THE PROCESS IN MOTION

Who controls a bag of Café de Colombia, from the farm to the bag roasted in France?

Start the scene or choose a stage. The animation simplifies the mechanism; what follows gives the details and the available references.

▶ Play the process01The farm02The port03Certification04The roastery05The bag06The shelf

The farm

An Andean plot, registered with its lots in the Coffee Information System, delivers its lot in parchment with its accompanying waybill. The product specification of Café de Colombia calls for arabica only, picked cherry by cherry, between 400 and 2,500 meters, processed as washed coffee, and a green coffee of 10 to 12% moisture. The National Federation of Coffee Growers follows each lot.

Read the stages without animation

1. The farmAn Andean plot, registered with its lots in the Coffee Information System, delivers its lot in parchment with its accompanying waybill. The product specification of Café de Colombia calls for arabica only, picked cherry by cherry, between 400 and 2,500 meters, processed as washed coffee, and a green coffee of 10 to 12% moisture. The National Federation of Coffee Growers follows each lot.
2. The portAt the exporter’s dock, Almacafé, the entity the Federation entrusts with controls, verifies the quality of the lot one last time against the criteria of Café de Colombia. This is the last Colombian check before the ship; the Union register incidentally lists Almacafé.
3. CertificationIn France, the roaster sends samples to Cafecert, in Bogotá, the accredited body that certifies Café de Colombia, and signs the Federation’s license for the logo. Cafecert tests the samples, issues a certificate reference by reference, then monitors the stock and the market. Without a certificate, neither the name nor the PGI logo.
4. The roasteryThe certified bag is stored apart, the register records the intake and the output, and the roasting is notified to the authority: Article 39, paragraph 5, subjects to verification the European roastery that carries out a stage of the specification. The Federation’s rules add unannounced visits and a declaration of quantities every three months.
5. The bagThe bag carries “Café de Colombia,” the statement of the protected geographical indication and the name of the roaster, the operator of the processing, in the same field of vision as the name. Only a coffee that consists exclusively of it carries the name: a blend loses it.
6. The shelfA fraud-control inspector reads the labels and takes a bag. Elsewhere, a “café de Colombie” without a certificate is flagged: the translation is the protected name, and usurpation, imitation or evocation are forbidden, even with the true origin written.

To remember: To write “Café de Colombia” on one’s roasted coffee, each reference must be certified by Cafecert and the Federation’s license for the logo must be signed; the translation is protected like the original.

In history: In history: on September 18, 2015, the General Court annulled two “Colombiano” trademarks that evoked the protected name.

Read the full article and its sources ↓

State of the law as of October 21, 2026. 3 deadlines fall after this date; they are listed at the end of the section.

A geographical indication, and why coffee has so few

A geographical indication (GI) is a place name that the Union enters in a public register, attached to a product specification, that is, the document that says what the product must be, where it comes from and how it is proven. The name belongs to no one: it may be used by “any operator marketing a product that complies with the specification” (Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143). The protected designation of origin (PDO) requires that all stages of production take place in the defined area; the protected geographical indication (PGI) is content with one stage (Article 46) (source 1). For a coffee, a PDO in principle requires roasting on site, a PGI allows roasting elsewhere if the specification says so. The regulation has applied since May 13, 2024; the notification of operators and the attestation of conformity, since January 1, 2025 (Article 97). The private route is the trademark, filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), formerly the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM): its holder grants or refuses a license.

Coffee has very few GIs. The files read suggest three reasons, which are this section’s own reading. A GI tracks each lot back to the plot, yet coffee travels green and is roasted far away: the trace stops at the port if the roaster does not join the scheme. Several specifications keep roasting or packing in the country, so that their name reaches Europe only on an imported pack. Finally, Ethiopia and Jamaica preferred the trademark, which is controlled by contract.

