Authenticity Testing of Arabica Coffee via ¹H-NMR

Rising green coffee prices as an incentive for adulteration

March 2022. Over the course of the past year, green coffee prices have risen dramatically, partly due to crop failures in key growing regions^[1]. This increases the incentive for financially motivated adulteration, for example in the form of adding lower-priced Robusta to a "100% Arabica" coffee. The Eurofins laboratories for food and feed testing in Germany offer a reliable proof of authenticity of Arabica by means of NMR, with which even small admixtures of Robusta can be clearly detected.

Arabica or Robusta?

Arabica (Coffea arabica) and Robusta (Coffea canephora) are the two most important commercial coffee types. Due to the more elaborate growing conditions required for Arabica ("mountain coffee"), there is a price difference between the two varieties and thus a potential for fraud. Adding cheaper Robusta to a 100% Arabica coffee is an illegal adulteration.

Determination of 16-OMC to verify authenticity

The marker substance 16-O-methylcafestol (16-OMC) can be used to determine unambiguously whether a coffee contains a proportion of Robusta. 16-OMC occurs only in Robusta and not in Arabica. A coffee declared as 100% Arabica must therefore not contain 16-OMC. We offer the determination of 16-OMC by ¹H-NMR analysis as an accredited method. The detectable proportion of Robusta in a coffee blend is 1‑2%. The method is used in a comparable way by official German control laboratories.

Do you have any questions on the authenticity of coffee?

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Relevant sources

[1] statista: Coffee price in world trade by variety until February 2022 (in German)