What Is the Highest Grade Coffee? (Solved & Explained!)

The highest grade of coffee is number 1. This indicates the quality of the bean when freshly harvested green as well as how it tastes, also called “cupping.” It means that the bean comes with the least amount of imperfections while producing a well-balanced and excellent cup of Joe.

However, this number grade comes from the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). There are actually different and varied grading systems that change between coffee growing countries and regions. But, for the sake of simplicity and succinct understanding, we’ll refer mostly to the SCAA grading standard.

What Does It Mean to Grade Coffee?

To grade coffee means to evaluate the beans for a specific set of criteria that demonstrates to potential buyers how good the beans are. This comes after milling coffee cherries to produce green coffee beans, the state of the bean before roasting.

Every country and region of the world has its own system for classification and there is no central all-encompassing standard for grading. In most cases, however, they often use the size of the bean along with things like altitude, bean varietal and final taste. But, some employ other factors such as bean defects and density.

What Determines a High versus Low Grade Coffee?

What classifies a high grade coffee versus a low grade one depends on various characteristics of the beans. Theoretically, these come based on a loose correlation between a bean’s sensory quality, size, distribution and density. Such factors impact roasting conditions and the treatment of the beans prior to roasting.

These systems are often very detailed, intricate and complex. However, most systems evaluate a bean’s grade based on the following criteria:

1. Altitude: the higher the altitude, the better quality of the coffee bean
2. Bean Color & Shape: uniformity in color and shape
3. Bean Density: how heavy and compacted any given bean is
4. Bean Size: measured by the holes of a screen; ones that remain after sorting based on increments of 1/64 of an inch.
5. Botanical Variety: the type of bean will determine the quality; i.e. Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and etc.
6. Cup Quality: how the bean tastes after roasting and preparation
7. Number of Defects: an accumulative value of all criteria mentioned, including Quakers
8. Permissible Defects: percentage of accumulative number of defects allowed
9. Preparation method (wet or dry): the method by which harvesters clean and prepare the green beans
10. Region: various areas of the world will produce a higher quality bean than others

What Are Quakers & How They Affect the Grade of a Coffee Bean?

Quakers are either unripe or poorly roasted beans that imbalance an overall batch of coffee. While most coffee beans have a handful of these, the amount does affect the quality. The more Quakers present in a batch of green coffee beans, the lower the overall quality and thus, it receives a lower grade.

Why Do They Grade Green Coffee Beans?

Coffee grading systems came about in response to quality requirements for roasters who purchase large amounts of green coffee beans. Certain defects equate to an increased risk of contamination. Therefore, it indicates to the roasters what they’re getting and if they think it’s worth the investment.

So, while regular coffee drinkers can use these grading systems to understand the kinds of beans they’re consuming, these systems are more for the bulk coffee trade.

What Are the Various SCAA Classification Grades of Coffee?

In the United States, the SCAA is the highest standard of coffee classification. They have developed a long and arduous method for evaluating green beans as well as how they taste after roasting. But they have been able to whittle this down into a numeral value ranging between 1 and 5.

They base the grades per 300 grams of green, freshly harvested coffee beans. Because conditions and environments change annually, every bean must consistently undergo evaluation.

• Grade 1 – Specialty: There are very few defects with a max screen size of 5% above and below. These are distinct in flavor with acidity, body, aroma and taste. Such beans are free of faults and taints along with absolutely no Quakers.
• Grade 2 – Premium: This is the most common type available and frequently what people drink. The requirements for this are just like Grade 1. The caveat is that these have an allowance of three Quakers max and up to eight total defects.
• Grade 3 – Exchange: Most brands you find at the grocery store will incorporate this grade of coffee bean. Over 50% of the beans will remain on the screen with a range of 5% to 15% below. They have a max allowance of five Quakers but are free of faults with a permissible defect limit of nine to 23.
• Grade 4 – Standard: Most supermarket coffee brands will mix these types in with Grade 3 to extend production and make more coffee. But, on their own, most people don’t want this kind of bean. They have 24 to 86 allowable defects.
• Grade 5 – Off-Grade: A coffee bean with this grade is not desirable to anyone. They have more than 86 full defects with a small portion of the beans that will remain after screening.

What Are the Other Grading Systems for Coffee?

The system discussed above is solely for the SCAA method of grading coffee beans. There are many and various ways different countries and regions grade their beans. While most criteria are similar to what the SCAA does, they base what’s important upon what the surrounding values are of the bean itself.

There’s the Kona Grading System, specific to Hawaii along with one from Kenya, Brazil (shared by New York), Colombia, Indonesia and even Vietnam, among others. Each system has its own values that vary slightly from one type to the next.

For instance, the Kona Grading System has two separate categories (Type I & II) that also include the roasting quality of the beans. But the Kenya system classifies beans based on defect before and after washing.