Project documentation
Method.
Record & evidence protocol
Canephora Sense is building an evolving database of traceable coffee beyond Arabica in the Swiss market.
Working method
Revised 4 Sep 2026
How well Canephora is documented in Switzerland varies. Many roasters and sellers already provide substantial transparency: the producer, the genetics, the process and the harvest behind their coffees. Others have less information to share — often because much less is known about the coffee before it reaches them. Even the best documentation is scattered across shops and labels, disappears when a product sells out, and has never been connected into one picture. Too often, what remains visible of the species is the anonymous commodity Robusta and its poor reputation — rather than the distinct coffees already being offered in Switzerland.
Canephora Sense exists to connect this knowledge and keep it available. It makes traceable coffees visible, together with their producers, their path into the market and the sources behind each record. It also makes quality legible: what shapes it — genetics, harvest, processing and roasting — and where it comes from, down to the plot it grew on.
The project does not award scores or labels. It records, connects and preserves, so that the well-made Canephora already in this market can be recognised for what it is — along with the work of the producers, importers, roasters and sellers who document it. Documentation travels: what a producer shares at origin stays with the coffee, and reaches the Swiss market with their name attached. A coffee with a name is no longer a commodity.
The database and this working method will evolve as the project develops.
Independence
Canephora Sense is independent. Inclusion cannot be bought: there is no paid placement, advertising or affiliate links.
01
Scope and inclusion
The primary focus is Coffea canephora. Alongside it, Other Coffea tracks identifiable Coffea species such as Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa or Stenophylla when they appear in Switzerland.
A coffee is recorded when it has a documented Swiss market presence and can be traced with sufficient confidence to meaningful information about its origin. Green and roasted coffee may be included; blends only when their Canephora or Other Coffea component can be meaningfully linked to a producer, origin or lot. Generic blends described only as “Robusta” are generally excluded.
Terms such as specialty coffee, Fine Robusta or Fine Canephora are retained as attributed market or quality language. They are neither inclusion criteria nor Canephora Sense quality classifications.
02
Sources, verification and editorial review
Information enters Canephora Sense through our own research and market observations, contributions and hints from third parties, and targeted scans of selected public catalogues and product pages. Some research steps are AI-assisted: automated extraction helps identify relevant offers and prepare source-linked field proposals for editorial review.
It does not decide what is true or what is published. We check claims against their sources, structure and enrich the record where evidence allows, resolve gaps or conflicts through further research and direct clarification when needed, and publish only after an editorial decision. Every published claim retains its source, observation date and evidence status.
Records are maintained editorially. Anyone may propose a new record, correction or evidence; we check its sources, attribution and open questions before publishing. Documents can support a claim without being made public.
03
Reading the dataset
Canephora Sense aggregates traceable records to make analysis possible. It is still too early to draw conclusions about the Swiss market: the collection consists of documented discoveries, not a systematic market survey.
As it grows, the dataset may support research into traceability and information loss; presence over time; reach across origins, producers, roasters and sellers; market positioning, prices and documentation; product and sensory patterns; and changes in documentation around the EUDR date.
We publish findings only when the market frame, relevant fields and repeat observations make them meaningful. Until then, counts describe the documented collection — not market shares, trends or quality rankings.
04
Sensory information
A sensory assessment by Canephora Sense is not required for inclusion. Notes from producers, importers, roasters or other sources may be recorded with attribution, but are not presented as Canephora Sense findings.
Every sensory statement identifies what was tasted: a green-coffee sample linked to a lot or a commercial roasted product. Formal assessments also record preparation, protocol, evaluator and date where available. The Canephora Language Trainer is a separate educational layer; record-level cupping may follow under its own documented method.