Traditional Export Bag
The default presentation across East Africa. Breathable, robust, and cheap to handle.
- Barrier
- None — breathable
- Fill
- 60 kg nominal
- Suits
- Commercial parcels with fast turnover
Coffee export
Green Coffee Packaging
Packaging options for bulk East African green coffee — traditional export bags, barrier liners, small-lot formats and bulk container solutions — and how to specify one.
- Standard
- Jute or sisal bag
- Enhanced
- Barrier liner
- Small lot
- 30 kg presentation
- Bulk
- Container liner
Quick answer
East African green coffee is normally presented in a 60 kg jute bag, with an inner barrier liner where the lot value, the transit or the destination climate justifies it. Which configuration is right depends on lot value, transit duration, moisture risk, oxygen exposure, destination conditions and your own specification.
Packaging is agreed at contract stage, because it changes cost, handling, marking and the container arithmetic.
Specify packaging with your enquiryNot one universal standard
Bag weights and liner conventions differ by origin and by contract. Nothing on this page should be read as a single configuration applied everywhere.
Options
Packaging formats
Six formats, and what each one is actually for. Availability of any given format is confirmed per origin and per lot.
Export Bag + Hermetic Liner
A multi-layer barrier liner inside the conventional outer bag. The specialty default.
- Barrier
- High barrier
- Fill
- 60 / 30 kg nominal
- Suits
- Specialty separations and higher-value lots
Export Bag + Polyethylene Liner
A single-layer plastic liner. Keeps liquid water out; not a barrier bag.
- Barrier
- Basic — liquid water only
- Fill
- 60 kg nominal
- Suits
- Budget protection against wet handling or a leaking container
Vacuum Pack
Air drawn out and the pack sealed. Used for small, high-value separations.
- Barrier
- High barrier
- Fill
- 10 / 25 / 35 kg nominal
- Suits
- Micro-lots and competition lots
Bulk Container Liner
The whole container lined and filled loose. Cheapest per kilo, no lot separation.
- Barrier
- Basic — liquid water only
- Fill
- Loose, container-scale
- Suits
- High-volume single-grade commercial shipments
Small-Lot Export Bag
A reduced fill for small separations. Easier handling at destination.
- Barrier
- None — breathable
- Fill
- 30 kg nominal
- Suits
- Small specialty separations and day lots
Compared
Packaging comparison
Barrier level is an ordinal band, not a measurement. Transmission rates are properties of a specific laminate from a specific manufacturer — ask for the datasheet where a figure matters to you.
| Format | Fill | Barrier | Moisture | Oxygen | Typical application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Export Bag | 60 kg | None — breathable | None. The weave breathes, so the coffee equilibrates with the surrounding air. | None. | Commercial parcels with fast turnover |
| Export Bag + Hermetic Liner | 60 / 30 kg | High barrier | Substantially restricts water-vapour exchange with the surrounding air when correctly sealed. | Substantially restricts oxygen ingress when correctly sealed. | Specialty separations and higher-value lots |
| Export Bag + Polyethylene Liner | 60 kg | Basic — liquid water only | Resists liquid water. Water vapour still passes far more readily than through a multi-layer barrier. | Minimal. | Budget protection against wet handling or a leaking container |
| Vacuum Pack | 10 / 25 / 35 kg | High barrier | High, while the seal holds. | Removes most of the headspace oxygen at packing. | Micro-lots and competition lots |
| Bulk Container Liner | Bulk | Basic — liquid water only | Containment rather than barrier, unless a hermetic container liner is specified. Both exist and they are not the same product. | None, unless a hermetic container liner is specified. | High-volume single-grade commercial shipments |
| Small-Lot Export Bag | 30 kg | None — breathable | As per the liner specified, if any. | As per the liner specified, if any. | Small specialty separations and day lots |
Construction
How a coffee bag is built
The difference between a lined bag and a barrier bag is invisible from outside, which is why contracts that say only “lined” cause arguments.
