Specialty Coffee (Grade 1):
- Highest grade of green coffee beans.
- Top ~5% of all coffee produced worldwide.
- Must meet stringent quality and supply chain transparency standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
- Zero “primary defects” are allowed in any random sample
- Primary defects are things like mold, fungus, significant insect damage, rotten beans, and foreign objects…Not sure about you, but we like our coffee beans to only contain coffee, not sticks and rocks (or worse).
- Note: SCA sample size is 350 grams (roughly the weight of an average bag of coffee).
- Specialty coffee is usually found at smaller, artisan roasting companies, like The Generous Bean Coffee Company.
- If you are buying coffee in a supermarket, it is very unlikely that it’s actually Specialty Grade.
Premium Coffee (Grade 2):
- Allowed to have up to 8 primary defects.
- Typically used for “top shelf” offerings from popular national brands, like that big one from Seattle that has a green logo with a weird mermaid on it.
- Note: While some of their fancier coffees may be Premium Grade, most of their products actually contain Exchange Grade beans
- We avoid Premium Grade, but if you don’t mind a “relatively” small number of defects like mold, fungus, significant insect damage, rotten beans, etc. in your coffee, then go for it!
Exchange Grade Coffee (Grade 3):
- Starting to get really sketchy!
- This can have up to 23 primary defects per sample. So, we definitely won’t touch this stuff!
- Generally, this is the coffee you find at places like your local supermarket (and, yes, that includes the coffee from those mermaid logo folks we have already discussed) or at that big chain of donut shops or that “McHamburger” place with the yellow arches.
Standard Grade Coffee (Grade 4):
- One word: “Sus!” Okay, so we’re not actually sure if that is a word (Maybe ask one of the teachers).
- This stuff can have as many as 86 primary defects per sample!
- You do you, but we wouldn’t drink this stuff with someone else’s mouth!
- Often used for instant coffee, K-cup type pods, or in low-cost supermarket/Costco blends.
- Basically, if the price of your coffee seems like a really great deal, you are likely drinking this stuff.
Off-Grade Coffee (Grade 5):
If you’re buying flavored coffee beans, you may be drinking this stuff. We only have one thing to say…Run away! That’s all! Just run away!