While coffee cuppers have the market on assessing the quality of the taste in the cup, there’s a test that starts before the beans are ground or roasted.
Coffee is given a grade when their still beans and there’s several criteria that are looked at when grading coffee. “Before any coffee is sold it is classified by the number of defects, screen size, and cup quality,” according to the Web site Coffee Research.
“The defect count is supposed to give a general idea of the quality of the cup.” However, coffee grading criteria are not standard around the world and different countries have different sets of grade markers they use, according to Encyclopedia Britannica online.
The Specialty Coffee Association of American has a poster that spells out the “SCAA Arabica Coffee Classification System.” In this chart, the coffee is given a Grade 1-5 depending on specific criteria.
For instance, to earn a Grade 1 classification, the coffee beans must meet several criteria including having zero primary defects and have a moisture content between 9 to 13 percent. These are considered specialty grade green coffee.
Grade 2 beans are called premium coffee and Grade 3 and 4 beans are exchange grade and below standard grade coffees. Grade 5 beans are considered off-grade coffee beans and are beans that have more than 86 full defects, according to the chart.
They have a list of primary and secondary defects like whether there is insect damage or the beans are broken or chipped, which are both considered secondary defects.
The SCAA is just one system for grading coffee. The Coffee Research site also spells out the Brazilian/New York Method of grading green coffee. The Web site includes a chart of how the beans are graded in that system.
“Generally, coffee beans without defects, of the same origin, and that are similar in size, color, and shape, are classified as specialty green coffee beans,” the Coffee Research Web site states.
While coffee bean classification is one tool used to determine coffee quality, the true test of coffee seems to be in the consumer’s hands.
“Most people are surprised to learn that taste is not considered when assigning coffee a grade in Hawaii,” Andrew Hetzel stated in a press release last year after he became the first resident of Hawaii to earn SCAA accreditation as a cupping judge. “The proof of coffee quality is always in the cup.”