Sustainable Coffee Processing

The innovation of CeriTech is to collect and record the data to the cloud using Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. All data, which are analyzed in the cloud, could be further bases to make precise decision in order to achieve better practice by coffee farmers or processor. This product is the coffee production process all the way from cherry plant to final brew, and how mobile technology is enabling a standardized and automated approach for a more efficient and sustainable production. Live IoT sensors monitor essential data during the fermentation and drying of coffee cherries as part of the processing stage, leading to reduced wastage and consistent good quality produce as well as increased control and profitability for farmers.

Indonesia as the world’s fourth-largest coffee producer and exporter surprisingly still using traditional, trial and error practices to process its own coffee. Most of coffee farmers and producers still rely on information based on trial and error to process coffee cherry to coffee beans. This non-data driven processing of coffee, leads to inconsistent and even low quality coffee. As the processing phase is one of the most important activities that determines the quality of coffee bean produced along with the quality of the coffee cherry itself, it is important to improve and encourage the producer to have a better practices in coffee processing activities in order to enhance the value and achieve sustainability as a coffee farmer and producer. Fermentation and drying are two most important activities in coffee processing. Fermentation process refers to reaction of microorganisms such as yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacteria (Lactobacillus) consume and metabolize compounds such as sugars and acids within the cherry. The compounds are then broken down to acids and alcohol. These reactions also determines and makes up flavor of coffee. The acids produced will later add complexity and depth to a coffee, which determines the quality in coffee.

Our solution is CeriTech, a monitoring and data acquisition system for coffee beans processing using Internet of Things (IoT). It consists of two subsystem, one for fermentation process called CeriFer, and the one for drying called CeriGar. CeriTech monitor and collect variables that proven to be the most important aspect to be monitored in order to achieve high quality and maintain consistency. Then the data could be the basis for further treatment and/or practices to improve each process. In order to achieve high quality and consistent coffee, fermentation process should be done in proper and detailed manner. With CeriFer,  fermentation process could be monitored perfectly by collecting and delivering data in real time to user (coffee farmers/producers). Variables that most important in the process such as pH, temperature, and humidity then recorded and monitored. The system could also send alert to the user if the variables exceeded the threshold number that set by the user to get the desired fermentation result. The data then could be used as a basis for further improvement, or as a benchmark to other batch so that the consistencies of qualities could be achieved.

Improve the quality of coffee beans produced by coffee farmers and processors. With an improved quality, the price of the goods will also be increased. The flexibility and resilience to price change  will be increased, as the products now have more bargaining point to get the best value out of the market. This impact could affect the financial sustainability of the coffee farmers. With the globalization and urbanization trends increasing, the job as coffee farmers is in a brink of elimination in the future. Coffee farming in Indonesia is still considered as a non secure job financially, some are still see the job as a bonus as to other farming area. There is a lot of cases that the young generation, the offspring of coffee farmers itself did not want to inherit the land and the job, thus they choose to go to a big city and work as factory worker. This phenomenon caused by the fact that being a coffee farmers couldn’t secure their financial needs. By improving the quality, the value of coffee should be increased thus the financial needs of coffee farmers could be secured, and a good regeneration phase rolled continually. 

Most of coffee farmers and producers in Indonesia still rely on information based on trial and error, or conventional measuring tools to process coffee cherry to coffee beans. CeriTech is a data acquisition system for coffee processing using Internet of Things, which collects variables from fermentation and drying phase in order to achieve certain quality and maintain consistency. We always validate our products by interviewing coffee farmers and follow thoroughly the activities of their coffee processing. We center our solution based on the user’s main problem, and carefully considering many others issues to be as comprehensive as possible.

CeriTech collects temperature, humidity, and light intensity outside the drying house (weather condition measurement) and it controls temperature, humidity and inside the drying house.  CeriTech also collects, controls and monitors temperature, time, and pH (acidity level) in fermentation process to reduce the risk of sour or off flavors, bacteria growth, and insect invasion. This short fermentation stage is largely responsible for the characteristic acidity and clarity of washed coffees. 

