Our approach
Coffee Testing Explained
Last updated · 2026-09-12
Ingredient approval and testing evidence
A coffee can meet our ingredient and sourcing criteria while its testing evidence remains incomplete. The same approach applies to other eligible categories. The product page explains what qualifies and identifies the missing evidence.
Follow the crop, roast and sample
We record whether a report concerns green beans, finished roasted coffee or a prepared drink, and which product, crop or lot it represents. We do not attach one roast's report to another or describe a historical report as current simply because its webpage is live.
Several testing questions remain separate
Our coffee review considers pesticide and glyphosate evidence, metals, mycotoxins, microbiology and roasting-related acrylamide where required by the framework. A report covering one area does not establish the others. A QR-linked pass summary is useful, but it may not contain the numerical detail required for a testing verification.
Glyphosate detection is not an automatic failure
We retain a measured result and review its value, units, sample type and applicable decision criteria. Detection alone does not automatically fail the product. Missing results are not called zero, and non-detect results require reporting-limit context. We do not infer a brewed-coffee concentration from a green-bean measurement.
How we review decaf
We check how caffeine is removed from the exact coffee or blend. Documented water processes meet our process criteria. Methylene chloride is excluded. Sugarcane and other processes need their own source and processing review; a natural-process description does not settle that review. A half-caffeine blend does not inherit the process of another decaf sold by the same brand. Process approval and contaminant testing remain separate.
What shoppers will see
Until the complete required evidence is verified, the selected coffee shows Ingredients Approved · Testing not verified, with a short product-specific explanation. Better evidence can change that status after review. An established unacceptable finding cannot be overridden by the disclosure.