Coffee Grades Explained: AA, Supremo, SHB and Grade 1

Coffee grades are labels producing countries use to sort green (unroasted) coffee, and each country uses its own system. Most grades describe one of three things: bean size measured on screens (like Kenya AA or Colombia Supremo), the altitude where the coffee grew (like SHB, Strictly Hard Bean), or the number of defects in a sample (like Ethiopia Grade 1). A grade tells you about the physical beans, not directly about how the coffee tastes.

That last point matters. A big, clean, high-grown bean is a good sign, but it is not a flavor guarantee. Here is how each grading system works and how to read the terms on a bag.

Three Ways Coffee Grades Are Measured

• Screen size: beans are shaken through a stack of perforated screens and sorted by how large they are.
• Altitude: coffee is classed by the elevation of the farm, since high-grown coffee tends to mature slowly and develop denser beans.
• Defect count: graders inspect a sample and count flaws such as black, sour, broken or insect-damaged beans, plus foreign matter like stones and sticks.

Many countries combine two or three of these. Grades are set by each producing country or its coffee institute, so the same word can mean slightly different things in different places.

Screen Size Grades: AA, AB and Supremo

Screen sizes are traditionally measured in sixty-fourths of an inch. A screen 18 has holes about 18/64 of an inch wide, roughly 7 mm. Beans that stay on top of a screen are at least that size.

Why sort by size? Uniform beans roast evenly, and larger beans are often associated with healthy, well-developed cherries. Size alone, though, does not decide quality. Plenty of excellent coffee is sold as Kenyan AB or Colombian Excelso. Our guide to Colombian coffee covers that country’s regions and harvests.

Altitude Grades: SHB, SHG and HB

Many Central American countries grade coffee by elevation. Cooler temperatures at altitude slow the ripening of the cherry, which tends to produce harder, denser beans with more complex acidity.

• SHB, Strictly Hard Bean: the top altitude grade in countries such as Guatemala and Costa Rica.
• SHG, Strictly High Grown: a similar top grade used in countries such as Honduras and Mexico.
• HB / HG (Hard Bean / High Grown) and lower grades cover coffee from lower elevations.

The exact thresholds depend on the country and even on the source you check. Common references place Costa Rica’s SHB at about 1,200 meters (around 3,900 feet) and above, and Honduras’s SHG at roughly 1,200 to 1,300 meters and above. Guatemala uses a ladder of altitude grades with SHB at the top, followed by grades such as FHB (Fancy Hard Bean) and HB.

Altitude also interacts with latitude: a farm closer to the equator needs more elevation to get the same cool growing conditions. You can read more about growing regions in our article on the coffee belt, and see altitude grades in context in our guides to Guatemalan coffee and Costa Rican coffee.

What is EP?

You may see “SHB EP” on a coffee description. EP stands for European Preparation, meaning extra sorting to remove defective beans and foreign material. It describes how carefully the coffee was cleaned, not its origin or flavor, and exact specifications vary by exporter.

Defect-Based Grades: Ethiopia Grade 1 and Beyond

Some countries grade mainly by counting defects in a sample. Ethiopia is the best-known example, using numbered grades where Grade 1 is the cleanest.

Lower grades allow progressively more defects.

The specialty coffee benchmark

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has its own green grading protocol. Graders inspect a 350-gram sample, and specialty grade allows no primary (Category 1) defects and no more than five secondary (Category 2) defects. The coffee must also score at least 80 points on the SCA’s 100-point cupping scale to be called specialty. This is the closest thing the industry has to a universal quality standard.

How to Read Coffee Grades on a Bag

1. Treat grades as a starting point. They describe size, altitude or cleanliness, not flavor.
2. Look for the processing method (washed, natural, honey) and the roast level, which shape taste far more directly.
3. Check the roast date. A perfectly graded coffee still tastes flat if it is stale. Learn why in fresh roasted vs supermarket coffee.
4. Do not compare grades across countries. Kenya AA and Colombia Supremo both mean “large beans,” but they come from different systems.

Coffee Grades FAQ

Is Kenya AA the best coffee?

AA means the beans are large, which often goes with good quality, but it is a size grade, not a flavor score. An AB or peaberry lot from the same region can taste just as good or better.

What is the difference between Supremo and Excelso?

Both are Colombian export grades based on bean size. Supremo beans are larger, while Excelso beans are slightly smaller. Neither is a variety, and both can be excellent.

What does SHB mean on coffee?

SHB stands for Strictly Hard Bean, the top altitude grade in countries such as Guatemala and Costa Rica. It means the coffee grew at high elevation, which tends to produce dense beans.

Is Grade 1 coffee always specialty coffee?

Not automatically. Grade 1 means very few defects under the producing country’s rules, but specialty status also depends on a cupping score of 80 points or more.

Conclusion

Coffee grades are a useful map of how beans were sorted: by size, altitude or defects, depending on the country. Use them as clues, then let processing, roast and freshness tell you the rest. To taste the origins behind these grades, try our Kenya, Guatemala or Colombia single origins, each roasted 1–5 days before it ships from Feel Espresso.