In terms of real time monitoring of coffee processing, there is still no competitors. In terms of technical, our competitors would be the conventional measuring tools for environment condition. What distinguishes us from them are we could monitor the condition in real time, stored and access the data remotely by mobile apps, whereas their tools need to be monitored manually.

CeriTech’s technology is based on the Internet of Things (IoT) integrated with smart sensor able to collect data for monitoring every day on drying coffee beans and fermentation process. The duration of monitoring could be set as well as the monitoring results are also directly connected and recorded on AWS cloud database. IoT technology updates information of drying and fermentation process of their coffee beans in real-time. The core of technology in this project is how applying sensors through IoT to monitor physical quantities affect the quality of coffee beans, what is the relationship between environmental condition inside drying house and outside drying house can be processed by statistical analytics, how coffee processing around environment is influenced by micro climate can affect the consistency, thus the quality and the price of coffee beans.

Coffee is produced predominantly in countries that rank low in economic and social development metrics, with 18 out of 44 exporting members of International Coffee Organization (ICO) falling in the category of least developed countries (ICO, 2018a). Our solution goal is to improve the value in coffee processing, which could lead to a better quality and price that should increase the household income of coffee farmers, thus it would reduces poverty, increase economic growth, and further reduced inequality between countries (related to SDGs 1, 8, and 10).

Our solution, CeriTech, could be defined as a product of scientific research and technological innovation to address the problem in coffee industry, especially in terms of quality and consistency of coffee. It is no other than a prove that the collaborative action between research activities, private sectors, and downstream small scale industry actors which represented by coffee farmers could be achieved. (related to SDGs 9 and Goal 17).

Almost all of coffee farmers and coffee production areas are located in the rural areas. The coffee industry have a great impact on determining economic, social and environmental of rural areas where the coffee is growth. Whereas the consumption of coffee mostly in the urban areas, it is safe to claim that our mission to improving the coffee processing could have a positive support on linking the economic, environmental, and social links between urban and rural area (related to SDGs 11).

CeriTech, particularly Cerigar, record the environmental condition from time to time in coffee processing area. Micro climate and environmental change could be anticipated by analyzing the data and prepare the best action, to increase resiliency against climate-related hazard (related to SDGs 13).

The product is still on pilot project phase. We always validate our products by interviewing coffee farmers and follow thoroughly the activities of their coffee processing. We center our solution based on the user’s main problem, and carefully considering many others issues to be as comprehensive as possible.We have piloted project in Bandung West Java on Early May 2019 for 5 users and also piloted project in Aceh Sumatera on December 2019 for 15 users. 

In next year our primary target will be raising up our revenue from CeriTech's selling, we will strengthen up our marketing team and strategy and also keep on improving CeriTech's technology. in last quarter of this year, if everything goes smoothly we will begin to plan on CeriTech 2.0 (data processing and decision making system).    

 Tech side : development of product in terms of reliability and durability. By next year, the manufacturing part problem should be arise and should be addressed, if any. Also, we will begin the development of data processing and decision making system along with predictive analysis of micro climate condition. This action would require collaborative actions between our company and environmentalist, let alone agronomist. The start of this development will mark CeriTech 2.0.

 Business side : Expanding the market, maintain customer relationship and network, perfecting operation activities, developing and adapting business model to new regulation and condition, if any.

Smallholder coffee farmers network and the expert network including actors from all over supply chain activities, from upstream to downstream industry. And also the sociopreneur model which the goals is not that bluntly into direct profitability traction.

The network of smallholder coffee farmers could be a tricky part because the marketing approach require more of a social trust and belief system than a cost-to-value mindset.

That requiring network was already built by our company through the influential smallholder farmers which oversees many cooperatives and smallholder coffee farmers.

