory pouch and records 10 g of handling loss. The pouch has 130 g of usable coffee left, enough for one more planned charge. The 500 g independent reserve stays sealed. The register now tells procurement how much evidence remains and who controls it.
Give an alternate custodian a purchase order and one bag mark, then ask them to find the correct pouch without help from the sampler. A retrieval passes when the custodian can match the parent draw, pouch ID, physical seal, and authorized use to the approval record. Include a held or previously opened pouch so the test checks release controls as well as filing.
Log the reason for each failed retrieval. If the origin and warehouse codes fail to connect, repair the mapping. If the pouch is on the shelf under the wrong bin, reconcile the physical archive and its register. If the only remaining portion is already open, record the available mass and the resulting limit on what your team can test.
Measure coverage by the number of required lot-stage records with a verified, usable retain divided by the number of records that require one. If two buyer pouches and one exporter pouch all represent the same approved draw, they support one coverage record. Track duplicate pouches separately as reserves. That distinction exposes missing lots even when the cabinet is full.
Green coffee retained samples are useful when the team can trace them back to a specific decision and retrieve them in usable condition. Agree on the parent draw, the portion each party will keep, the tests it must support, and the disposal rule when you qualify a lot. Ask the person who will retrieve the sample to test the record while the lot and sampler are still available.
Tell us which lots you want to evaluate and what your lab needs to verify. We can discuss the sample stage, lot identification, and requested quantity before you order.
It is a documented portion of unroasted coffee reserved as a physical reference for a particular lot and draw. Keep its identity tied to the approval, receipt, or investigation it supports. Give the pouch its own ID and seal, and record who holds it and where it is stored.
Yes. Each holder can have a separately sealed pouch with a unique ID and seal number. The register should show that both pouches came from the same documented parent draw. Record the holder and original seal for each pouch so both parties can verify the reference they actually have.
Record who opened it, when, why, and whether the original seal was intact. Log the amount used and the usable mass remaining. If the remainder is reclosed, record the new seal as a separate event and label the pouch as opened so staff can assess its suitability for further work.
A new draw can document the condition of the coffee at the time it is taken. Give it its own stage and ID. To recover the earlier reference, ask whether another custodian holds a documented sibling from the approved draw, then verify the chain of custody before using it.
Mark the pouch as on hold and link it to the complaint in the register. Keep the pouch and its custody records available to the authorized quality lead. When that person clears the hold, check all applicable retention rules again before logging disposal or setting a new review date.
