Independent Laboratory Testing
Why We Test
Coffee is an agricultural product. Its quality can change based on where it grows, how it is picked, processed, dried, stored, transported, and roasted.
That means two coffees from the same country can still be very different.
At Kilan, we do not want to choose coffee based only on origin, price, or appearance. We look at the coffee more carefully before it reaches your cup.
Our process includes:
Careful Sourcing→Quality Selection→Grading→Small-Batch Roasting→Independent Lab Testing
Our goal is simple: know more about the coffee we source and give customers more information about what they are drinking.
Careful Sourcing Starts in Ethiopia
Our search begins at origin.
We research coffee-growing regions, cultivation, processing methods, and sourcing practices to identify beans with strong quality potential. What we learn guides our sourcing decisions and helps us select coffees that align with Kilan Coffee's standards for quality and flavor.
Why Bean Quality Matters
Higher-quality coffee requires more care before roasting. Coffee may go through several steps:
Harvesting→Processing→Drying→Sorting→Grading→Storage→Export
During grading, coffee can be checked for defects, bean condition, moisture, size, and overall quality.
Careful sorting and higher-quality green coffee usually require more labor, more handling, and more quality control. That can increase the cost, but it also gives us better raw material to work with.
For Kilan, quality starts before the roaster.
Why We Add Third-Party Testing
Some things cannot be seen by looking at a coffee bean. You cannot see pesticide residue, Ochratoxin A, heavy metals, polyphenols, chlorogenic acids, acrylamide, or pH just by looking at the coffee.
That is why we add independent laboratory testing.
- We test the green coffee for things related to sourcing and contaminants.
- We also test the roasted coffee for things affected by roasting, such as acidity and naturally occurring coffee compounds.
This gives us another level of information beyond appearance and taste alone.
What "Clean Coffee" Means to Kilan
"Clean coffee" is not one single test. For us, it means a process built around:
- Careful sourcing
- Quality green beans
- Coffee grading
- Thoughtful roasting
- Independent testing
- Clear results
- Continuous improvement
We prefer to show customers what was actually tested instead of relying only on words like "clean," "low acid," or "high antioxidant."
What This Means for You
When you choose Kilan, our goal is for you to know that more thought went into the coffee before it reached the bag.
- We research the source.
- We choose carefully.
- We evaluate the beans.
- We roast in small batches.
- We test independently.
- And we use the results to keep learning and improving.
A More Responsible Way to Talk About Coffee
We believe coffee claims should be supported whenever possible. So instead of asking you to simply trust the label, the next section breaks our testing down topic by topic.
You can open each section to learn: what we tested, why it matters, and what our results show.
Our Test Results, Topic by Topic
Click any topic to expand the details — what we tested, why it matters, and what the numbers show.
Coffee naturally contains acids that help create its bright, fruity, and fresh flavors. Acidity can change depending on where the coffee grows, how it is processed, how it is roasted, and how it is brewed.
At Kilan, we do not rely only on words like "smooth" or "low acid." We measure the coffee.
Two useful measurements are:
- pH — tells us how acidic the coffee is.
- Titratable acidity — gives more information about the total amount of acid present.
Our Results
pH
4.85
Titratable Acidity
These results give us a real starting point for understanding our light roast and comparing future roast profiles.
What This Means for You: Instead of asking customers to trust a simple "low-acid" label, we prefer to show that our coffee's acidity has actually been measured. Our goal is a cup with balanced acidity, good flavor, and thoughtful roast development.
Coffee is an agricultural product, so drying and storage matter. If coffee is exposed to poor moisture or storage conditions, certain molds can produce substances called mycotoxins. One of the mycotoxins commonly checked in coffee is Ochratoxin A, also called OTA.
That is why Kilan includes Ochratoxin A as part of our green-bean testing.
The "<" symbol means the amount was below the laboratory's reporting level shown for this test.
Our Result
Ochratoxin A
<2.0 µg/kg
Accurate claim: We describe this as "Tested for Ochratoxin A" rather than making a broader "mold-free" claim, because Ochratoxin A testing and full mold testing are not the same thing.
What This Means for You: This gives us another piece of information about the quality of the green coffee we selected before roasting.
Metals occur naturally in soil and water, and very small amounts can sometimes be found in agricultural foods. Because you cannot see or taste these substances, laboratory testing gives us information that appearance alone cannot provide.
We tested our green coffee for: Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury.
Our Results
Arsenic
<0.02 mg/kg
Cadmium
Accurate claim: Rather than simply saying "heavy-metal free," we prefer to show the actual laboratory results. For Kilan, this is part of knowing more about the coffee we source and giving customers clearer information about what was tested.
Coffee is a crop, and farming practices can vary from one region and producer to another. Our coffee is carefully sourced, but we still wanted another level of verification. That is why our green coffee was independently screened for pesticide residues using two different laboratory screening methods.
Our Results
GC-MS/MS Pesticide Screen
Not Detected at LOQ
LC-MS/MS Pesticide Screen
Accurate claim: "Not Detected at LOQ" means screened pesticide residues were not detected at or above the laboratory's limit of quantification. We prefer this accurate wording instead of saying "zero pesticides." For Kilan, careful sourcing comes first, and independent testing provides another layer of information.
Coffee naturally contains plant compounds called polyphenols. An important group of these compounds is called chlorogenic acids, or CGAs. They are naturally present in coffee beans and are widely studied because of their antioxidant activity and their role in coffee chemistry.
Roasting changes these compounds, which is why we tested the finished light roast, not only the green beans.
Our Results
Total Polyphenols
23.5 mg/g
Total Chlorogenic Acids
What this means: Instead of simply putting "high antioxidant" on the package, we wanted to know what was actually measured in our coffee. These results show that our tested light roast contained measurable amounts of naturally occurring polyphenols and chlorogenic acids after roasting. These numbers also give us a useful baseline as we continue improving our roast profiles.
Laboratory numbers can look complicated, but a few terms make them much easier to understand.
What does "Not Detected at LOQ" mean? LOQ means Limit of Quantification. If a result says "Not Detected at LOQ," it means the laboratory did not detect the tested substance at or above the amount it can reliably measure. It does not mean science can prove absolute zero.
What does "<" mean? The "<" symbol means less than. So the measured amount was below the laboratory's reporting level for that test.
What does mg/kg mean? Milligrams per kilogram — used to describe very small amounts of a substance in a larger sample.
What does µg/kg mean? Micrograms per kilogram — an even smaller unit than a milligram.
What does mg/g mean? Milligrams per gram — used for compounds such as polyphenols and chlorogenic acids.
Why can results change? Coffee is a natural agricultural product. Results can vary because of differences in harvest, farm, processing, storage, coffee lot, and roast profile. Our current results apply to the specific samples submitted for testing.
Source carefully. Test independently. Show the results clearly. Keep improving.