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Updated: May 8, 2026

Using Capillary Electrophoresis to Quantify Organic Acids from Plant Tissue: A Test Case Examining Coffea arabica Seeds
Published on: November 12, 2016
Geographic determination of coffee beans using multi-element analysis and isotope ratios of boron and strontium
Hou-Chun Liu1, Chen-Feng You, Chiou-Yun Chen
1Department of Earth Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan.
Abstract:
This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of using chemical and isotopic compositions of coffee beans to identify their geographic origins. Twenty-one Coffea arabica beans collected from 14 countries in 3 major coffee-producing regions, Africa, America and Asia, were analysed for multi-element of B, Rb, Sr, Ba, Fe, Mn and Zn, as well as isotopic compositions of B and Sr. Our results demonstrate that the geographic origin of coffee beans could be classified based on concentrations of Rb, Sr and Ba. However, the isotope ratios of B and Sr provide more sensitive information for the growth localities. Combined with literature data, this study indicates that B and Sr isotopes are excellent indicators of the origin of coffee beans.
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