Buyer’s Guide
How to Specify Green Coffee
This is the reference list. Everything on it is a lever; anything you do not specify is decided for you. The last section is a worked example you can adapt.
Updated 2 min read
Quick answer
A complete green coffee specification names the origin and region, species, process, grade, screen with tolerance, defect basis, moisture with method, crop year, packaging, and the cup basis. Leave any of those out and it becomes the seller’s choice by default.
The fields
| Field | What it constrains | If omitted |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Origin | Nothing works without this |
| Region / station | Profile and traceability level | You get whatever the country produces |
| Species | Arabica or Robusta | Assumed from context — risky |
| Process | Washed, natural, honey | Seller’s default for the origin |
| Grade | The origin’s own preparation class | Seller’s choice within the origin ladder |
| Screen + tolerance | Bean size distribution | Screen implied by grade; tolerance undefined |
| Defect basis | Physical cleanliness | Origin default, which varies widely |
| Moisture + method | Water content and how it is measured | Disputes at arrival |
| Water activity | Storage stability | Not assessed |
| Crop year | Which harvest | "Current crop" ambiguity |
| Cup basis | Approved sample or described profile | No enforceable quality term |
| Certification | Scheme and chain-of-custody model | Uncertified |
| Traceability level | Country through to day-lot | Whatever the supply chain gives naturally |
| Packaging | Bag type, fill weight, liner | Origin standard |
| Marking | What is printed on the bag | Mill default |
| Quantity + tolerance | Bags and net weight | Ambiguity on part-shipments |
| Incoterm + port | Cost and risk allocation | Not a contract |
| Shipment window | When it must be on board | Open-ended obligation |
| Inspection | Who, what, where, consequence | No verification mechanism |
The four most commonly omitted
- 1Screen tolerance. "Screen 15+" without a permitted percentage passing is not enforceable. See coffee screen sizes.
- 2Moisture method. The number without the method invites a dispute at arrival, because instruments disagree. See green coffee moisture.
- 3Point of determination. Where quality and weight are finally determined — origin, load port or arrival — allocates real risk.
- 4Consequence of shortfall. Allowance, rejection or re-determination. Agreeing it in advance is what stops a problem becoming a dispute.
Specifying the cup
There are three workable approaches, in descending order of strength.
- Approved sample
- The shipment must conform to a specific retained sample. Strongest, and requires both parties to retain it.
- Described profile + score floor
- A written profile with a minimum score under a named protocol. Workable, provided the protocol and panel are named.
- Fault tolerance only
- No positive requirement; a zero-tolerance clause on taints and ferment. Weakest on quality, strongest on enforceability.
A worked example
Example: washed Kenyan for a single-origin filter offering
- Origin
- Kenya, Nyeri or Kirinyaga
- Traceability
- Cooperative factory and outturn number identified
- Species / process
- Arabica, fully washed with soak
- Grade / screen
- AB, screen 15/16, maximum 5% passing screen 15
- Defects
- Maximum 5 full defects per 300 g; zero primary defects
- Moisture
- 10.0–11.0%, capacitance meter, oven method for dispute
- Water activity
- Maximum 0.58 aw at 20 °C
- Crop
- 2025/26 main crop
- Cup
- As per approved pre-shipment sample; zero tolerance for ferment, phenol or mould
- Packaging
- 60 kg jute with hermetic liner, heat sealed; no hooks
- Quantity
- 150 bags, +/- 2%
- Terms
- FOB Mombasa, shipment window stated, Incoterms version stated
- Inspection
- Pre-shipment sample to agreed sampling method; retained samples held by both parties
Send us your specification
Our RFQ form is built around this field list — fill in what you know and leave the rest blank.
Request Current Crop OfferFrequently asked questions
What is the minimum a green coffee specification needs?
Origin, species, process, grade, screen with tolerance, defect basis, moisture with method, crop year, packaging and a cup basis. Anything omitted becomes the seller’s choice by default.
How do I specify quality if I cannot cup samples?
Use a described profile with a score floor under a named protocol, combined with an explicit fault-tolerance clause. It is weaker than an approved sample but it is enforceable, and the fault clause does most of the protective work.
Should I specify screen if I have specified grade?
Yes, with a tolerance. Grades imply screen ranges but do not fix them, and the permitted percentage passing is negotiated per parcel. Without a tolerance the screen term is not enforceable.
Is it better to over-specify or under-specify?
Specify everything that matters to you and be explicit about what you are flexible on. Over-specifying things you do not care about narrows the offer list and raises the price without improving the coffee.
Tell us the coffee you need
Lots can be specified by origin, region, process, grade, screen, moisture, defect tolerance, crop year and packaging. Send what you know and we will confirm what each origin realistically supports.
Keep reading
Related guides
- How to Buy Green Coffee from AfricaA step-by-step guide to buying East African green coffee: defining a specification, sampling, contracting, inspection, documentation and landed cost.
- Coffee Grades ExplainedWhat a green coffee grade encodes and leaves out, with the grading systems of six East African origins side by side.
- Coffee Screen SizesCoffee screen size chart with mm conversion, how sizing tolerances work, what screens 15–18 mean in East African grades, and how bean size affects roasting.
- Green Coffee DefectsGreen coffee defect analysis: primary and secondary defects, how full defects are counted on a 300 g sample, and how to write a defect tolerance.