The register on October 21, 2026: nine coffees entered, two more published that day

The Union register, eAmbrosia, read on October 21, 2026 record by record, counts nine coffee GIs (heading 0901 of the customs nomenclature) (source 5). The same day, the Official Journal (OJ) published two implementing regulations of October 14 that register two coffees from the Indonesian island of Flores, in force on November 10, 2026, a date computed by this section (source 11). The plan for this plate announced three: it had missed the Thai, Indonesian and Chinese names.

What the Café de Colombia specification imposes, from coffee plant to bag

Café de Colombia is the oldest coffee GI of the Union, registered without opposition by Regulation (EC) 1050/2007 of September 12, 2007 at the request of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC) (source 3). Its full specification is not published; the summary sheet in OJ C 320 of December 28, 2006 refers to the text held by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Colombia (SIC) or by the Commission (source 4).

The green. Arabica only, in Caturra, Típica, Bourbon, Castillo and a few others; an area between 1° and 11° 15' north latitude, from 400 to 2,500 meters, which “does not include the entire territory”; selective picking, cherry by cherry; wet process (pulping, fermentation, washing, drying); green moisture of 10 to 12%, and export standards of the National Committee of Coffee Growers (source 4).

Traceability. All plantations and their lots are entered in the Coffee Information System (SICA). The coffee travels with a “guía de tránsito,” an accompanying waybill created by Colombian Decree 2685 of 1999, through registered hulling mills, to a registered exporter. At the port, Almacafé, the entity the FNC entrusts with controls, checks the quality one last time (source 4).

Roasting and the pack. Roasting “is not necessarily carried out in the geographical area.” Outside Colombia, traceability is ensured “by good practice agreements signed with foreign roasters” and by quality tests entrusted to control companies and cuppers. Only a coffee “containing exclusively Café de Colombia” carries the name, labeled “I.G.P. CAFÉ DE COLOMBIA.” The sheet sets no packaging rule (source 4). A blend with a coffee from elsewhere therefore loses the name; Article 27 also forbids putting the GI in the name of a product that contains an “other comparable product,” and requires elsewhere that the percentage of the ingredient be stated (source 1). The whole control of the foreign roaster rests on these agreements and these tests, which the FNC organizes.

A roaster’s path: the FNC, the license, and Cafecert

The body one hears named “Cafe Cert” exists: it is the Fundación para la Certificación del Café de Colombia, Cafecert, located in Bogotá at the FNC’s address. It is accredited to the standard ISO/IEC 17065 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), that of bodies that certify products, by the National Accreditation Body of Colombia (ONAC), certificate 10-CPR-001, for green coffee and roasted coffee in beans and ground, under the Colombian designation of origin and the Union’s PGI. Its scheme is of the “1a plus surveillance” type (standard ISO/IEC 17067): testing of samples, then sampling on the market or in the operator’s stock. The certificate carries the dates of October 7, 2010 and April 28, 2029, read here as the first accreditation and the expiry (source 14). The Union register nonetheless lists Almacafé (source 5): no document read explains this split.

The FNC describes the path on its site, read in its capture of December 10, 2024 (source 15). The Café de Colombia logo is an FNC trademark, licensed by contract, for a 100% Colombian coffee. Only roasters who work the coffee themselves sign; the owner of a brand goes through its roaster, who pays each year a sum per brand and per territory. And, according to the page translated by this section, to sell in the Union a product bearing the logo, the roaster “must first obtain authorization to use the protected geographical indication” by having its product certified by Cafecert. There follow a questionnaire, the company’s documents, an “EU PGI form” sent to the FNC, the Cafecert file, then the agreement of the trademark committee and the signing of the contract. An FNC brochure says it in one sentence: certification “of the DO, the DOR and/or the PGI” is conducted by Cafecert, the DO being the Colombian designation of origin and the DOR its regional variants (source 15).

