The process of grading green coffee for export is fundamental to ensuring that each lot meets the different standards required by international markets. It goes beyond simple sorting, playing a crucial role in the quality and consistency of the product that reaches the consumer.
Precision in the process also reduces commercial risks and minimizes the chances of rejection, ensuring that the coffee reaches the expected quality.
Thus, grading becomes the basis for creating the lots that will go to the more than 100 destinations served by Atlantica Coffee.
Manual sorting: The first step in ensuring quality
Manual sorting is the first stage in the process of classifying green coffee. At this stage, specialized workers select the beans, separating out visible defects such as broken and burnt beans. To find out more, click here and download our Defects Guide.
Impurities such as stones and twigs are also removed for a cleaner tasting of the coffee and so that the roasting process is not compromised. This initial sorting is necessary to identify the sensory profiles of the batch received, which impacts on the blends for different markets.
Screens: Sorting by size and density
After sorting for defects, the grains are sorted through screens. In this process, the beans are separated according to their size. In Brazil, we use the following scale: Moka, 14/16, 17/18 and 18 up.
This separation is especially important in the roasting process: uneven grains can compromise the drink’s flavor profile, as smaller grains reach the ideal roasting point more quickly than larger ones, resulting in uneven roasting and potentially damaging the final flavor.
Roast test: finding the ideal profile
To find the ideal roast profile for a coffee, it is roasted several times. First, a standard roast is carried out to detect its initial characteristics; then different profiles are tested to achieve the lot’s maximum potential, preserving and enhancing its qualities in the best way. Each roasting profile can highlight or detract from the coffee’s attributes, making this process a practice of skill and patience, with the final result evaluated through cupping. To standardize the roast, a roast curve is used – a graph generated by a computer connected to the roaster, which records the recipe for future replication. This process is very common in the classification of specialty coffees.
During roasting, the coffee takes on a yellow color and undergoes chemical reactions that are crucial to the formation of flavor. When it reaches the “first pop”, which marks the beginning of the release of accumulated energy, the process enters its final phase, with the roaster’s temperature being reduced to preserve the reactions that have already begun.
Cupping: Evaluating the sensory qualities of coffee
Cupping is one of the most important stages in grading. In this process, samples of roasted coffee are evaluated by experts who identify the coffee’s sensory attributes.
To meet this challenge, Atlantica Coffee has developed its own flavor wheel for classifying and naming its coffee lines. In the cupping rounds, we define which coffees fit into each group, evaluating acidity, sweetness level, body, entry and finish at each cup.
During the process, defects in the coffee can be identified, such as unwanted flavors that come from problems during cultivation, processing or roasting. These defects can include earthy, musty, burnt or other flavors that compromise the quality of the coffee.
The sensory wheel was created to define the following types of coffee: Fine Cup, Good Cup and Rio Minas, each with its own distinct lines. This proprietary methodology ensures a precise classification adapted to the specific characteristics of Brazilian coffees.
Technology and grading: How machines ensure precision
After the manual steps, the team issues a machining slip to the warehouse so that the batch can be sorted according to the specifications identified, but on a large scale. To do this, warehouses use advanced technologies to optimize and speed up the process. High-precision equipment, such as densimetric tables, cleaning machines to remove impurities and electronic color selection systems, are used to classify the beans based on specified characteristics. These processes are able to automatically separate defective beans, improving sorting accuracy.
These mechanized processes complement manual sorting, increasing efficiency and consistency in classification. While manual sorting carries out a detailed assessment of each grain, automatization makes it possible to process large quantities in less time, which would be impossible to do as quickly with manpower alone. Automation also ensures strict batch uniformity, minimizing variations between them.
Preparing for export
Once the final grading has been completed, the coffee beans are prepared for international transport. This step is carried out carefully so that the beans are not damaged and arrive at their final destination in perfect condition. During bagging, each batch receives detailed labels with information on the type of coffee, the origin and the processing date.
This ensures traceability, allowing international buyers to follow the coffee’s journey from the farm to its final destination. The type of packaging depends on factors such as the quantity purchased and the customer’s storage capacity at the final destination.
Atlantica Coffee currently uses four main types of packaging for its coffee: jute bags, bulk bags, alphabags and jute bags with grain pro. Although the machines help deposit the beans in the packages, the process still relies on a human touch, ensuring that each package is correctly sealed and labeled, maintaining the integrity of the product until delivery.
Commitment to quality and transparency
From manual sorting to final packaging, Atlantica Coffee combines technology and human expertise to ensure that the beans maintain their quality right from the start. This process not only ensures the delivery of standard lots, but also strengthens our transparency and commitment to traceability. In doing so, we deliver coffees that meet the specific profiles of each market, earning the trust of our partners in more than 100 destinations around the world.