[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":205},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guides-en-US-grading-and-cupping-green-coffee":3},{"kind":4,"guide":5,"categorySlugs":197},"guide",{"key":6,"slug":6,"category":7,"order":8,"schema":9,"title":10,"seoTitle":11,"description":12,"excerpt":13,"keywords":14,"published":22,"updated":22,"readingMinutes":23,"cover":24,"related":27,"body":52,"faq":110,"products":117,"sources":126,"locale":131,"sourceHash":132,"translated":133,"paths":134,"slugMap":141,"categorySlug":196},"grading-and-cupping-green-coffee","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":15,"secondary":16,"intent":21},"grading green coffee",[17,18,19,20],"green coffee defects","coffee cupping for buying","specialty grade coffee defects","green coffee screen size","informational","2026-10-09",8,{"figure":25,"kicker":26},"350 g","Grading",[28,36,44],{"key":29,"slug":29,"category":7,"title":30,"excerpt":31,"readingMinutes":32,"updated":22,"cover":33},"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":34,"kicker":35},"PSS","Samples",{"key":37,"slug":37,"category":7,"title":38,"excerpt":39,"readingMinutes":40,"updated":22,"cover":41},"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":42,"kicker":43},"10 to 12%","Moisture",{"key":45,"slug":45,"category":46,"title":47,"excerpt":48,"readingMinutes":40,"updated":22,"cover":49},"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":50,"kicker":51},"8.25 g","Cupping",[53,55,57,67,71,73,75,99,101,103],{"p":54},"Grading is a physical inspection of green coffee; cupping is a standardized 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":56},"Physical grading",{"ol":58,"steps":66},[59,60,61,62,63,64,65],"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":68},{"title":69,"p":70},"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":72},"Cupping for buying",{"p":74},"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":76},{"head":77,"rows":80},[78,79],"What to assess","What it tells a buyer",[81,84,87,90,93,96],[82,83],"Fragrance and aroma","Freshness and character; staleness shows early",[85,86],"Flavor and aftertaste","Whether the coffee fits the role on your menu",[88,89],"Acidity and body","Brightness and weight, for blending decisions",[91,92],"Balance and sweetness","How it will behave across roast levels",[94,95],"Uniformity and clean cup","Whether one cup in five is defective, a lot problem",[97,98],"Defects","Taints such as mustiness, ferment or phenol: reasons to reject",{"h2":100},"Turning scores into decisions",{"p":102},"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":104,"title":109},[105,106,107,108],"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",[111,114],{"q":112,"a":113},"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":115,"a":116},"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.",[118,122],{"target":119,"label":120,"note":121},"page:sample-management","Cupping notes against each lot","Scores, descriptors and decisions stored with the sample.",{"target":123,"label":124,"note":125},"market:buy","Request samples to grade","Samples of market lots for your own grading.",[127],{"name":128,"title":129,"url":130},"Specialty Coffee Association","Protocols and best 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