Global Coffee Standard™ (GCS™)
Founded by Alfred Gitau Mwaura
Global Coffee Standard™ (GCS™) is an African-rooted, science-driven coffee standard created to redefine how the world understands, trades, and benefits from coffee.
It exists to restore African Coffee to its rightful position as the origin, intellectual home, and economic engine of the global coffee industry—while building a new wave of innovation, youth employment, and value creation across the entire coffee ecosystem.
Why Global Coffee Standard™ Exists
For more than a century, Africa has produced the world’s finest coffee—yet remains the least rewarded in the global value chain.
While farmers, youth, and producing nations struggle, coffee wealth is extracted through:
- Foreign grading systems
- External certification bodies
- Offshore trading platforms
- Branding and roasting monopolies
GCS™ was founded to correct this imbalance.
It provides Africa with:
- Its own science-based standard
- Its own supply chain rules
- Its own intellectual framework
- Its own economic future in coffee
What Global Coffee Standard™ Represents
Global Coffee Standard™ is not just a certification.
It is a complete system that integrates:
| Pillar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Coffee Science | Farm genetics, soil, fermentation, roasting, brewing, sensory science |
| Supply Chain Innovation | Traceability, blockchain, digital logistics, farmer-to-market models |
| African Origin Integrity | Coffee is African. Standards must begin at origin |
| Youth Employment | Jobs across farms, factories, labs, cafes, exports & logistics |
| Value Addition | Roasting, branding, brewing, trade, not just cherry sales |
| Knowledge Ownership | Africa defines coffee — not foreign institutions |
The GCS™ Vision
To build the world’s first African-rooted global coffee system that creates millions of skilled jobs, retains value at origin, and drives innovation across coffee science, trade, and culture.
The GCS™ Model: From Farm to Global Market
Global Coffee Standard™ structures coffee into four connected career and business pillars:
1️⃣ Farm & Production
- Agronomy
- Climate-smart farming
- Cherry quality
- Primary processing
- Cooperative innovation
2️⃣ Processing & Management
- Wet & dry mills
- Quality control
- Storage & logistics
- Factory management
- Sustainability systems
3️⃣ Barista & Value Creation
- Brewing science
- Sensory analysis
- Café systems
- Beverage innovation
- Coffee culture
4️⃣ Trade & Market Systems
- Direct trade
- Export readiness
- Branding
- Digital marketplaces
- Blockchain traceability
Every African youth trained under GCS™ is prepared for real jobs, real ownership, and real income, not dependency.
What Makes GCS™ Different from Other Coffee Standards
Unlike foreign-controlled frameworks, GCS™:
✔ Starts from African soil, not European labs
✔ Trains people for ownership, not servitude
✔ Recognizes coffee as African intellectual property
✔ Links education directly to employment & trade
✔ Builds African coffee brands, not just raw exports
Global Coffee Standard™ Is a Movement
GCS™ is:
- A technical standard
- A training framework
- A trade system
- A youth empowerment engine
- A cultural restoration of coffee’s African roots
It aligns directly with:
- Kenya Coffee School
- Barista Mtaani
- ACE™ – African Coffee Education
- African Coffee Association (ACA™)
forming the world’s first African-led coffee knowledge and trade ecosystem.
Founder’s Statement
Alfred Gitau Mwaura, Founder of Global Coffee Standard™:
“Coffee is African. Its science, its wealth, and its future must also be African.
Global Coffee Standard™ exists to ensure that the next 100 years of coffee builds African prosperity, African innovation, and African ownership.”
Editorials of Kenya Coffee School and Barista Mtaani