The non-profit Cup of Excellence (COE) and coffee research company RD2 Vision have formed a memorandum of understanding to develop coffee genetics related programs to benefit quality-driven farmers.
In alignment with COE’s mission to discover and promote coffee excellence, precise knowledge about coffee variety is a key constituent, thus further substantiating the relationship with French-based RD2 Vision.
The two organisations will work together to help coffee producers, traders, and roasters increase their knowledge about coffee varieties with extended benefits to Alliance for Coffee Excellence’s (ACE) membership network.
This collaboration will help further understand what growers are cultivating and the benefits that support excellence in the specialty coffee sector through varietal authentication.
RD2 Vision will build reports that indicate the genetic identity corresponding to the sample(s) based on the optimal available set of DNA fingerprinting markers. These reports would be made available less than a month after reception of the samples by RD2 Vision.
“RD2 Vision is really excited and privileged to partner with the highly respected Cup of Excellence and provide insights on the genetic identity of varieties giving outstanding cup,” says Dr Christophe Montagnon CEO of RD2 Vision.
“Looking at the varieties is not only checking what it is, it is also finding rare birds such as Yemenia in Yemen or unexpected Ethiopian landraces – Chiroso, one of the Colombia Cup of Excellence winners, that was thought to be a mutation of Caturra.”
Part of this agreement includes the two organisations partnering together to raise funds for systematic DNA fingerprinting of COE winners in each COE competition.
For more information, contact support@cupofexcellence.org.
