Introduction and grading of Colombian coffee beans

Colombian Coffee

Our Colombia coffee-producing region is located in the city of Hutton Bolivar in the Medellin region of the northern Andes Mountains of South America, where the climate is mild, the air is humid and the sun is abundant. And our Farrens Mountains are right here, and hard-working farmers are growing coffee along the highlands of these mountains. The terraces provide a diverse climate, which means that harvest season occurs throughout the year and different types of coffee ripen at different times. There are about 2.7 billion coffee trees in Colombia, and our coffee trees make Colombia coffee stand out.

Our Colombia coffee is scientifically machine sifted and manually selected. The grades are mainly divided into: ESMERALDA, SUPREMO, EP PREMIUM.

The taste of Colombia coffee is described as: smooth, balanced, soft and ready to drink.

I. Classification according to defective beans

There are two types of defective beans:

- The first type: what's called a class 1 defect.

- The second type is called a secondary defect.

Type 1: Major blemishes (blemishes that affect the presentation of coffee flavor characteristics) : black beans, mold beans or sour beans

Private Raw Bean Exporters: No more than 12 Grade 1 defective beans

National Coffee Council: No more than 8 defective beans in Grade 1

Second: minor defects (defects affecting the appearance of raw beans) :

Discolored beans (old beans, over-dried beans, soybeans), damaged beans, insect bite beans, shell beans, immature beans, abnormal beans

Private Raw Bean Exporters: Minor defective beans no more than 60

National Coffee Board: No more than 35 Grade II defective beans

Note: Major defective beans can be replaced by the number of secondary defective beans. One primary defective bean is equivalent to 10 secondary defective beans.

boutique coffee

Grade AA has zero first-grade defective beans and less than 5 second-grade defective beans per 500g coffee.

Grade A coffee contains less than 3 first-grade defective beans and less than 8 second-grade defective beans per 500g.

Grade 1 has less than 8 defective beans per 500g coffee and Grade 2 has less than 35 defective beans per 500g coffee.

Second, according to the size of the bean

Maragogype A special tree having large beans and a small total yield.

No more than 5% of the beans in the Supremo sample are less than 17 mesh but more than 14 mesh

Supremo screen 18+ 18+ No more than 5% of the beans are below 18 mesh but above 14 mesh

Excelso Extra No more than 5% of beans below 16 mesh but above 14 mesh

Excelso EP sub-standard samples contain no more than 2.5% of beans below 15 mesh but above 12 mesh (this proportion may be adjusted to 5% or 8% depending on demand)

U.G.Q. "Usual Good Quality": Not more than 1.5% of the beans in the sample are less than 14 mesh but less than 12 mesh

III: By Region

Traditionally, Colombia coffee is often referred to as: Armenian/Medellin Premium

A few years ago, coffee began to be sold under regional names: Popayan, Bucaramanga, Huila, Tolima, Medellin, Nariño became the main coffee producing areas.

Colombia has two distinct coffee production periods: Main crop and Mitaca. These two production periods vary in different regions

For example, harvest time of the main season

Bucaramanga October-December.

Popayan May-June

Usually the quality of coffee produced in the main season is better than that in the second season

IV: According to the law

According to the National Coffee Board, only high-quality coffee beans are allowed to be exported. All of these have standards set by the National Coffee Board.

Business classification: Maragogype, Supremo, Excelso and UGQ.

Grade AA, Grade A, Special Grade.

Each grade has specific specifications for bean size and subgrade.

The National Coffee Council and private brewers also classify several categories as specialty coffee, such as coffee labeled organic, sustainable and fair trade.

Source: Network