How green coffee is graded: Kenya AA, Ethiopia Grade 1, Supremo, SHB

Every producing country grades its green coffee in its own way. Some grades describe bean size, some the altitude where the coffee grew, some the number of defects and the cup. Knowing what a grade does and does not promise helps you compare offers and write clear contracts.

Updated October 3, 2026 · 10 sources

Three things grades measure

Bean size, measured with screens. Screen numbers are 64ths of an inch, so a screen 18 has round holes of 18/64 inch; Kenya's standard gives this as 7.2 mm.
Defects: black, sour, insect-damaged or broken beans and foreign matter, counted in a sample.
Cup quality and growing altitude, in some systems.

A grade is not a flavour promise. Two Kenya AA lots can taste very different. Use the grade together with a cupping score, a defect count and an approved sample.

Kenya: E, AA, AB, PB, C, TT, T

Kenya's standard coffee grades are set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Coffee (General) Regulations:

Grade	Description	Screen
E	Elephant beans (two beans joined), including very bold AA	Retained on screen 21 (8.3 mm)
AA	Flat beans	Through 21, retained on 18 (7.2 mm)
AB	Flat beans	Through 18, retained on 16 (6.35 mm)
PB	Peaberries (one round bean in the cherry)	Through 17, retained on 12 (4.76 mm)
C	Small flat beans	Through 16, retained on 10 (3.96 mm)
TT	Light-density beans taken out of the larger grades by air	By density
T	Smallest, broken and small C beans	Through 2.9 mm

The ICO country profile adds two grades for buni (natural) coffee, MH and ML, and says E, AA, AB and PB are regarded as the premium grades. Kenyan coffee is also liquored (cup-tasted) before sale, and the Coffee Act, 2026 licenses the liquorers and cupping laboratories that do it. Browse Kenyan lots.

Ethiopia: Grade 1 to Grade 9, Q1 and Q2

Ethiopia grades on both the green beans and the cup. In the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) system, the raw (green) assessment counts for 40% of the total and cup quality for 60%. The total gives the grade:

Grade	Total points
Grade 1	91–100
Grade 2	81–90
Grade 3	71–80
Grade 4	63–70
Grade 5	58–62
Grade 6–9	50–57 down to 20–30

Coffees graded 1 to 3 in this first assessment can go to a specialty cup assessment: Q1 for Grade 1 or 2 coffees scoring at least 85, Q2 for Grade 1 to 3 coffees scoring at least 80. Washed and natural coffees are scored on separate scales. Ethiopia's Coffee Marketing and Quality Control Proclamation (No. 1051/2017) is the law behind quality inspection and certification of export coffee. Browse Ethiopian lots.

Colombia: Supremo, Extra, Europa, UGQ, Excelso

The FNC describes Colombian export preparations by screen size:

Preparation	FNC definition
Supremo 18	95% above screen 18, 5% above screen 14
Supremo 17/18	95% above screen 17, 5% above screen 14
Extra	95% above screen 16, 5% above screen 14
Europa (EP)	90–95% above screen 15, the rest above screen 12
UGQ	95–98.5% above screen 14, the rest above screen 12
Caracol	Peaberries, at most 10% flat beans

Excelso is the FNC's name for its mainstream commercial Colombian coffee, prepared to the buyer's screen and defect requirements. Every Colombian exporter must be in the FNC's exporter register, and all coffee is checked by the FNC before shipment (Resolución 05 de 2015). Browse Colombian lots.

Central America: SHB, SHG, HG

Central American grades are named after growing altitude, because high-grown coffee ripens more slowly and is usually denser. Guatemala's agriculture ministry (MAGA) gives these bands:

Guatemala grade	Altitude
Prima Lavado	600–800 m
Extra Prima Lavado	800–1,000 m
Semiduro	1,000–1,200 m
Duro (Hard Bean)	1,200–1,400 m
Estrictamente Duro (SHB, Strictly Hard Bean)	Above 1,400 m

Honduras uses High Grown (HG) and Strictly High Grown (SHG). IHCAFE's trading regulation defines them by the bean and the cup: SHG beans are usually bluish green, roast compact and show excellent character, aroma, body and acidity. Exact altitude limits differ between countries, so put the grade and the minimum altitude in the contract. Browse Guatemalan and Honduran lots.

The specialty benchmark (SCA)

The Specialty Coffee Association's green grading counts Category 1 (primary) and Category 2 (secondary) defects in a 350 g sample. Under the SCA's 2004 protocol, specialty grade meant zero Category 1 defects and no more than five full Category 2 defects. The SCA has since moved to its Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) and is revising its physical assessment using new research, so many buyers now quote the defect count and the cup score separately.

Using grades when you buy or sell

Write the national grade and the screen in the contract, for example "Kenya AB, screen 16 minimum".
Add a maximum defect count, a maximum moisture and, for specialty lots, a minimum cup score.
Approve a pre-shipment sample and compare the arrival sample against it. See how to buy green coffee directly from origin.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kenya AA better than AB?

AA beans are larger (retained on screen 18, 7.2 mm) than AB beans (retained on screen 16). Size is not flavour: an excellent AB can cup better than an average AA, so always cup the sample.

What does Supremo mean in Colombian coffee?

It is a size preparation. Supremo 17/18 means 95% of the beans are above screen 17 and the rest above screen 14, according to the FNC.

What does SHB mean?

Strictly Hard Bean. In Guatemala it is the top altitude grade, for coffee grown above 1,400 m according to the agriculture ministry (MAGA).

What is Ethiopia Grade 1?

In the ECX system it is a coffee scoring 91–100 points, where the green assessment counts for 40% and the cup for 60%.

Sources

Checked on October 3, 2026. Laws, rules and prices change: always check the official source before you trade. This guide is general information, not legal advice.