Plain export bag
Jute or sisal outerStructure and handling
Green coffeeEquilibrates with ambient air
Nothing between the coffee and the atmosphere. The weave breathes, which is an advantage in a dry warehouse and a liability in a humid one.
Bag + polyethylene liner
Jute or sisal outerStructure and handling
Polyethylene linerResists liquid water
Green coffeeStill exchanges water vapour
A single layer of plastic. It keeps rain and wet handling off the coffee. Water vapour passes far more readily than through a multi-layer barrier.
Bag + hermetic liner
Jute or sisal outerStructure and handling
Multi-layer barrier linerRestricts vapour and oxygen
Closure — twisted and tied, or sealedWhere the performance is won or lost
Green coffeeHeld near its packed condition
Performance depends on the specific laminate and on the seal being intact. A punctured barrier liner is worse than no liner, because it traps moisture in rather than keeping it out.
Decide
Choosing a format
A shortlist tool, not a recommendation engine. It narrows six formats to the two or three worth raising with us.
Narrow the options
Answer what you know. This shortlists formats worth discussing — it does not decide the specification, because that depends on the lot and the routing.
Options to discuss
Answer any question to see which formats are worth raising.
A shortlist, not a specification. The final configuration is confirmed against the origin, the lot, the destination and your contract — and the coffee has to be at the right moisture before any of it helps.
Weights
Green coffee bag weights
Conventions rather than standards — historical, regional and negotiable. Only the 60 kg figure is the East African norm.
30kg
Small-lot presentations
Specialty separations and easier destination handling
45kg
Some origins
Encountered outside East Africa
50kg
Selected markets
Used where local handling rules favour it
60kg
East African export norm
The convention across all six origins here
69kg
Central America and some specialty
Also the fill of some hermetic bag formats
Terminology
Net, tare and gross
Three numbers that are routinely confused on a packing list. Gross = net + tare.
Net weight
The coffee itself. What you are buying and what you pay for.
Tare
The packaging — bag and liner. How it is determined belongs in the contract.
Gross weight
Coffee plus packaging. What the container and the road limits see.
Your figures
Tare varies with the bag and whether a liner is fitted. Use the figure from your own contract rather than the default shown.
Calculation
- Total net coffee
- 19,200 kg
- Total packaging tare
- 288 kg
- Estimated gross
- 19,488 kg
What you are buying
Bags and liners
Net + tare
A planning aid, not a shipping weight. Nominal fill carries a contractual tolerance, and the weights that govern a shipment are the ones on the weight note and the bill of lading.
From bag configuration to container load
Bag weight sets the bag count; bag count and tare set the gross; gross is what meets the container payload plate and the road weight limits at both ends. Packaging and container planning are one calculation, not two.
bag weight → bag count → net cargo → + tare → gross → container plan
Why the liner question causes arguments
Two liners can look identical in a photograph, sit inside the same jute bag, and behave completely differently on a three-month transit. One is a single sheet of polyethylene that keeps liquid water off the coffee. The other is a multi-layer laminate engineered to restrict water-vapour and oxygen transmission. Both are described as "lined" by someone at some point in the chain, which is how a buyer expecting barrier protection ends up with rain protection.
The fix is to specify the construction rather than the word. Name the layer, and where the performance genuinely matters to you, name the material or ask for the manufacturer’s datasheet — barrier figures are properties of a specific laminate, not of a category.
A polyethylene liner is not a barrier bag
Both are plastic and both go inside a jute bag, which is why they get conflated. If a contract says only "lined", establish which construction is meant before the coffee is milled.
Brand names and the generic category
Hermetic liners are frequently referred to by a manufacturer’s brand name, in the way that a vacuum flask gets called a Thermos. GrainPro is one manufacturer of hermetic bags and container liners; there are others, and the products differ. The generic category is a hermetic or high-barrier liner, and that is the term a specification should use unless a particular product is genuinely required.
