[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":203},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guides-en-GB-grading-and-cupping-green-coffee":3},{"kind":4,"guide":5,"categorySlugs":195},"guide",{"key":6,"slug":6,"slugs":7,"category":14,"order":15,"schema":16,"title":17,"seoTitle":18,"description":19,"excerpt":20,"keywords":21,"published":29,"updated":29,"readingMinutes":30,"cover":31,"related":34,"body":59,"faq":117,"products":124,"sources":133,"paths":138,"slugMap":139,"categorySlug":194},"grading-and-cupping-green-coffee",{"de-DE":8,"fr-FR":9,"es-ES":10,"es-419":10,"pt-BR":11,"pt-PT":11,"it-IT":12,"nl-NL":13},"rohkaffee-bewerten-und-cuppen","classer-et-deguster-le-cafe-vert","clasificacion-y-catacion-de-cafe-verde","classificacao-e-prova-de-cafe-verde","classificazione-e-cupping-del-caffe-verde","groene-koffie-beoordelen-en-cuppen","green-coffee",45,"HowTo","Grading and cupping green coffee before you buy","Grading and Cupping Green Coffee for Buying","How roasters grade and cup green coffee before buying: defects in a 350 g sample, screen size, moisture, the cupping method and scoring.","A buying decision needs two kinds of evidence: what the green coffee looks like in your hand, and how it tastes on the table. A practical grading and cupping routine for roasters.",{"primary":22,"secondary":23,"intent":28},"grading green coffee",[24,25,26,27],"green coffee defects","coffee cupping for buying","specialty grade coffee defects","green coffee screen size","informational","2026-10-09",8,{"figure":32,"kicker":33},"350 g","Grading",[35,43,51],{"key":36,"slug":36,"category":14,"title":37,"excerpt":38,"readingMinutes":39,"updated":29,"cover":40},"green-coffee-samples-and-sample-roasting","Green coffee samples: offer, pre-shipment and arrival","Three samples protect a green coffee purchase: the offer sample you choose from, the pre-shipment sample you approve, and the arrival sample you check against it. How to roast, cup and record each.",7,{"figure":41,"kicker":42},"PSS","Samples",{"key":44,"slug":44,"category":14,"title":45,"excerpt":46,"readingMinutes":47,"updated":29,"cover":48},"green-coffee-moisture-and-density","Moisture, water activity and density in green coffee","Three quick measurements tell you how a green coffee has been dried and stored, how long it is likely to hold up, and how it will take heat in the roaster.",6,{"figure":49,"kicker":50},"10 to 12%","Moisture",{"key":52,"slug":52,"category":53,"title":54,"excerpt":55,"readingMinutes":47,"updated":29,"cover":56},"production-cupping-protocol","quality","A cupping protocol for production, not competitions","Production cupping answers one question: is this batch the same as the reference? A simpler, faster method than full scoring, with the controls that keep it honest.",{"figure":57,"kicker":58},"8.25 g","Cupping",[60,62,64,74,78,80,82,106,108,110],{"p":61},"Grading is a physical inspection of green coffee; cupping is a standardised tasting of roasted samples. Together they tell you whether a coffee is worth its price and whether the delivered lot matches what you approved.",{"h2":63},"Physical grading",{"ol":65,"steps":73},[66,67,68,69,70,71,72],"Take a representative sample. Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) grading uses 350 g of green coffee.","Smell it. Green coffee should smell fresh, grassy or hay-like; musty, earthy or fermented smells are a warning.","Measure moisture, and water activity if you can.","Separate defects by hand on a neutral surface: full black or sour beans, fungus damage, foreign matter and insect damage are serious; broken, shell, floater and partly damaged beans are lesser. The SCA's green grading handbook groups them into Category 1 and Category 2 defects with conversion counts.","Count defects as full-defect equivalents using the handbook's ratios.","Check screen size with sieves; screen sizes are measured in 64ths of an inch, so screen 18 means holes of 18\u002F64 inch. Uniform size roasts more evenly.","Record the results against the lot reference.",true,{"callout":75},{"title":76,"p":77},"Specialty grade, in short","Under SCA green grading, specialty grade coffee has zero Category 1 defects and no more than five full defects in a 350 g sample, along with moisture within the accepted range and a clean cup. Check the current SCA standard for the full criteria.",{"h2":79},"Cupping for buying",{"p":81},"Cupping protocols fix every variable except the coffee. The SCA protocol, widely used in the trade, sets a light-medium sample roast, a ratio of 8.25 g of coffee to 150 ml of water, water just off the boil at about 93°C, a break of the crust at around four minutes, and five cups per sample to check uniformity. Follow one protocol every time so scores are comparable across months.",{"table":83},{"head":84,"rows":87},[85,86],"What to assess","What it tells a buyer",[88,91,94,97,100,103],[89,90],"Fragrance and aroma","Freshness and character; staleness shows early",[92,93],"Flavour and aftertaste","Whether the coffee fits the role on your menu",[95,96],"Acidity and body","Brightness and weight, for blending decisions",[98,99],"Balance and sweetness","How it will behave across roast levels",[101,102],"Uniformity and clean cup","Whether one cup in five is defective, a lot problem",[104,105],"Defects","Taints such as mustiness, ferment or phenol: reasons to reject",{"h2":107},"Turning scores into decisions",{"p":109},"A score is only useful against price and purpose. Keep a simple sheet per coffee role: price per landed kilo, score, key descriptors, and whether it worked in the blend or on the bar. Over a season you will see which coffees earn their premium.",{"checklist":111,"title":116},[112,113,114,115],"Cup blind, with a known reference coffee on the table","Two people cupping where possible, scores compared","Arrival samples cupped against the approved sample","Results stored with the lot, not in a notebook","Cupping routine",[118,121],{"q":119,"a":120},"What counts as a defect in green coffee?","Physical faults such as black, sour, insect-damaged, broken or fungus-damaged beans, and foreign matter. Grading systems weight serious defects more than minor ones.",{"q":122,"a":123},"What is a good cupping score?","On the widely used 100-point scale, coffees scoring 80 and above are generally described as specialty. Scores are only comparable within one protocol and one team.",[125,129],{"target":126,"label":127,"note":128},"page:sample-management","Cupping notes against each lot","Scores, descriptors and decisions stored with the sample.",{"target":130,"label":131,"note":132},"market:buy","Request samples to grade","Samples of market lots for your own grading.",[134],{"name":135,"title":136,"url":137},"Specialty Coffee Association","Protocols and best practices","https:\u002F\u002Fsca.coffee\u002Fresearch\u002Fprotocols-best-practices",{"en-US":6,"en-GB":6,"de-DE":8,"es-ES":10,"es-419":10,"fr-FR":9,"it-IT":12,"ja-JP":6,"pt-BR":11,"nl-NL":13,"el-GR":6,"fi-FI":6,"et-EE":6,"lv-LV":6,"lt-LT":6,"sk-SK":6,"sl-SI":6,"pt-PT":11},{"how-to-start-a-coffee-roasting-business":140,"coffee-roastery-business-plan":141,"coffee-roastery-startup-costs":142,"roastery-premises-and-planning-permission":143,"register-a-food-business-as-a-coffee-roaster":144,"haccp-plan-for-coffee-roasters":145,"insurance-for-coffee-roasters":146,"business-structure-for-a-roastery":147,"how-to-price-wholesale-coffee":148,"retail-coffee-pricing":149,"gross-margin-per-kg":150,"roastery-cash-flow":151,"staffing-a-roastery":152,"roastery-production-planning":153,"batch-scheduling-for-roasters":154,"roast-loss-and-shrinkage":155,"roastery-stock-control":156,"choosing-a-coffee-roaster":157,"gas-vs-electric-coffee-roasters":158,"new-vs-used-coffee-roaster":159,"buying-a-used-coffee-roaster-checklist":160,"importing-a-coffee-roaster":161,"afterburners-and-roaster-emissions":162,"roastery-extraction-and-ventilation":163,"commercial-coffee-grinders-for-roasteries":164,"coffee-packing-lines-and-heat-sealers":165,"coffee-roaster-maintenance-schedule":166,"leasing-vs-buying-roastery-equipment":167,"how-to-buy-green-coffee":168,"green-coffee-importers-vs-direct-trade":169,"importing-green-coffee-into-the-uk":170,"green-coffee-contracts-and-incoterms":171,"green-coffee-samples-and-sample-roasting":36,"grading-and-cupping-green-coffee":6,"green-coffee-moisture-and-density":44,"storing-green-coffee":172,"green-coffee-landed-cost":173,"selling-wholesale-coffee-to-cafes":174,"cafe-wholesale-account-terms":175,"coffee-subscription-business":176,"selling-coffee-online":177,"selling-coffee-at-markets-and-events":178,"private-label-coffee":179,"b2b-coffee-pricing-tiers":180,"coffee-labelling-uk":181,"allergens-for-coffee-roasters":182,"vat-on-coffee":183,"coffee-traceability":184,"food-safety-records-for-roasters":185,"roast-profiling-for-consistency":186,"coffee-roastery-qc-programme":187,"production-cupping-protocol":52,"development-time-and-roast-logging":188,"coffee-roasting-software-buyers-guide":189,"when-to-buy-a-second-roaster":190,"contract-roasting":191,"hiring-a-head-roaster":192,"multi-site-roastery":193},"how-to-start-a-coffee-roasting-business","coffee-roastery-business-plan","coffee-roastery-startup-costs","roastery-premises-and-planning-permission","register-a-food-business-as-a-coffee-roaster","haccp-plan-for-coffee-roasters","insurance-for-coffee-roasters","business-structure-for-a-roastery","how-to-price-wholesale-coffee","retail-coffee-pricing","gross-margin-per-kg","roastery-cash-flow","staffing-a-roastery","roastery-production-planning","batch-scheduling-for-roasters","roast-loss-and-shrinkage","roastery-stock-control","choosing-a-coffee-roaster","gas-vs-electric-coffee-roasters","new-vs-used-coffee-roaster","buying-a-used-coffee-roaster-checklist","importing-a-coffee-roaster","afterburners-and-roaster-emissions","roastery-extraction-and-ventilation","commercial-coffee-grinders-for-roasteries","coffee-packing-lines-and-heat-sealers","coffee-roaster-maintenance-schedule","leasing-vs-buying-roastery-equipment","how-to-buy-green-coffee","green-coffee-importers-vs-direct-trade","importing-green-coffee-into-the-uk","green-coffee-contracts-and-incoterms","storing-green-coffee","green-coffee-landed-cost","selling-wholesale-coffee-to-cafes","cafe-wholesale-account-terms","coffee-subscription-business","selling-coffee-online","selling-coffee-at-markets-and-events","private-label-coffee","b2b-coffee-pricing-tiers","coffee-labelling-uk","allergens-for-coffee-roasters","vat-on-coffee","coffee-traceability","food-safety-records-for-roasters","roast-profiling-for-consistency","coffee-roastery-qc-programme","development-time-and-roast-logging","coffee-roasting-software-buyers-guide","when-to-buy-a-second-roaster","contract-roasting","hiring-a-head-roaster","multi-site-roastery","green-coffee-buying",{"starting":196,"running":197,"equipment":198,"green-coffee":194,"selling":199,"compliance":200,"quality":201,"scaling":202},"starting-a-roastery","running-a-roastery","roasting-equipment","selling-coffee","compliance","roasting-quality","scaling-a-roastery",1791626954244]