Green coffee

Specialty Green Coffee

Specialty buying at these origins is less about a score than about separation — which station, which deliveries, milled as which batch. This page covers the separation levels available and what each costs you in parcel size.

Separation: Station · day lot
Basis of contract: Sample approval
Reported: Moisture · aW · screen

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Photo: René Porter

Specialty Coffee from six East African origins

TanzaniaFully washed · NaturalAA · A · ABJune–October in the south; July–December in the north
UgandaNatural (Robusta) · Washed Arabica (WUGAR)Screen 18 · Screen 17 · Screen 15Robusta main crop November–February with a fly crop April–July; Elgon Arabica October–February
KenyaFully washed with soak · Mbuni (natural)E · AA · ABMain crop October–December; early (fly) crop May–July
EthiopiaFully washed · Natural (sun-dried)Grade 1 · Grade 2 · Grade 3October–January, varying by region and altitude
RwandaFully washed · Natural (growing)Grade 1 (fully washed) · Grade 2 · Screen 15+March–July, with the peak in April and May
BurundiFully washed with soak · Natural (limited)Grade A · Grade B · Screen 15+March–July

Quick answer

Specialty separations are defined by how tightly the coffee is kept apart: station or factory level as standard, with delivery-period and day-lot separations available in smaller volumes. Every lot is offered with its physical analysis and is contracted against an approved sample.

Separation is the product

Separation levels and their consequences
Level	Identity	Typical parcel	Cost driver
Regional	Region plus grade	Container scale	Minimal
Station / factory	Named station or factory, outturn where applicable	Tens of bags upwards	Separate milling runs
Delivery period	Station plus harvest week	Small parcels	Separate drying and milling
Day lot / micro-lot	A single day’s cherry, processed separately	A few bags	Dedicated tank, bed and mill run

The cost of keeping coffee separate is largely fixed per lot rather than per kilo, which is why very small separations carry disproportionate differentials.

What each origin gives you natively differs — Kenya’s factory-and-outturn system provides granular identity as a by-product of how it already works, while Ugandan Robusta’s dispersed dry processing makes station-level identity harder. See coffee traceability.

What comes with a specialty offer

Offer contents

Lot identity: Origin, region, station or factory, outturn or batch reference
Process detail: Preparation, fermentation style, drying substrate
Physical analysis: Moisture, water activity, screen analysis, defect count, density on request
Cup: Tasting notes and, where cupped, a score with the protocol stated
Crop: Crop year and harvest period
Quantity: Bags available, and whether the parcel can be split
Packaging: Bag format and liner
Sample: Availability and dispatch timing

On scores

A cupping score is a measured figure against a stated protocol, or it is nothing. We do not publish estimated scores, and we do not quote a score for a lot that has not been cupped. Ask which protocol and how many cups.

By origin

[Kenya](/specialty-coffee/kenya/) — factory-level AA, AB and PB with outturn identity; the most granular traceability in the region.
[Ethiopia](/specialty-coffee/ethiopia/) — washing station lots from Yirgacheffe, Sidama, Guji and Limu, washed and natural.
[Rwanda](/specialty-coffee/rwanda/) — Bourbon-dominant washed lots by coffee washing station, with sector and delivery week available.
[Burundi](/specialty-coffee/burundi/) — washed lots traceable to the individual colline.
[Tanzania](/specialty-coffee/tanzania/) — AMCOS and central pulpery separations from the northern and southern belts, plus peaberry.
[Uganda](/specialty-coffee/uganda/) — washed Bugisu from Mount Elgon and washing station lots from Kigezi and the Rwenzori.

Specialty enquiries

Tell us the separation level, profile and volume. We will confirm what the current crop supports, with the lot identity and physical analysis stated.

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Last reviewed August 20262 min read

Availability

The largest lever available at origin, and the one a buyer can specify most directly.

Processing methods

Pale parchment coffee laid out in long windrows on a drying patio, with fragments of dried cherry skin mixed through it.

Washed

Cleaner separation; the default across most of East Africa.

Natural

Whole-cherry drying; heavier body and fruit sweetness.

A worker turning coffee with a wooden rake across a drying yard, moving the layer so it dries evenly.

Honey

Mucilage retained on the parchment. Limited East African availability.

Quality

How we evaluate specialty coffee

Every parcel is assessed on the same sequence before it is offered, and again before it is loaded. What is reported for a given lot depends on what the buyer specifies.

A cupping table in use: two hands breaking the crust with cupping spoons across coded sample bowls. — Photo: René Porter

Green Coffee Quality Control

Export

Packaging and export

Packaging is specified at contract stage rather than requested afterwards, because it changes both the price and the container arithmetic. Four of our six origins are landlocked, which makes the inland leg the largest single source of schedule variance — shipment windows are built around port arrival, not mill readiness.

Jute coffee sacks stacked on wooden pallets in racking inside a warehouse, tied at the neck with twine. — Photo: Caelen Cockrum

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is the smallest specialty lot you can supply?

It depends on the origin and the separation. Station-level lots are commonly tens of bags; day-lots can be a few. Smaller parcels carry higher per-kilo handling cost because the cost of separation is largely fixed per lot.

Can I get the same station again next season?

Usually yes — station relationships persist across crops. The coffee will differ, because every crop does. Repeat programmes work best specified by station and profile rather than by matching a previous lot exactly.

Do all specialty lots come with a cupping score?

Only where they have been cupped, and the protocol is stated alongside. We do not publish estimated or aspirational scores. Some lots are offered on tasting notes and physical analysis with the sample doing the rest of the work.

How far in advance should I book specialty lots?

Ahead of the harvest for anything requiring a specific separation, because day-lot and delivery-period separations have to be planned before the cherry is processed. Standard station-level lots can be bought from the offer list once milled.

Keep reading

Related technical guides

The reference material behind the specification fields on this page.

Request an offer

Tell us the specialty coffee you need

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 for the current crop.

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