AA refers to a Kenyan coffee grading system, with AAA being the largest and PB being the smallest. AA is the second-largest grade, meaning the beans can pass through a 17/18 screen sieve and are 6.75 to 7.14 mm beans.

Altura is a term for High Grown (or HG) Mexican coffee. These quality, second-grade beans must be grown 100 to 1,600 meters above sea level.

Originating from the “Grand Cru” coffee district of Guatemala, Antigua beans come from rich volcanic soil and hundred-year-old farms. Located in the mountainous South Central Pacific portion of the country, the area is dominated by three volcanoes: Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego.

High-quality arabica beans are grown in the Blue Mountain Area coffee district of Jamaica. These beans grow at 910 to 1,700 meters above sea level and end up with a bright but not overpowering mouthfeel and mild flavor.

As Panama’s renowned coffee district, Boquete is located in the Chiriquí Province close to the border of Costa Rica. This area is most well-known for its Geisha Panama coffee which is grown at 1,350 to 1,500 meters about sea level and harvested from the months of December to March. 

Cerrado is the newest cultivation area for high-grade Brazilian coffee, developed following the Great Black Frost of 1975. The beans are grown in the high savannah at 900 to 1,250 meters to the west of the Minas Gerais State and processed using a natural pulped process. It is often thought to be Brazil’s best coffee. 

While it is often kept in coffee houses, chicory is not coffee. It is actually a blue flowering plant mostly grown for its leaves and roots. When roasted, it is most enjoyed in New Orleans coffee, where it is blended with lower, dark grades of coffee to create a bold and smokey taste.

Ken Davids is the head of the Cupping Board of Coffee Review. He is a well-renowned and highly acknowledged industry expert, as well as an author of several books and articles all to do with coffee.

EP stands for European Preparation, a term most often used to describe coffee beans that have been hand-sorted to remove defective beans and foreign material. For EP, the screen size must be 15 or higher. EP allows for a maximum of eight defects for every 300 grams. 

Estate coffee means that the beans all came from a single farm or estate. This gives a chance for the specific, unique flavors of that plantation to come through in every cup. Because the availability of one particular farmer’s produce may be limited, coffees marked as “Estate” could change throughout the year. Check with us to determine if a specific Estate is actually represented by the designation.

Excelso is a grading term for the quality and size of Colombian beans. This includes both flat beans and Peaberry types in naturally occurring mixes, in which the beans are required to pass through a 16/64” diameter sieve. Excelso beans are smaller than Supremo beans.  

Fair Trade is an official certification given to coffee beans signifying that all of the steps of production met strict standards that support the farmers, community, and sustainability of the land. The price of Fair Trade coffee may be higher than other beans, but the price reflects the effort to create equity and transparency in the coffee community. 

If coffee is labeled “fancy,” it is an above-average specialty quality. These fancy-grade beans have specific screen size requirements and grading scales depending on the producing country. A good example of this is the USA Fancy Grade Kona that coffee lovers enjoy so much, where it must be sorted with a screen size of 19 to sort out the largest beans for use.

A trademark imprint that often appears on burlap coffee sacks, the term “fancy mark” indicates to a cooperative, exporter, or importer that the coffee is of extraordinary value. 

GR #1, or Grade 1 coffee, is a dark III A rich roast with a dark brown color and oily surface. This is the highest grade of coffee beans. All beans are required to have 0 defects, be within 5% of the desired screen size, and have a distinct taste, body, and aroma. 

Government estate coffee is the general designation for the top-grade Indonesian arabica bean production. These beans are allowed 11 defects per 300 grams of beans, and there are no bean size specifications. 

If you see HG on a coffee, it means the beans originate from one of the four Indonesian government-owned estates in Java: Blawan, Jampit, Kayumas, or Pancur. These plantations produce washed beans using the Caribbean and Central American process model. 

The term “highland” indicates a coffee bean was high grown or mountain grown. Since elevation is such a strong influence on flavor and aroma, Highland coffee beans are set apart from the rest. 

Italian is a roast style that leads to extremely dark, full-bodied, oily coffee beans. With bold flavors and a very dark brown-black surface, this Southern Italian-style coffee is loved worldwide. 

JP stands for Japanese Preparation. This is thought to be the best preparation for beans of Indonesian origin. Buyers tend to be very particular about the grade and finish in roasts they accept, so they are known for a high-quality finish one may not get with European preparation.

While Java is commonly interchangeable with the word coffee, it actually has a more specific meaning in the world of beans. Java refers to specific beans grown within an Indonesian Island Southwest of Sumatra and South of Borneo. Java arabica beans are grown at a high elevation on a plateau and are wet-processed.

Kona coffee comes from some of the most expensive and high-quality beans in the world. It is named after the designated growing area on the Kona Coast of Hawaii. Roasted Kona can only be certified by the official Kona Coffee Council before being sold to customers or businesses.

A mountainous region, Lintong is the “Grand Cru” coffee district of Indonesia. The area forms a crescent shape south of Lake Toba in Northwest Sumatra within the Mandheling region. The climate and environment offer ideal conditions for arabica bean growth.