The PGI and the logo are two things. The name is public: Article 36 leaves no one the power to refuse it to a compliant coffee. The logo is a trademark, which the FNC grants or not. But for a product from a third country, compliance is verified before placing on the market by the authority of the country or by a certification body (Article 39, paragraph 4) (source 1): Cafecert is therefore, in practice, the gateway to the name as to the logo, a reading made by this section. An Italian roaster described this path in June 2024: samples analyzed in a laboratory, report, certificate, license (source 17).

Who controls a roaster based in France or Italy

The regulation calls “controls” the verification of the specification and that of the use of the name on the market, online included (Article 38), under the rules of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls. The body that verifies a third-country name is accredited to the standard ISO/IEC 17065 or 17020 (Article 41), and the Commission publishes its name (Article 40) (source 1).

The decisive point is Article 39, paragraph 5: when an activity of the specification takes place outside the country of origin, the specification sets how those operators are verified, and if it takes place in the Union, they “notify the competent authorities of the Member State where the operation takes place and are subject to verification.” A roastery in Lyon or Trieste that roasts Café de Colombia under the PGI is in that case. The implementing acts that must set the arrangements (paragraph 8) do not appear among the acts whose title cites the regulation, queried on October 21, 2026 in the Publications Office Cellar; the costs may be charged to operators (paragraph 7) (source 1).

In France, the French National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) approves the control bodies for official signs of quality and origin. Its list of July 2, 2025 names notably Bureau Veritas Certification France, Certipaq, Certis, Qualisud and Ecocert France; no line names coffee, which the Colombian file places in class 1.8, “other products of Annex I to the Treaty” (sources 19 and 4). These approvals serve French specifications: no document read designates a French body for Café de Colombia. The frequently asked questions of the INAO and the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), read on October 21, 2026, do not say whom to notify of a roasting of a foreign GI (source 18). The Italian authority that would receive this notification was not found.

Market control falls in France to the DGCCRF (Article 42: frequency based on risk analysis, measures against uses contrary to Articles 26 and 27) (source 1). Its 2022 survey on high-end products, published on July 2, 2025, found 38% of breaches among 125 sellers of coffees, teas, olives, vinegars and licorice, and “numerous usurpations of the PGI ‘Café de Colombie’” (source 20).

The audit, item by item

A public certificate shows what Cafecert checks. Certificate IGP-COL-0125-004 covers the roasted coffee in beans and ground of a line of the Delta Cafés brand, made by the Portuguese company Novadelta in its factory in Campo Maior. Cafecert tested samples supplied by the client, then “periodically carries out” a surveillance on samples taken from its stock, on the market, or both; the certificate is valid as long as the coffees remain compliant, and can be verified with Cafecert (source 13). The control concerns the product, reference by reference and factory by factory.

The FNC’s usage rules for its designation of origin, read in their capture of June 22, 2024, give the rest of the mechanics; they target the DO and not the Union, and describe the FNC’s way of doing things, not French law (source 16). The roaster registers its brands, requires from its suppliers proof of purchase of a coffee processed by authorized operators, stores the protected coffee separately, declares its quantities on request every three months and submits to audits. The controls combine unannounced visits, samples taken on the market or sent by the user, and examination of purchase and sales documents. Serious faults are the absence of records, refusal to open the roastery, more than three unsatisfactory analyses in a year. The penalty is the reduction or cancellation of the certificate, and the request to cancel the authorization with the SIC.

On the pack sold in the Union, the name of the operator responsible for the substantial transformation, here the roaster, appears in the same field of vision as the GI; products labeled before May 14, 2026 may be sold off (Article 37, paragraph 5, amended for spirits by Regulation (EU) 2026/471) (sources 1 and 2). The INAO specifies that this operator must “carry out an activity covered by the specification and be authorized as such,” that a store brand is not enough unless it reproduces the company name, that a QR code does not replace the statement, and that loose goods display it near the product (source 18). The Union symbol remains optional for a third-country GI (Article 37, paragraph 10). The verified operator receives an attestation that it presents to the authorities and to customs, and that it loses if struck off (Article 45) (source 1).

The other specifications: who controls, and what a European roastery can do with them

Café Antigua. Control entered in the name of ANACAFÉ (source 5). The specification requires minimum scores according to the protocol of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), the international specialty coffee association; roasting and grinding “may, if necessary, take place outside the area,” and the logos are used “provided that the name of the plantation” appears (source 10). A European roaster can use it; how ANACAFÉ will verify it is published nowhere.

Café de Valdesia. “All phases of production” take place in the area, from a certified green coming from registered farms (source 8): one can sell its green, not one’s own roast under this name.

Doi Tung and Doi Chaang. The Mae Fah Luang foundation controls both. For Doi Tung, anyone who processes, packs or distributes under the name registers with its registration office with a procedure manual; it inspects “at any time, without notice”; roasting takes place in the project region and packing is supervised by the foundation, which an amendment of August 13, 2025 did not change (source 6). For Doi Chaang, roasting is among the steps in the area (source 7).

Gayo and Flores. For Kopi Arabika Gayo, controlled by the Indonesian intellectual property office, “the packaging of coffee beans must be done in the area,” and the label carries a logo “registered as a European Union trademark” (sources 5 and 9). The two coffees of Flores require in the area only harvesting and the wet process; Flores Bajawa is sold only at 100%, never in a blend, with its logo and its lot number (source 11). The Chinese coffees appeared in the OJ only by their name and its translation, “Baoshan arabica coffee,” “Xinglong coffee,” “Pu'er coffee” (source 12): their specifications were not read, nor their use in Europe researched.

Names protected by a trade agreement, without a register

Other coffees are protected by a treaty, without a published specification. The agreement with Central America, signed in Tegucigalpa on June 29, 2012, protects in its Annex XVII Café Apaneca-Ilamapetec (El Salvador), Café Antigua, Café Marcala and Cafés del Occidente Hondureño (Honduras) and Café de Nicaragua; a declaration there announces other names then being registered, including Tarrazú and Tres Ríos in Costa Rica (source 24). The agreement with Vietnam, signed in Hanoi on June 30, 2019, lists Buôn Ma Thuột, “coffee beans,” and each party provides “legal means” against the use of the name on a coffee from elsewhere (Articles 12.25 and 12.27) (source 25). The agreement with Colombia and Peru protects no coffee (source 26). For these names, Regulation 2024/1143 organizes no verification of the operator: defense goes through the courts and the market authorities, a reading made by this section. The EUIPO’s GIview database, which tracks these protections, was not queried.

Blue Mountain, Ethiopia, Kona: trademark and local law

Jamaica Blue Mountain. In the Union, it is the individual figurative mark No. 002093060, registered on July 28, 2004 in the name of Coffee Marks Ltd., in Kingston, valid until February 12, 2031 (source 28). The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) explained in 2010 that the Jamaican coffee office owned its marks through this subsidiary and that a certificate of authenticity accompanied each lot (source 29). The office became the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), created by a law of 2017, which says it is the sole owner of the mark, registered in 58 countries besides Jamaica, and imposes its license on anyone who imports, trades or uses “the words or symbols of the marks” (source 30). The authorization is a license, the control that of the contract; no license was read, and no Blue Mountain GI exists.

Harrar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe. The Ethiopian government holds in the Union three word marks filed on March 18, 2005 (source 27). WIPO reported in 2007 that the Ethiopian intellectual property office offered foreign companies royalty-free licenses, in exchange for promoting these coffees, and that a large American coffee chain had signed one (source 31). There is neither a specification nor lot control: the license, not read, is the only lever.

Kona. Section 486-120.6 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, read in its capture of April 25, 2025, reserves “100%” for coffee of a single origin; a blend shows the percentage, the origin and “Coffee Blend.” The name may not appear on a coffee that contains less than 10% of it until June 30, 2027, then less than 51%, and operators keep their origin records for two years (source 32). The case Corker v. Costco, a class action of 2019, ended with settlements that require stating the share of real Kona (source 33). In France, neither a GI nor a Kona trademark was found: the name falls under the ban on misleading about origin (Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011) (source 34).

