There are a lot of different factors that go into giving coffee beans their unique taste and texture. When purchasing green (unroasted) coffee beans, there are various ways to evaluate the quality of the bean.
Understanding the evaluation process is vital to selecting the best specialty coffee beans for roasting. If you’re looking for a supplier of wholesale coffee beans, Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters offers a wide selection of beans, including wholesale coffee, green coffee, and other coffee shop supplies.
The SCA Coffee Grade Guide
The below coffee grading scale developed by Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is used to evaluate coffee beans based on their size, quality, and number of defects.
For this scale, coffee is measured in samples of around 350 grams and the consistency and defects of the sample are measured on a system from one to five. In general, there is a correlation between coffee size and their quality, although coffee can be graded in terms of different factors, like elevation or handling process.
Grade 1: Speciality Grade Coffee
Grade one is given to the highest grade of coffee beans because they have no primary defects and 0–3 full defects. These beans also are free of “quakers,” meaning unripe and hard to identify.
Grade 2: Premium Coffee Grade
Coffee beans labeled as premium are similar to Grade 1 beans, but they can have 0–8 full defects. But unlike a Grade 1 bean, Grade 2 beans can have a maximum of three “quakers.”
Grade 3: Exchange Coffee Grade
Coffee with this grade has between 9–23 defects in the sample size and a maximum of five “quakers.”
Grade 4: Below Standard Coffee Grade
Coffee with this grade has between 24–86 defects in the sample size and is a much lower quality bean.
Grade 5: Off Grade Coffee
This coffee has more than 86 defects per 300 grams of coffee, the lowest on the grade scale.
Other Factors Used in Evaluation
In addition to the SCA coffee grades, the below are a sampling of other terms also used to evaluate green beans.
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Strictly Hard Bean (SHB), or Strictly High Grown (SHG) beans: Beans grown at an altitude of at least 1350 meters. This gives these beans more nutrients, resulting in a more flavorful coffee.
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European Preparation, or EP: The raw beans were hand-sorted, removing any foreign material or defective beans. As a result, you’re left with a clean, quality bean.
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Excelso vs. Supremo: Colombian coffee is graded according to bean size instead of variety or cupping profile. Excelso beans are large, but smaller than Supremo coffee beans. Both are very similar in flavor and composition.
Wholesale Coffee Beans at Kaldi
While this blog was only an introduction into the different ways coffee can be graded, we hope it gave you a better understanding of your options when it comes to wholesale coffee beans. Order wholesale coffee beans from Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roaster.
Looking for something unique to try this month? Give our coffee of the month a try:
Kentucky Bourbon Flavored Coffee. Also, be sure to read through our blog to learn more about the coffee industry and our selection of coffee beans:
