Coffee Grades and Coffee Quality Explained

If you’ve bought coffee from different origins, you might have labels like “Ethiopia G1” or “Kenya AB”. But what do those really mean?

In this article, I’ll break down everything you need to know about coffee grades. From this, you’ll understand the labels you see on your bag and know what you’re paying for. 

Specialty Coffee Association Grading System

As you’ll see later, different countries use different terms and measurements for grading their coffees. The count of defects accepted also differs per origin. These make it difficult to have a standard grading system across the board. 

To resolve this, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) came up with a grading system based on defects in the raw coffee. This way, there is a clearer relationship between coffee tasting notes and the quality of the raw / green beans.    

Grade	No. of Defects (per 300 grams)
Grade 1 – Specialty Coffee	5 full defects
Grade 2 – Premium Coffee	8 full defects
Grade 3 – Exchange Coffee	9 – 23 full defects
Grade 4 – Below Standard Coffee	24 – 86 full dects
Grade 5 – Off-Grade Coffee	More than 87 full defects

With this grading method, 300 grams of raw coffee is sorted using screens. Screen sizes normally range from medium (screen size 14) to large (screen size 18). Only beans smaller than that screen size should fall through the screen. If 95% of that size of green coffee is on the screen, it passes the test. 

After the screen test, that sample is evaluated for defects. The coffee gets a grade from 1 – 5 depending on the amount of defects found in that 300g sample. 

Grade 1 – Specialty Coffee

Specialty green coffee beans have no more than 5 full defects in 300 grams of coffee. The greens should have a moisture content of 9-13%. No primary defects are allowed.  

The roasted coffee must have at least one distinctive attribute in the aroma, acidity, or mouthfeel. There should be no quakers. 

Grade 2 – Premium Coffee

Premium coffee must have a max of 8 full defects in 300 grams. Some primary defects are allowed. These greens should also have a moisture content between 9-13%. 

Just like Grade 1 (Specialty Coffee), the roasted coffee should have at least one distinctive attribute for aroma, acidity, or mouthfeel. There should only be 3 quakers at most. 

Grade 3 Coffee – Exchange Coffee

Exchange grade coffee should have no more than 9-23 full defects in 300 grams. It must be 50% by weight above screen size 15 with no more than 5% of screen size below 14. Moisture content should also be around 9-13% for the green beans. 

It should have no cup faults and have a max of 5 quakers.  

Grade 4 Coffee – Below Standard Coffee

Below Standard Coffees have 24-86 defects in a 300 gram sample. Because there are a lot of defects found in these samples, some coffee graders opt to only use 100 gram samples when evaluating. 

Grade 5 Coffee – Off Grade Coffee

Off Grade coffees are samples with more than 87 full defects. These are bad samples that don’t make it to the market. 

Coffee Grading in Ethiopia

Unlike other origins, Ethiopian coffee grades are based on defects and cup quality instead of screen sizes. Grades range from 1-9, with grades 1-2 considered specialty. While everything else is considered commercial.

In terms of labelling, you’ll normally see the grade next to the region where the coffee is from. In the picture above, it’s a Grade 1 coffee from the Guji region. Other labels will further sub-divide the region from A to C. For example, “Yirgacheffe B, G2”. 

List of Coffee Defects

Defects are classified as either primary or secondary. Primary defects are more severe compared to secondary defects.

Quakers are a common defect found in most coffee bags. They normally smell and taste like peanuts and are easy to spot because of their lighter color. 

Primary Defects

Type of defect	No. of occurrences equal to one full defect
Full Black	1
Full Sour	1
Pod/Cherry	1
Large Stones	2
Medium Stones	5
Large Sticks	2
Medium Sticks	5

Secondary Defects

Type of defect	No. of occurrences equal to one full defect
Parchment	2-3
Hull/Husk	2-3
Broken/Chipped	5
Insect Damage	2-5
Partial Black	2-3
Partial Sour	2-3
Floater	5
Shell	5
Small Stones	1
Small sticks	1
Water Damage	2-5

Coffee Grades by Size

Price wise, the largest beans are usually the most expensive. In Central America and Colombia those are the Supremo and Superior beans. 

Kenya is an exception since E coffees are not considered good. In their case, AA beans are the most expensive.

Across the board, peaberries (PB grade) are an exception to the size rule. They are the smallest in size but are sold at high prices because they are more rare. 

Screen Size (1/64″)	Classification	Central America and Mexico	Colombia	Africa and India
19-20	Very Large			E
17-18.5	Large	Superior	Supremo	AA
15-16	Medium	Segundas	Excelso	AB
14	Small	Terceras		C
8-13	Shells	Caracol, Caracolli, Caracolillo		PB

Coffee Grading in Africa and India

Except for Ethiopia, all African origins follow a lettered grading system. India also follows a similar grading method. These usually start with A or AA as the highest grade – which is normally for specialty coffee. Meanwhile, anything with a C grade and below is recognized as commercial coffee.  

Outside of the list above, Kenya and Tanzania have a grade in between A and B (AB). In Kenya, instead of using a standalone B grade, they mix together the smallest A grade beans along with B grade beans. 

While most coffee buyers would still prefer AA beans, AB beans can be just as good. In some cases, even better. ABs are usually the most abundant in a harvest and are used to represent other grades.  

Other grades used in Kenya are E, TT, T, and MH/ML. E coffees, also known as the “Elephant” grade, are abnormally large beans. These form from a genetic defect where two seeds merge under one cherry. 

TT beans are light-density E, AA, AB, and PB beans that don’t make the cut. T coffees are broken, faulty, or thin beans from the C grade.  

MH/ML beans are usually the worst kind. They are cherries that fall on their own after ripening. Beans of this kind have an unpleasant and sour taste. 

Is higher-grade coffee always better?

In most cases, yes. But you’ll have to consider 2 things: where the coffee is from, and the grading system used. 

If you buy from specialty / third wave roasters, then you don’t have to worry as much. In that case, you’ll only be dealing with Grade 1 (if not Grade 2) coffees based on SCA standards. 

Unless the coffee is evaluated by defects instead of screen size, a Kenyan AB bean can’t really be compared to a Colombian Supremo. 

Most of the time, you won’t even see which screen size was used, unless the coffee came from Kenya, Tanzania, or India. But even then, a higher screen size grade doesn’t automatically mean better coffee. 

Example, Kenyan AAs are usually priced the highest because of their reputation for having the best taste. While that is still true, ABs in recent years have met that same level of quality – if not even outperforming the AAs. 

Other coffee enthusiasts would argue that PBs are where the money is at. Their small size makes them easy to roast. So separating all the peaberries into one bag also makes life much easier for roasters. These often get more even roasts, which means better coffee for you. 

Final thoughts

Coffee grades are important. But they’re not an end-all-be-all. They’re useful up to a certain point. But if you’re dealing with specialty coffee, you’ll have to consider other things like the reputation of the producer, processing method, varietals, and elevation.

Think of it this way. If you go to the same specialty roaster and see a Kenyan AA and an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe G1, on paper, they’d be the same grade per the SCA. Meaning, Grade 1 coffees. 

While that’s true, they won’t price the same. They will still have differences in quality as well. Albeit, the difference won’t be huge.

You can ask your local roaster or barista to help you decipher each coffee bag. But, ultimately, try to taste everything that’s available and decide what to get from there. 

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