Why Are Coffee Beans Packaged in Burlap Bags? How Many Kilograms in One Bag of Raw Beans? What Are the Standard Packaging Specifications for Coffee Beans?

The Signature of Self-Roasting Coffee Shops: Burlap Bags

If you walk into a coffee shop and see yellow burlap bags displayed everywhere, it's very likely to be a self-roasting coffee shop. Besides offering more variety in coffee beans, one of the most distinctive features of self-roasting coffee shops is the ubiquitous presence of yellow burlap bags throughout the establishment.

Burlap bags are currently the mainstream packaging for raw coffee beans. The vast majority of coffee-producing regions use burlap bags as storage containers when exporting raw coffee beans. When roasters purchase large quantities of raw beans from green coffee suppliers, the beans are stored directly in these burlap bags and transported to the roasters (smaller purchases are repackaged by suppliers using other packaging materials). Once the burlap bags have served their storage and transportation purposes, their excellent craftsmanship and distinctive styles often lead roasters to use them as shop decorations or sell them as merchandise to customers. The bar counters and walls at FrontStreet Coffee are decorated with coffee bean burlap bags. One day, a customer visiting the shop asked: "Why are raw coffee beans from so many different regions all packed in burlap bags?"

Why Raw Coffee Beans Are Packaged in Burlap Bags

Coffee beans are internationally traded agricultural products, and their quality depends not only on excellent growing conditions and meticulous processing but also on proper quality preservation during transportation. The packaging of raw coffee beans is a critical factor that significantly affects quality during transit. From this, we can deduce that the reasons for using burlap bags go beyond just their low cost (although affordability is certainly a major advantage).

Currently, burlap bags used for storing raw coffee beans are primarily made from jute, a natural fiber plant originating from South Asia. In South Asian countries, particularly India, it's known as "soft gold." Because jute can be cultivated at very low cost, textiles made from it are extremely affordable. For agricultural products requiring substantial transportation packaging, this presents a significant advantage.

Additionally, jute fibers are long and tough, making the resulting burlap bags highly resistant to compression. They can withstand heavy pressure without damage, making them ideal for packaging bulk agricultural products like coffee beans. At the same time, burlap bags offer excellent breathability and moisture absorption. During long-distance transportation, the greatest concern is coffee bean mold growth. Fortunately, jute-woven burlap bags have loose weaves, providing outstanding breathability and certain moisture absorption properties. This prevents moisture from lingering in the coffee beans, keeping them dry and reducing the risk of mold and other negative conditions.

Finally, they provide cushioning! Coffee beans experience continuous jostling during long-distance transportation, and the softness and elasticity of burlap bags offer shock-absorbing effects. This effectively reduces cracking damage caused by vibration during transit and makes manual handling more convenient.

Not All Raw Coffee Beans Use Burlap Packaging

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned, while most coffee producers use burlap bags today, it's not universal. Early limitations meant burlap was the primary packaging for raw coffee beans. However, with economic development, coffee bean packaging has evolved significantly. For example, the premium Blue Mountain coffee that FrontStreet Coffee recently shared uses oak barrels for green bean packaging. Alternatively, some more expensive coffee beans use vacuum-sealed packaging combined with air transportation to deliver the product to roasters while maintaining its original condition as much as possible.

Moreover, with modern technological advancements, raw coffee beans are now often placed in inner bags made from new materials that offer superior performance. Despite this, burlap bags remain the primary choice for most coffee-producing regions because they are indeed excellent. Additionally, after years of use, they have acquired certain symbolic significance.

How Much Does a Burlap Bag of Coffee Beans Weigh?

Like roasted coffee beans, raw coffee beans come in different packaging specifications. However, the current market standard for a burlap bag is generally recognized as 60kg per bag.

This standard began in the nineteenth century when Brazil's enormous production capacity and export volume required large-scale packaging for coffee bean transportation. Brazilian coffee exporters then started using 60kg (132-pound) burlap bags to package green beans. Subsequently, this specification became popular, and 60kg became the standard weight unit for a bag of coffee. (FrontStreet Coffee reiterates: although there are many different specifications for bagged raw coffee beans today, a "bag of coffee" is typically understood to mean 60kg.)

Information on Coffee Bean Burlap Bags

Coffee bean burlap bags serve not only as tools for storing and transporting coffee beans but also as "coffee bean identity cards." Because burlap bags contain dense information, besides the green coffee supplier's logo, details about the coffee's region, processing method, variety, product batch number, ICO certification number, and other relevant information are all recorded. Since these bags are primarily used for export, the content printed on them must undergo customs declaration and review. This is why FrontStreet Coffee calls them "coffee bean identity cards" – this information is highly authentic.

It's worth noting that this practice actually dates back to the 15th century! For several hundred years beginning in the 15th century, all coffee beans had to be gathered at Yemen's Mocha port before being exported across the Red Sea to various destinations. To prove that coffee beans were exported from Yemen's Mocha port, all burlap bags containing coffee beans were marked with "MOCHA." This led Europeans to collectively call the delicious coffee beans arriving from Mocha port "Mocha coffee," which explains why "Mocha" early became synonymous with coffee.

Due to space limitations, FrontStreet Coffee won't elaborate on the "identity information" found on different burlap bags here. Interested friends can browse FrontStreet Coffee's previous articles, or wait for next time when FrontStreet Coffee will dedicate another piece to thoroughly explain this topic~

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