# Coffee - Green Bean Moisture

> MC analysis for green coffee beans - the critical pre-roast quality checkpoint. Questionnaire distributed to target roasters and exporters.

- Canonical URL: https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/coffee-green-bean-moisture

- Sector: Sector 01 · Food & Agriculture
- Status: Emails Sent
- Tags: NIR, Coffee, Moisture, Green Bean, Pre-Roast

Green coffee bean moisture content is the single most important pre-roast quality checkpoint. Beans above 12.5% moisture are prone to mould, off-flavours, and post-harvest deterioration during transit - a major cause of lot rejection at destination ports. Beans below 10% become brittle, fracture unevenly during roasting, and produce inconsistent flavour profiles. Current measurement relies on capacitance-based moisture meters that are poorly calibrated for green coffee. NIR offers a path to a commodity-agnostic measurement approach.

## What We've Established

### Literature Precedent

Published NIR studies on green coffee bean moisture show strong calibration performance (R² > 0.95) using the same spectral regions effective for tea - confirming that the core measurement physics transfers. No commercial NIR system has been specifically validated for the Sri Lankan or East African export corridors, representing an addressable market gap.

### Market Qualification

A structured questionnaire was distributed to specialty roasters and green coffee exporters in the target market. Early responses indicate strong interest in a rapid, reference-standard MC measurement tool, particularly for pre-shipment lot inspection.

## Technical Approach

Proposed approach mirrors the green tea MC methodology: build a PLS-R calibration model against ISO 6673 oven-drying reference values across a representative range of bean varieties and origins. Requires 200–400 calibration samples covering the 8–14% moisture range. Sample collection is the current bottleneck.

## Where We Stand

Questionnaire distributed to the target partner list. Awaiting confirmed interest and first commitments to supply calibration samples. No dataset collection has commenced.

## Next Steps

- Consolidate questionnaire responses and identify two to three anchor calibration partners
- Design sample collection protocol covering major origin varieties (Ethiopia, Colombia, Sri Lanka)
- Begin spectral acquisition once minimum sample commitment is confirmed

## Related Projects

- [Moisture Content - Green Tea](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/moisture-content-green-tea) (Model Ready): Real-time MC measurement for green tea. Model trained on TRI-standard data and independently validated in December 2025.
- [Cinnamon](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/cinnamon) (Awaiting Response): Moisture and cinnamaldehyde content for Ceylon cinnamon - the primary authenticity and quality indicators for export compliance.
- [Milk Quality](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/milk-quality) (Proposal Sent): Rapid compositional analysis for raw milk - fat, protein, and adulteration screening to replace slow wet-chemistry tests at collection centres.

[Research Pipeline](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline)