Analysis of green coffee and its defects

As you know, not all coffees are the same. Starting with the green coffee. An incredible product, whose seed is found inside a fruit and its greenish color remains intact because it is unroasted. Before reaching our cups you must go through a series of procedures. Where the level of roasting and its defects are analyzed, thus determining the exceptionality of the beans.

You're probably wondering how we know the quality of the beans before choosing them? The first thing to do is select the coffee and then analyze a sample. Here the physical and organoleptic characteristics will be evaluated. The benefits of green coffee are thought to come from chlorogenic acid, a chemical found on a larger scale in these unroasted beans.

There is a wide variety of coffees and a range of prices. We can find coffees from 10 euros/Kg and others at 50 euros/Kg. But why this big difference in price between one and the other? Or how can those of us who regularly buy coffee assess the exact price of the product? Now, the first thing you should know is that 1 kg of roasted coffee is equivalent to the production of an entire year of a coffee bush or tree.

Fortunately, Incapto Coffee, will give you all the tricks to learn more about everything about it green coffee, starting from basic concepts.

What is green coffee?

As we have highlighted above, green coffee is unroasted beans. It is one of the most popular products in the world. The tone of these grains is between green and blue, even up to brownish colors. This will depend on the origin, year of harvest and its conservation.

By not undergoing the roasting process, these types of beans retain all their beneficial properties. Unlike the dark roasted coffee we are used to. The green coffee, is considered one of the healthiest natural drinks. Because they are consumed like any other ground coffee, with the only difference that these beans are not roasted before preparing it.

If we talk about its aroma, it is another of the most outstanding characteristics. Because It is usually much more intense. While its flavor turns out to be more bitter than an espresso. This being one of the main reasons why more and more people declare themselves fans of this drink.

How is green coffee analyzed?

In Incapto Coffee, we focus on the rating system used by Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) for Arabica coffee. Which consists of studying a representative sample of green coffee, of about 350 g and another of roasted beans of 100 g. Next, we will detail, point by point, each of the qualities that we identify in this type of coffee.

Color

This visual evaluation works as a single reference for the buyer. However, this does not determine the quality of an Arabica coffee washed according to the SCA. But yes of its freshness. We can find shades such as yellowish, pale, bluish green or brown.

Humidity

At this point we ensure that the grains have a humidity greater than 10%. This means that the coffee is fresh. But if humidity levels are low, we would be looking at an old or poorly processed product. In fact, it must be less than 12% to generate fungi due to excess humidity.

Grain size

We must clarify that if the grain is larger or smaller, this will not determine the quality of the drink. But if it is of a homogeneous size, it will be very useful when toasting.

It's as if we were cooking anything else. For example, if we are preparing potatoes with different cuts, some could be raw while others will burn. The same goes for green coffee beans.

Defect classification How do we achieve it?

To offer a quality product, in this case an excellent green coffee, we must determine certain defects. Now, when we find two defects in a grain, the one that has the greatest impact on the quality of the drink will prevail over the others.

Coffee tasting is a very common technique to determine the quality of the product. In this case, at the time of tasting, the cup should have attributes in terms of fragrance-aroma, flavor, acidity, body and aftertaste. It is important to note that the coffee should not have a bad smell or taste.

That is, each type of defect is counted individually. Grains with malformations are not considered defects. We will shortly explain which defects fall within category 1 and 2.

Category 1 defects

Within this group, each coffee bean could represent a defect. For example, black beans result in an earthy, fermented and moist drink. In fact, they run the risk of containing ochratoxins, a microtoxin produced by mold-type fungi.

Could we avoid this kind of defects? Of course, to do this we must pick the ripe cherries and not just the overripe ones manually. If they have already been collected, we also have time to avoid it, just by doing a second classification. Either manually or mechanically, due to density, because they weigh less than the rest.

Another defect that falls into category 1 is caused by the sour grains. Well, a cup prepared with this type of coffee provides a fermented or sour flavor. To prevent this, we can carry out the same procedure applied in the previous case, picking the cherries only at their optimal point of ripeness. As well as improving conditions and conservation during the pulping process.

We can also include in this group the appearance of foreign matter in coffee. Between those stones, sticks or anything else. Something that makes it clear that the classification and cleaning stage was not carried out correctly.

Category 2 defects

Here we would be including defects that do not influence the flavor of our cup of coffee. Beans with this characteristic would be counted with a complete defect. For example, coffee beans that are broken do not negatively influence the flavor of the drink. That is why, every five grains count as a complete defect.

On the other hand, category 2 also includes immature grains, which were harvested ahead of time. Those that are wrinkled mean that the plant lacked water, and can even add herbal nuances to our cup. Float beans offer hay or hollow flavors. The cause of this is because there was an error in conservation or during drying.

This is what will really influence the ranking of the green coffee. At the same time it will have a direct relationship with the price. That is, if we have specialty coffee classification, which means that it cannot have category 1 defects. It also cannot have more than 5 full category 2 defects. It should not have quaker or immature grains, something that can be distinguished in the 100g toasted sample.

If your preparation is Premium or commercial, the accepted complete defects will increase.

That said, now you can understand why one type of coffee may have a higher price than others. All of this will depend on the number of defects they may have. Incapto Coffee, invites you to enjoy an exquisite cup with any of our specialties. So do not hesitate to visit our product catalog on our website and select the best option.