Where a buyer does require a specific product, name it explicitly in the contract along with the closure method. Where any equivalent barrier is acceptable, say that instead — it widens what the mill can source and usually shortens the lead time.
Nominal fill, tolerance and reconciliation
A bag weight is a nominal fill, not a guaranteed net weight, and contracts state a tolerance against it. Tare — the weight of the bag and any liner — is deducted from gross to give net, and how tare is determined should be written down rather than assumed, because a weighed tare and a nominal tare produce different numbers on a large parcel.
- A 60 kg bag sits at the upper end of what one person can handle repeatedly. A 30 kg presentation is materially easier at destination, at a higher cost per kilo.
- Mixing bag weights within a shipment complicates the packing list and the weight reconciliation. Avoid it unless there is a reason.
- Liners are a plastic waste stream at the roastery. Some buyers decline them on fast-turnover coffee for exactly that reason.
- Bag weight conventions differ by origin. Confirm the format for the origin you are contracting rather than carrying an assumption across.
Last reviewed
Limits
What packaging cannot fix
Packaging preserves an appropriate product condition. It does not create one.
- Coffee packed above its target moisture — sealing it in preserves the problem rather than solving it
- Drying faults already present in the green, which are invisible and survive any packaging
- Contamination or taint picked up before bagging
- A warehouse that is damp, hot or shared with odorous cargo before loading
- A container that was not inspected, cleaned and dried before stuffing
- Transit conditions outside the agreed routing, including extended port stays
On barrier performance
High-barrier packaging can reduce exposure to external moisture and oxygen when correctly specified, sealed and handled. It is not a guarantee of condition on arrival, and its effect depends on the coffee’s state at packing, the material, the seal, handling and the actual transit.
Marking
Bag marking
What makes a parcel identifiable in a warehouse two continents away. Agreed in the contract, not left to the mill.
- TANZANIA
- ARABICA AA
- CROP 2026/27
- LOT 000000
- NET WT 60 KG
- CONTRACT 000000
Illustrative marking structure. Actual markings depend on the contract, the origin and the destination.
Origin
Country, and region or station where contracted
Grade
Species and the origin’s grade designation
Crop year
Distinguishes current crop from stored parcels
Lot reference
Traces the bag back to the mill outturn record
Net weight
Nominal fill per bag; tare is separate
Contract reference
The buyer’s own reference, where required
Certification
Only where a valid licence covers that lot and that use
Certification marks are controlled claims
A scheme’s mark may only be printed on a bag where a valid licence covers that lot and that use. A buyer’s marking instruction does not itself establish certification, and packaging artwork must not imply a status the lot does not hold. Where certification is contracted, confirm the marking requirement against the scheme’s current rules rather than copying a previous shipment. Coffee certifications.
Operations
From approved coffee to loaded container
Where packaging sits in the export sequence, and what happens either side of it.
- 01
Coffee prepared
Milled, screened, density- and colour-sorted to the contracted grade
- 02
Final quality check
Moisture and physical analysis confirmed against the specification
- 03
Bagging
Filled to the nominal weight, liner fitted and closed where specified
- 04
Marking
Stencilled to the agreed lines, before the bags leave the mill floor
- 05
Lot reconciliation
Bag count and weights reconciled against the outturn record
- 06
Container inspection
Checked clean, dry, odour-free and structurally sound before stuffing
- 07
Loading
Stowed to the agreed pattern, with dunnage and desiccant where specified
- 08
Seal and documents
Seal number recorded and carried onto the shipping documents
Procurement
How to specify packaging
Send these fields and the instruction is actionable. Leave one out and it gets decided for you at the mill.