What a roaster risks who writes the name without going through control

Article 26 protects a registered GI against any commercial use for a comparable product, and against “any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the products or services is indicated or if the protected name is translated” or accompanied by “kind,” “type,” “style,” “flavor” (source 1). “Café de Colombie” is the translation of the protected name, and the DGCCRF itself writes “PGI ‘Café de Colombie’” (source 20). The protection covers domain names and distance selling (Article 26); an online ad that infringes it is “illegal content” that anyone can report to the host (Article 43); a trademark filed after the GI application and which evokes it is refused or cancelled (Article 31) (source 1).

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) clarified evocation: it exists when the average European consumer has the protected product “directly in mind, as a reference image,” and mentioning the true origin changes nothing (June 7, 2018, Scotch Whisky Association, C-44/17) (source 22). Figurative signs can suffice, even when used by a producer from the region whose product is not covered (May 2, 2019, Queso Manchego, C-614/17) (source 23). Transposed, a reading made by this section: a truly Colombian but uncertified coffee, sold under “Colombia” in large letters in front of Andean mountains, risks evocation. An exact origin statement, “origin: Colombia,” falls under fair information (Article 7 of Regulation 1169/2011) (source 34), and Article 37, paragraph 1, allows informative use; the boundary is drawn by no text read. The FNC proposes for its DO a model of caution for blends: the origin on the back, all origins in the same characters, no logo (source 16).

The General Court of the Union ruled for the FNC twice on September 18, 2015, annulling the decisions of the OHIM that had admitted the figurative marks “COLOMBIANO HOUSE” and “COLOMBIANO COFFEE HOUSE,” on the basis of Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation 510/2006, forerunners of Article 26 (source 21). For a trademark, using Blue Mountain or Sidamo as a product name without a license exposes one to action by the holder; Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 was not reread. In France, the follow-up recorded by the DGCCRF ranges from a warning to a criminal report (source 20); the penalties of the Consumer Code were not reread, Légifrance refusing automated requests.

