The term “grade” is commonly used to describe the size of a coffee bean. It is linked to the quality of coffee. For the most part, coffee beans grown at higher elevations are denser, larger, and have a greater flavour than beans grown at lower elevations. To evaluate the size or “grading” of coffee beans, perforated containers called “sieves” are used to pass unroasted beans through the container holes. Grading criteria for coffee vary by nation and may include factors such as bean size, bean density, number of flaws, cultivation height, taste, and more.
For instance, AA or Grade 18 coffee beans pass through a sieve with an 18/64″ diameter hole and are retained by a smaller sieve with a 16/64″ diameter hole. Arabica beans are traditionally assigned “even grades” such as 20, 18, 16, etc. On the other hand, Robusta beans garner a lot of attention “17th, 15th, 13th, and so on are examples of odd grades.
“High grown” (HG), “hard bean” (HB) or “strictly hard bean” (SHB), and “strictly soft” (SS) beans are also regularly used grades. What sets these grades apart from one another?
Coffee cultivated at altitudes of 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level is referred to as “High Grown” (HG), “Hard Bean” (HB), or “Strictly Hard Bean” (SHB). Coffee beans mature more slowly at these elevations and become tougher and denser than beans cultivated at lower elevations. Beans cultivated at higher elevations have more consistent flavour characteristics, making them more attractive and pricey than coffee is grown at lower elevations. HG and HB mountainside coffee is classified as speciality coffee because it is shade-grown, hand-picked, chemical-free, or organic.
Beans that are labelled “strictly soft” (SS) are grown at elevations below 4,000 feet. These beans grow quickly, resulting in a bean that is less dense and lighter in weight. Coffees made from these beans may have more flavour and taste discrepancies. In comparison to the more rich and thick HG or SHB Arabica beans cultivated at higher elevations, SS Arabica beans have a more “rounded flavour.”
You could be thinking to yourself, “What difference does this grading system make in people’s lives?”
In fact, there is a significant difference. Coffee is the world’s second most traded commodity, after petroleum.
The coffee trade is vital to the livelihoods of millions of people all over the world.
Farmers can see tangible benefits in their life thanks to coffee grading. More desirable coffee grades, such as HB, SHB, or HG, attract greater prices.
This translates to additional funding for medical care, social services, education, infrastructure development, ecologically friendly business and living habits, and much more.
Coffee growers must follow strict standards of ethics and farming techniques to qualify for and maintain certifications for various coffee grades, or they may lose their access to stable buying markets.
The move toward shade-grown coffee in many coffee-producing regions where this sort of production may be increased is not an accident but rather the outcome of shade-grown coffee growers’ actual success.
There is also an acknowledgement of the numerous benefits to the environment, fauna, flora, and society as a whole when land is not removed of all trees and vegetation for sun growing.’ “Instead, trees and shrubs are kept in good shape to give the shade that coffee plants require.