{"id":167833,"date":"2023-07-28T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T17:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/?p=167833"},"modified":"2024-01-11T13:47:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T21:47:10","slug":"a-succinct-guide-to-ethiopian-coffee-grades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/royalcoffee.com\/a-succinct-guide-to-ethiopian-coffee-grades\/","title":{"rendered":"A Succinct Guide to Ethiopian Coffee Grades"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Author’s Note: <\/em><\/strong>When I first joined Royal, I had a vague idea of the difference between a Grade 1<\/a> and Grade 2<\/a> Ethiopian washed coffee, but didn\u2019t really understand the complexity of the country\u2019s grading system. Over the past few years, cupping through hundreds of coffee from various grades, I think I got a little desensitized to the nuances, and maybe forgot a little bit about the fact that Ethiopian grades can be a complete mystery to most roasters. When one of our traders, and Ethiopian coffee buyer, Caitlin McCarthy-Garcia asked me about drafting a quick guide, I said sure. How hard could it be?<\/em><\/p>\n

Famous last words! It turns out there are almost no resources available on the topic, and my research ended up taking months and involved half-a-dozen interviews with experts, scrubbing through low-quality cupping form scans from decades ago, and reconnecting with a long-lost colleague I\u2019d met in Chicago and last seen in Lima, Peru, but had no idea they\u2019d been on the advisory committee in Addis, and inadvertently got themselves banned from the Ethiopia for a decade!
<\/em><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re the kind of reader that just wants to know the differences in taste between a G1 and G3 Natural, or if you\u2019re ready to dive into the history and evolution of the unique system \u2013 and the quirks and twists of fate that got us to where we are today \u2013 you\u2019ll find it in the guide. – Chris Kornman<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ethiopian coffees, widely acknowledged as some of the best beans in the world, have their own unique grading system which divides qualities into numbered groups and \u201cUnder Grade\u201d (UG) for the lowest quality beans.<\/span><\/p>\n

This Guide to Ethiopian Coffee Grades will briefly describe what you can expect to find in each single origin quality tier that Royal Coffee carries and provide both technical guidance and historical context.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Royal Coffee\u2019s Ethiopian offerings:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Grade 0 Washed<\/p><\/div>\n

Grade Zero<\/a>: <\/span><\/b>A Royal Coffee exclusive, this is a custom dry-milling specification from a collaboration between Royal Coffee and Wuri milling and exporting partner, BNT Industry and Trading PLC. Grade Zero is designed to produce a near-perfect condition of micro-lots from the mountainous regions of southern Ethiopia, and we are proud to showcase these lots of better-than-grade-1 status. Grade Zero coffees go through extra sorting steps at the dry mill, including additional passes through the optical sorting machine, and slower, more meticulous hand-sorting by the dry mill\u2019s team. These extra processing steps produce exceptionally clean coffee with intense floral flavors and are geared towards those who are looking for a super specialty experience, for the connoisseur.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Grade 1 Washed<\/p><\/div>

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Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Grade 1 Natural<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Grade 1: <\/span><\/b>Natural (dry processed) and Washed (wet processed) coffees alike in the G1 tier are top-notch, <\/span>almost always consisting of the highest quality specialty coffee beans that are carefully sorted and have an intense aroma and complex taste with a range of flavors, including fruity acidity, well-balanced body, and complex notes of floral, berry, citrus, and tea-like tones. The green coffee prep is typically pristine and will easily pass SCA criteria for defect counts. These coffees always cup well with delicate flavors, bright acidity and medium body, and can sometimes reach the stratospheric, mythical realm of 90+ points. Expect the iconic floral notes paired with regionally distinctive and process-driven sweet fruit tones.<\/span> Royal carries a wide array of both Grade 1 washed and natural options for the discerning coffee lover.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ethiopia Sidama Grade 2 Washed<\/p><\/div>\n

Grade 2: <\/span><\/b>Widely available specialty grade beans, often arriving a little earlier and at lower price points than their Grade 1 counterparts, there can be some good deals on great coffees with excellent sweet flavor in this category. The green a<\/span>lso possesses an excellent quality, although they may have slightly smaller sizes or a few more secondary defects compared to Grade 1. However, they still maintain distinctive flavors and are sought after in the specialty coffee market. Royal Coffee purchases washed coffees in the Grade 2 tier currently, but not natural G2s.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Grade 3 Natural<\/p><\/div>\n

Grade 3: <\/span><\/b>Because of awkward differences in grading defects in washed versus natural coffees, Grade 3 can become a repository for some really nice tasting, mostly cleanly sorted naturals. Thus, Royal Coffee exclusively buys natural coffees in this tier, and those we purchase we generally consider flavorful, easily cupping in the specialty tier often up to 85+ points in most cases. Natural G3 Ethiopias tend overall to simply be less intense than G1 Naturals, possessing similar berry-forward fruity flavors but <\/span>may lack some of the complexity and distinctiveness found in higher grades.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade 4:<\/span><\/b> Royal Coffee buys natural Grade 4 Ethiopias that meet certain cup requirements, cupping for us at least 80 points (SCA) and above. <\/span>While they may not exhibit the same level of complex flavor as the higher grades, they can still offer a satisfying taste experience with distinctive light earthiness, heavier body, spicy flavors, and noticeable Ethiopian coffee characteristics like dried fruity notes and chocolaty depth.<\/span> On visual inspection, this coffee will be notably less clean than higher grade standards (containing a varying amount of under-ripes and other secondary flaws which may, when roasted, present as quakers) but still frequently meets SCA standards for Exchange Grade. While we observe frequent quakers in almost all G4 naturals, we have no tolerance for primary sensory defects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grade 5 and below:<\/span><\/b> Royal Coffee does not purchase any Ethiopian coffee beans below Grade 4. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Members of Fero Cooperative In Sidama, Ethiopia, drying and removing defective parchment coffee<\/p><\/div>\n

Understanding the Ethiopian Grading System<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

A version of Ethiopia\u2019s iconic grading system has been in place since 1960, with quality monitoring undertaken by the Coffee Liquoring Unit (CLU, pronounced like the word \u201cclue\u201d) in 1982. Recent changes have refined the system under the authority of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX, est. 2008), including a <\/span>major overhaul in 2017<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, the pre-shipment sample (PSS) grade established prior to export is primarily given by the CLU. Additional grades may be assigned prior to final export; including preliminary grading in Addis by the CLU’s parent organization, Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority (ECTA), and an independent grading in field offices given by ECX locations. The multiple assessment nodes occasionally causes some discrepancies for primary and secondary sellers (suppliers and exporters). However, for the importer and coffee roaster, the most important, relevant, and final grade will usually be the PSS assigned by the CLU.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethiopian coffee passes through a multifaceted grading system to determine its export value, initially broken into two categories: Raw Value and Cup Quality Value.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n