Ethiopian Coffee Bean Grading Standards and Export Auction Process

Ethiopian Coffee Bean Auction System and Classification

The evaluation standards for Ethiopian coffee beans were established with the assistance of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). It is worth pausing on why Ethiopia, the homeland of coffee, could not establish its own standards independently.

In 2008, Ethiopia fully implemented a central auction system; previously, exporters each purchased and exported independently.

Pre-Auction Process Overview

A brief outline of some of the pre-auction steps:

1) Farmers harvest coffee cherries;

2) Farmers transport the cherries to rural cooperatives;

3) Cooperatives sell the cherries to middlemen;

4) Middlemen collect the cherries and transport them to processing plants, for washed or natural processing;

5) Middlemen transport the processed parchment coffee to designated warehouses of the auction house;

6) The auction house provides official evaluation and a rating level;

7) Middlemen bring samples and official certification to auction parchment coffee at the capital's auction house;

8) Exporters test samples at the auction house and bid for the beans;

9) Exporters transport the won parchment coffee to hulling facilities;

10) Exporters send the processed green beans, the form we usually see, to official institutions for export grade certification, then obtain official certificates such as a Sidamo Grade-2 certificate.

The above is a simplified process. There are in fact some smaller branches, such as cooperatives exporting directly, which won't be detailed one by one.

Naming and Classification System

Ethiopian coffee beans are named by their origin, usually by province, somewhat like the Bordeaux region of French wine. The main producing regions are well known. Note that Sidamo is a small producing region within Sidamo province; because of its unique flavor, it can become an independent brand. This naming method differs greatly from other African countries, including the grading and naming introduced below: Kenya and Tanzania are named by country, as in Kenya AA or Tanzania AA.

First, it must be stated clearly that the following system applies only to grading Parchment Coffee before auction, graded during step 6), and the certificates issued are used only for auction purposes, not as export certificates.

General requirements: The moisture content of natural coffee beans should not exceed 11.5% of weight, and at least 85% of beans should be size 14 or above after screening. This is why Ethiopian beans don't look uniform: size 14 and above means 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are mixed together.

Parchment Coffee grading: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, UG (undergrade). Note that this 1, 2, 3 is completely different from Sidamo Grade-2 or Harar Grade-3. This is their domestic grading identification used for auction purposes, not export grade naming.

Two major factors for grading above those levels: Raw Value, the physical factors, accounts for 40 points, and Cup Quality Value, the cupping factors, accounts for 60 points, for a total of 100 points.

Physical factors include: defects 20, appearance 10, color 5, odor 5.

Cupping factors include: clarity 15, acidity 15, mouthfeel 15, flavor 15. Grading is then based on the total score.

To be classified as specialty coffee, there is another round of finals, where grades 1, 2, and 3 are evaluated again through cupping assessment. The evaluation factors are basically the same as SCAA standards and won't be detailed here. After specialty grading there is another naming stage, which would be very confusing, so we omit it here.

Note: All cupping mentioned above removes the parchment from samples before roasting for testing.

When exporters win beans at auction, they proceed to step 9), and this is where mixing occurs. Mixing has two meanings: mixing beans from different mountains, and mixing beans from different Parchment coffee grades. The very critical step affecting quality is the latter. We just introduced grades 1 to 9 and UG. Using Sidamo as an example: an exporter has a 20-ton Sidamo Grade-2 order and won more than 20 tons of Parchment Sidamo from the auction house. In most cases the goods were won through several separate auctions, because one mountain wouldn't conveniently have exactly 20 tons of coffee. Separate auctions mean different small producing regions, or mountains, and different Parchment grades. For example, if the exporter won in 4 separate batches, those 4 batches might be:

Region A: 5 tons (grade: 1); 25%

Region B: 2 tons (grade: 2); 10%

Region C: 10 tons (grade: 3); 50%

Region D: 3 tons (grade: 4); 15%

The exporter then takes the Parchment coffee to the processing plant to process into 20 tons of green beans for export. Of course, before export he also needs export grade certification, and official institutions issue a Sidamo Grade-2 certificate. The key point should now be clear.

Now switch to another exporter with the same 20-ton order, who also won 4 batches of parchment coffee from the auction house:

Region E: 1 ton (grade: 1); 5%

Region F: 1 ton (grade: 2); 5%

Region G: 10 tons (grade: 3); 50%

Region H: 8 tons (grade: 4); 40%

Similarly, the official institution issues a Sidamo Grade-2 certificate.

Anyone can see that although both are called Sidamo-2, the quality of the first exporter's goods is definitely better than the second's, and much better. That is not to say the second exporter is an unscrupulous merchant, because his export quote is lower than the first's. This is the principle of "you get what you pay for." The same operations also apply to other Ethiopian beans, such as Yirgacheffe, Jimma, and Lekempti.

Summary

1. Besides cultivation, steps 4) and 9) are very critical to quality.

2. Step 9) is very important. Having visited processing plants, I feel that goods from good management are truly good quality. Measures like giving workers regular breaks can effectively improve bean selection quality.

3. You get what you pay for. As an importer, I can bargain, but step 9) is not something importers can control, and exporters won't tell you how they mix. Importers simply need to find exporters who are serious about coffee.

4. Ethiopian grades are divided into Parchment grades and export grades, two different but related systems.

5. The grading of Ethiopian beans is the most systematic grading standard I know among African countries.

6. Mixing creates untraceable source problems, the traceability often mentioned in specialty coffee. This is not without solutions, but won't be discussed here.

7. More Ethiopian exporters export Q1 and Q2 Parchment Coffee, in the supplier's words "high quality coffee," under the name of Grade-3, because of the "zero" defect issue.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia's layered auction system explains why two coffees with the same "Grade-2" label can taste so different, and it also explains why a well-sourced single lot matters. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is a dependable reference point: clear jasmine florals with a bright citrus acidity, a light and elegant body, and a tea-like finish that reads like clean lemon tea.

To see how village-level sourcing sharpens that picture, look to FrontStreet's Guodingding Cooperative lot. Originally part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU, it became independent in 2012 with roughly 300 farmers at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. The fruit is depulped before drying, so the coffee's own aromatics come through with unusual clarity, giving citrus and lemon over elegant white florals; a light-to-medium roast brings out green tea and honey, and it suits pour-over, cold brew, or espresso.

For a fruit-forward contrast, FrontStreet's natural Red Cherry Yirgacheffe delivers peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon, while the wilder Kaffa Forest coffee comes from Ethiopia's southwest, where shaded slopes between 1,400 and 2,100 m and centuries of natural evolution give the cup jasmine, citrus, and wild berry notes. Each cup is a reminder that traceable, single-lot sourcing is what separates a memorable Ethiopian coffee from a blended average.