A more recently found mutation of typica beans, the Maragogipe coffee, is also playfully known as “elephant coffee beans” due to the large leaves and cherries found on the trees. It was originally cultivated in Brazil but has since grown worldwide, from Australia to America and beyond. It is unique in that Maragogipe beans adopt the taste characteristics of the host country. 

Maui is the second-largest Hawaiian Island and is one of the most popular coffee-growing islands in the region.

MBCF, which stands for Mavis Bank Central Factory, is Jamaica’s largest integrated Jamaica Blue Mountain facility. This is one of the only board licensed sources for genuine Blue Mountain beans. 

Methylene chloride is the main synthetic solvent used to decaffeinate coffee beans. It is on the USFDA G.R.A.S list of food ingredients, so it is generally regarded as safe. 

Mocha is the “Grand Cru” area of coffee production in Yemen—which is the world’s oldest cultivated coffee. While it bears the name of the old port, the coffee itself comes from small farms that work hard to produce exquisite tasting beans planted in fertile mountainside terraces. Yemen Mocha, by nature, is organically cultivated and loved worldwide.

NOP stands for National Organic Program, which developed the rules and regulations for the production, labeling, and handling of all USDA organic products—including coffee.

Organic is one of the most popular buzzwords for coffee—especially when attached to “Fair Trade.” This term means the coffee beans are certifiably grown organically at their farm and in manufacturing processes.

Peaberry coffee beans are mutant beans found in the fruit at the tips of young branches. Rather than two flat beans nestled face to face, which make up the majority of arabica beans, these beans are small, round, and pea-shaped. It can be found in any type of coffee and will often be separated and sold in a different grade. 

Plantation AA is a very rare grading given to the highest grade of arabica beans found in Papua New Guinea. 

SHB, or Strictly Hard Beans, are the highest grade for Guatemalan and Costa Rican coffees. The higher the elevation the beans grow at, the denser or harder they become. This makes a desirable bean as they are believed to produce a more concentrated and complex flavor. For Costa Rica, SHBs are grown 1,000 to 1,650 meters above sea level. For Guatemala, SHBs are grown at 1,600 to 1,700 meters. 

SMBC, or Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, seemingly has nothing to do with the production of coffee. But, if you see this label on a bag of beans, it certifies that the coffee is shade grown and farmed with the health of migratory birds in mind. 

The official Gillies Coffee Co. trademark for CO2 natural type decaffeinated coffee processed by Hermsen in Bremen, Germany. 

Sigri is the official mark for award-winning Sigri Plantation beans. That farm is located in the Wahgi Valley in the Western Highland province of Papua New Guinea, which has earned the reputation for producing the finest arabica beans in the country.

Sulawesi is an Indonesian Island responsible for a lot of the beans from that region. It is located in the Malay Archipelago E. or Borneo, about 375 miles northwest of Java across the Java Sea. It is often referred to as Celebes, which is the old Dutch name for the island. 

Sumatra is an Indonesian Island across the Sunda Passage northwest of Java Island. It is also the name of one of the most popular coffees from that region, often considered Indonesia’s best bean. 

Supremo is the top grade for Colombian coffee, with a minimum bean size of #17. Grown in the Andes on fertile slopes at altitudes of 1,650 to 1,800 meters above sea level, Supremo includes only flat beans, not peaberries, that are much larger than Excelso grade beans.

Swiss water is the original patented pure water decaffeinating process that can work on a variety of beans. 

Tarrazu is the “Grand Cru” coffee district of the Southern Costa Rican Pacific watershed. These high-quality beans are cultivated at 1,200 to 1,700 meters above sea level and are known for being sweet, fruity, and full-bodied.

TP stands for “triple picked.” These beans are carefully chosen and sorted three times to remove as many undeveloped, off-color, damaged, and broken beans as possible. This designation goes above and beyond the official classification scale for Indonesian Sumatra coffee preparation.

Type Donald is a Special grade decaffeinated coffee preparation named after Gillies’ Coffeeman, Donald Schoenholt. It is made by a decaffeinator in Hermsen, Bremen, Germany.  

A Vienna roast is the second-darkest roast. It is recognizable by its first-level of oil present on the bean’s surface and a dark brown hue. It is often considered a Northern Italian-style coffee roast. 

Vintage coffee refers to beans that are not of the new crops. They often have a softer, less acidic quality and a fuller body that that of their younger counterpart. 

Yirgacheffe is a high-quality coffee district and popular market town in Ethiopia. It is located in the South Central Sidamo region directly north of the border with Kenya. These beans are most often available as a natural, unwashed coffee.

No. 1 is the top grade for Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, determined by a 17/18 screen. The No. 2 grade coffee and No. 3 grade coffee are often green, unroasted beans.

These numbers refer to a Brazilian “Fancy” grade identification in the United States. In this grade, only a maximum of 9 defects is allowed per 300 grams.

Bean size is often expressed using these screen sizes of measuring sieves. Beans must make it through a mesh 6.75 to 7.14 mm screen.

Bean size is often expressed using these screen sizes of measuring sieves. Beans must sit on a 7.14 mm mesh screen.