ICEA

The current quality standard for export coffee was adopted since the coffee year 1983/84, and is based on the defect system as substitute to the triage system previously used.

The standard classifies coffee beans into six grades, with Grade 4 subdivided into Grade 4a and Grade 4b (except for Arabica coffee).

The grading classification according to the defect system is shown in table below :

The total defect value is calculated from a sample of 300 gram.

The principle requirements for the coffee standard are as follow : moisture content max 12.5 % (by weight), extraneous matter max 0.5 % ( sticks, stone pieces, etc ),  free of live insects & free of stinker beans, mouldy odour and mouldy beans.

For documentation and markings of export coffee, the following abbreviations are used :

• Coffee types                        :  R = Robusta          A = Arabica
• Processing methods :  WP = Wet Processed          DP = Dry ProcessedIf R/DP coffee has been polished to remove the silver skins from the bean, it should be specified by adding “AP” ( After Polished” to the grade )
• Example         :  R/DP Grade 1/AP
• The bean size of the coffee should also be added to the grade (L – Large bean; M – Medium bean; S – Small bean).Example : R/WP Grade 1/L.