The table of signs: who owns, who authorizes, who controls

The sources for this section

1. Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of April 11, 2024, geographical indications, Articles 26, 27, 31, 36 to 43, 45, 46 and 97 · online · primary
2. Regulation (EU) 2026/471 of February 24, 2026, Article 4, amending Article 37, paragraph 5, of Regulation 2024/1143 · online · primary
3. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1050/2007 of September 12, 2007, Café de Colombia (PGI), OJ L 240 of 13.9.2007, p. 7 · online · primary
4. Café de Colombia, summary of the application CO/PGI/0467, OJ C 320 of 28.12.2006, p. 17 · online · primary
5. eAmbrosia, Union register of geographical indications, entries PGI-CO-0467, PGI-TH-0814, PGI-TH-0815, PDO-DO-1197, PGI-ID-2115, PGI-CN-2664, PGI-GT-03275, PGI-ID-02929, PGI-ID-02930, PGI-ES-03531, public interface, accessed October 21, 2026 · online · primary
6. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1134 of July 9, 2015, Kafae Doi Tung (PGI); application in OJ C 48 of 20.2.2014, p. 14; standard amendment C/2025/4542 of 13.8.2025 · online · primary
7. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1135 of July 9, 2015, Kafae Doi Chaang (PGI); application in OJ C 49 of 21.2.2014 · online · primary
8. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1043 of June 15, 2016, Café de Valdesia (PDO); single document in OJ C 91 of 8.3.2016 · online · primary
9. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/870 of May 15, 2017, Kopi Arabika Gayo (PGI); single document in OJ C 403 of 1.11.2016, p. 5 · online · primary
10. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2301 of October 8, 2026, Café Antigua (PGI), OJ L of 15.10.2026, and single document C/2026/3343 of 22.6.2026 · online · primary
11. Implementing Regulations (EU) 2026/2336 and 2026/2339 of October 14, 2026, Flores Bajawa and Kopi Arabika Flores Manggarai (PGI), OJ L of 21.10.2026; single documents C/2026/3210 of 12.6.2026 and C/2026/3212 of 16.6.2026 · online · primary
12. Notice, public consultation, geographical indications of the People’s Republic of China, OJ C 177 of 3.6.2017, p. 4 · online · primary
13. Cafecert, PGI product conformity certificate IGP-COL-0125-004, issued January 5, 2022, amended May 17, 2023, published by the holder’s group · online · primary
14. ONAC, accreditation certificate 10-CPR-001, Fundación para la Certificación del Café de Colombia (Cafecert), ISO/IEC 17065:2012, approved scope · online · primary
15. FNC, “Enrolling in the program,” cafedecolombia.com, Wayback capture of December 10, 2024; brochure “Cómo obtener la licencia de uso del logo de Café de Colombia,” capture of July 6, 2024 · online · primary
16. FNC, Reglamento de uso de la Denominación de Origen Café de Colombia, Articles 4, 11, 15, 22 to 26, Wayback capture of June 22, 2024 · online · primary
17. Beverfood, article of June 4, 2024 on the PGI license obtained by an Italian roaster after evaluation by Cafecert · online · secondary · reading: summary
18. INAO, frequently asked questions on the application of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, answers from May 14, 2025 to June 11, 2026, accessed October 21, 2026 · online · primary
19. INAO, list of approved control bodies, July 2, 2025 · online · primary
20. DGCCRF, “Huile d'olive, truffes, café : gare aux tromperies sur les produits alimentaires haut de gamme,” dated July 2, 2025 · online · primary
21. General Court, September 18, 2015, T-387/13 and T-359/14 (ECLI:EU:T:2015:651), FNC v OHIM; operative parts in OJ C 363 of 3.11.2015, p. 31, and OJ C 371 of 9.11.2015, p. 24 (grounds not read) · online · primary
22. CJEU, June 7, 2018, Scotch Whisky Association, C-44/17, operative part · online · primary
23. CJEU, May 2, 2019, Fundación Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Protegida Queso Manchego, C-614/17, operative part · online · primary
24. Agreement establishing an association between the European Union and Central America, signed June 29, 2012, Annex XVII, Part B, and joint declaration on names in the process of registration · online · primary
25. Free trade agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, signed June 30, 2019, Articles 12.25 to 12.27 and Annex 12-A, Part B · online · primary
26. Trade Agreement between the European Union and Colombia and Peru, Annex XIII, Appendix 1 · online · primary
27. EUIPO, eSearch plus, trademarks No. 004348736 HARRAR, 004348744 YIRGACHEFFE, 004348751 SIDAMO, 004050472, accessed October 21, 2026 by the writer of the first version · online · primary
28. EUIPO, eSearch plus, trademark No. 002093060 JAMAICA BLUE MOUNTAIN COFFEE, accessed October 21, 2026 by the writer of the first version · online · primary
29. WIPO, IP Advantage, “In Search of a Perfect Cup,” Jamaica Blue Mountain, updated September 3, 2010 · online · secondary · reading: summary
30. JACRA, text published in the Intellectual Property Week 2021 supplement of the Gleaner (Jamaica), p. 10 · online · primary
31. WIPO Magazine, Elizabeth March, “Making the Origin Count: Two Coffees,” September 24, 2007 · online · secondary · reading: summary
32. Hawaii Revised Statutes, § 486-120.6, Hawaii-grown and Hawaii-processed coffee, amended by L 2024, c 198, Wayback capture of April 25, 2025 · online · primary
33. Corker v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 2:19-cv-00290 (W.D. Wash.), relayed by the plaintiffs’ law firm and West Hawaii Today (September 27, 2023) · online · secondary · reading: summary
34. Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, food information to consumers, Article 7 · online · primary