Origin and lot
Which coffee the instruction applies to
Net bag weight
Nominal fill, with the tolerance stated
Outer bag material
Jute or sisal
Inner liner
None, polyethylene, or multi-layer high-barrier
Barrier requirement
Where a specific laminate or manufacturer is required, name it
Closure method
Hand-stitched, twisted and tied, or heat-sealed
Marking
The exact lines to be stencilled, in order
Buyer reference
Contract or PO number to appear on the bag
Certification marking
Only where a licence covers the lot — confirm scheme rules
Bag count
Per container and in total
Container preference
20ft or 40ft, and any liner requirement
Destination
Port and onward handling, which affects the format
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What bag sizes are commonly used for East African green coffee?
60 kg jute is the convention across Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi. 30 kg presentations are used for small specialty separations, and bulk container liners for high-volume single-grade shipments.
Is 60 kg always standard?
It is the East African norm, not a global standard. Central America commonly uses 69 kg, some origins use 50 kg or 45 kg, and hermetic bag formats are sold in their own fills. Confirm the figure for the origin you are contracting.
What is a hermetic coffee liner?
A multi-layer barrier liner fitted inside the outer bag, engineered to restrict water-vapour and oxygen exchange between the coffee and the surrounding air. It performs only while the seal is intact — a punctured barrier liner is worse than none, because it traps moisture in rather than keeping it out.
Is a polyethylene liner the same as a hermetic liner?
No, and the difference is commercially significant. A single-layer polyethylene liner resists liquid water; water vapour still passes far more readily than through a multi-layer barrier. Both sit inside a jute bag and both get called "lined", so specify the construction rather than the word.
When should a buyer request barrier packaging?
When the coffee will be held beyond a few months, when the destination or the routing is humid, when a long port stay is likely, or when the lot value makes the per-bag cost proportionately small. For fast-turnover commercial coffee into a controlled warehouse, plain jute is often adequate.
Can green coffee be vacuum packed?
Yes, usually for micro-lots, competition lots and samples in the 10–35 kg range, generally cartoned for transit. Cost per kilo is high and a single puncture ends the protection, so it makes sense where the coffee justifies it. Availability is lot-specific rather than a standing option.
Can coffee be shipped using a bulk container liner?
Yes, for high-volume single-grade shipments where the destination can discharge loose coffee. It is cheaper per kilo and faster to handle, and it makes lot separation within the container impossible — the whole container becomes one parcel. Note that a plain bulk liner and a hermetic container liner are different products.
How is bag tare handled?
Tare is the weight of the bag and any liner, deducted from gross to give net. How it is determined — weighed, or nominal per bag — should be stated in the contract, because the two methods disagree on a container-scale parcel.
What markings normally appear on coffee bags?
Typically origin, grade, crop year, lot or outturn reference and net weight, plus the buyer’s contract reference where required. The exact lines and their order should be agreed in the contract rather than left to the mill.
Can buyer-specific markings be added?
Usually yes, and the instruction is cheapest to apply before milling. Send the exact lines in the order you want them stencilled; changing markings after bagging means re-stencilling or re-bagging.
Can certification logos be printed on the bags?
Only where a valid licence covers that lot and that use, and subject to the scheme’s own marking rules. A buyer instruction does not itself establish certification. Confirm against the scheme’s current rules rather than copying a previous shipment.
Does packaging affect container loading?
Directly. Bag weight sets the bag count, bag count and tare set the gross weight, and gross is what meets the container payload plate and the road weight limits at both ends. Packaging and container planning are one calculation.
Can packaging differ by origin?
Yes. Bag material, nominal fill and liner availability all vary between the six origins, and what a mill can source affects lead time. Confirm the configuration for the specific origin rather than applying one assumption across a multi-origin programme.
What information should I send when requesting packaging?
Net bag weight, outer material, liner requirement and barrier specification, closure method, the exact marking lines, your contract reference, bag count, container preference and destination. Anything left out gets decided at the mill.
Keep reading
Related export guides
Packaging connects directly to storage, loading and documentation — the decisions either side of it.
Request an offer
Tell us your coffee requirement
Origin, grade, volume, destination — and the packaging you need, or the storage plan so we can propose one. Packaging is far cheaper to get right before milling than to change afterwards.