Accused of selling counterfeit and high-priced coffee beans! Well-known boutique coffee brand "Oukelao" bowed and apologized!

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Recently, Willem J. Boot, owner of the Finca Sophia estate in Panama, accused on Social networks that Taiwan's well-known coffee buyer Black Gold and Taiwan's boutique coffee chain Oklao of marketing or selling products under the name of "Finca Sophia" twice in 2023 and 2025 without purchasing from the estate or its partners.

On November 23, Willem J. Boot publicly named Black Gold Coffee and Okla in his personal community, claiming that they sold coffee products without authorization under the name "Finca Sophia."

Faced with the accusations of the owner of the Panamanian coffee estate, Black Gold Coffee and Okolao both issued statements in response that day, setting the tone of the issue as "misplacement of the name" and "misplacement of the administrative process." Okolao also emphasized that "the Panamanian geisha coffee sold by our company is indeed legally obtained in the country of origin and has various supporting documents."

Black Gold Coffee originally stated strongly in its statement on November 23 that "the accusation is not true and misleading," but later deleted the article and issued an apology to the owner on December 5. In its second statement, Black Gold Coffee no longer denied the manor owner's statement, but did not clearly explain the reasons for the mislabeling twice in 2023 and 2025.

On December 6, Willem J. Boot issued another official statement in the name of the manor, directly refuting the boundary between Black Gold Coffee and the so-called "administrative negligence" of the Okla, setting the tone as an infringement of "misrepresentation."

It is understood that Okolao displayed and sold a batch of geisha washed coffee beans with "lot.144 harvest date 2025/5/12" under the name of "Finca Sophia" at the 2025 Taiwan International Coffee Show. The consumer who purchased the batch of coffee beans traced back to the source and found that the harvest date could not be compared with the public information of the estate, so he asked the estate owner for confirmation.

The manor explained that the batch of "FS14425" coffee beans totaled 25 kilograms and had all been sold to mainland China. The lot. 144 batch provided by Okolao was inconsistent with the actual batch sold by the manor. In response, Okolao said that the coffee beans sold came from another estate in Willem J. Boot,"Finca La Cabra", rather than "Finca Sophia", and the products were gradually removed from the shelves.

The two public accusations attracted great attention from all walks of life. After investigation by relevant local units, the "Finca Sophia Panama Sofia Manor Geisha Washed Gold Baked" coffee beans sold by Okolao did not match the source of the raw materials and were suspected of violating relevant local laws and regulations.

On December 19, Ou Kelao held an emergency press conference. At the meeting, Chairman Wang Xinjun and General Manager Tu Peiling bowed and apologized, saying that due to internal operating procedures, the name of the coffee estate of the product had been mistakenly planted. Although the actual production place and the original label are affiliated to the same estate alliance in Panama, this mistake still caused misunderstandings among consumers and estate owners, and I sincerely apologize for this.

The brand said that an internal review mechanism was launched immediately after the incident to quickly identify the problem and completely remove relevant products. At the same time, consumers are provided with unconditional returns, and consumers are allowed to choose equivalent products, plus a box of geisha gift boxes.

At the same time, the brand said that it had received another settlement plan verbally proposed by the owner this week and was still making final confirmation with the local lawyer. It would adopt a responsible attitude, continue to communicate with the other party, properly handle the matter, and promised to fully cooperate with relevant units. Investigation work. In addition, Okelao said that relevant processes have been thoroughly reviewed and the operation review SOP has been strengthened. The relevant person in charge has been transferred from his current position, and the management team has also been adjusted to ensure that similar incidents will not happen in the future.

Although Okolao's top officials have admitted their mistakes, provided compensation plans and tried their best to recover them, due to their violation of relevant laws and regulations, controversial incidents, which affected social perceptions, the organizer revoked the qualification to win the "Top Ten Accompanying Ceremony of Taichung City". The medals and certificates obtained previously were withdrawn in accordance with the law, and they were not allowed to stand for the selection event again for three years from the date of cancellation.

Picture from: Internet

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