The actors from others activities along the supply chain would be the validation committee for the output, as they represent the market. And it would be an obstacle if the new entry wasn’t around in the environment before.

We will overcome with early exposure and networking with coffee farmers. Government exposure, media and private sector highlights will become our channel to to show that we are the first one to build the system and spread the triumph of increasing the farmer’s income.

We validated our products by interviewing coffee farmers and follow thoroughly the activities of their coffee processing. We centered our solution based on the user’s main problem, and carefully considering many others issues to be as comprehensive as possible.

1. Ahmad Radhy: Founder and CTO
2. Aldi Ardian Raharja: Founder and CEO
3. Azmy Ansori: Head of Software Engineering and Co-Founder

CeriTech is the software developer and Internet of Things (IoT) company that offering IoT and/or software product as solution to various problem emerging from wide and diverse range of area, be it agricultural and development of sustainability sector to industrial machinery concerns. CeriTech with its perfectly mixed and balanced team both in skills and experience, are aim to thrive into world level company.

1. PT. Bosch Indonesia, Project Budget for Product Development.
2. GSMA, NB-IoT demo in Mobile World Congress 2020 Barcelona.
3. Industrial Ministry Republic of Indonesia, Startup Incubation and Project Implementation Funding 2019.
4. XL Axiata, Project Implementation Funding 2019.

Our business model bases on ‘Penta-helix Model’ which requires collaboration between stakeholders, including academic, business, community, government, and media. Our business model will adopt subscription type. We will rent our system, the device along with the software application and maintenance support to our end user which is coffee farmers and coffee processors. One CeriTech system consists of one system of CeriFer (one device of fermentation monitoring) and one system of CeriGar (one device of drying monitoring). With private sector, business to business collaboration will also be the objective, along with direct selling to those who are in coffee industry. The collaboration for smallholder farmers will cross on the use of their CSR funds, with our solution as one way to improve the supply chain of coffee.

Our target customers are coffee farmers and coffee producers. Latest data shown that total smallholder coffee farmers area in Indonesia are 1.204.883 Ha, with smallholder farmers number in 800.000 – 1.500.000. We will target 10 % of these number as our target market, which is 150.000 smallholder farmers.

With an assumption that in 5 years all the target market fullfiled and maintained, we have total revenue of 150.000 farmers x USD 20 x 6 month = USD 18.000.000 yearly in year 5.    

CeriTech is a team consist of w people with same motive and purpose. In general, our purpose is try to provide technology solution of common problems in our country or even the world.  

We hope that this program can help us accelerate our product development process and can guide us in CeriTech business growth.

Coffee farming is produced predominantly in countries that rank low in economic and social development metrics, with 18 out of 44 exporting members of International Coffee Organization (ICO) falling in the category of least developed countries (ICO, 2018a). Our solution goal is to improve the value in coffee processing, which could lead to a better quality and price that should increase the household income of coffee farmers, thus it would reduces poverty, increase economic growth, and further reduced inequality between countries (related to Goal 1, 8, and 10).

As a business, we will collaborate closely with related government body and utilize programs  already implemented. “Perhutanan Sosial (Social Forestry)” is government’s legal programs that enable communities to participate in managing forests and get economic benefits. Implication of this program is that farmers who could have a legal right and standing to act, actively seek and propose direct aid, development funds or grant from any formal legal source, such as Company Social Responsibility (CSR) from companies or other funds from related body. We will align our solution as an option for the coffee farmers to improve their coffee processing. 

We are software developer and Internet of Things (IoT) company that offering IoT and/or software product as solution to various problem emerging from wide and diverse range of area, be it agricultural and development of sustainability sector to industrial machinery concerns. CeriTech with its perfectly mixed and balanced team both in skills and experience, are aim to thrive into world level company.

Funds will be used for  Developing the fixed product for the market  (Perfecting hardware and software product), Operational cost (Salaries, Research and Development expenses, and especially for marketing activities), Capital expenses (Legal, office and utilities tools, other assets)