DEAS 105: 2019  
ICS 67.140.20  
HS 0901.11.00 :0901.12.00  
 
© EA C 2019                                                                                                                              Third Edition 
2019   
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Roasted coffee beans  and roasted ground coffee — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 105:2019  
ii © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
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Violators may be pr osecuted . DEAS 105:2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...2 
4.1 General requirements ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 2 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 2 
4.3 Particle size  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......3 
5 Food additives  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..3 
6 Hygiene  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 3 
7 Contaminants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...3 
7.1 Heavy metals  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....3 
7.2 Mycotoxin  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 4 
7.3 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 4 
8 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 4 
9 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 4 
10 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 4 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of total ash  ................................ ................................ ........................ 5 
A.1 Procedur e ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 5 
A.2 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 5 
Annex  B (normative)  Determination of acid insoluble ash  ................................ ................................ ........ 6 
B.1 Reagent  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 6 
B.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 6 
B.3 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 6 
Annex  C (normative)  De termination of water soluble matter  ................................ ................................ .....7 
C.1 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 7 
C.2 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 7 
Anne x D (normative)  Determination of alkalinity of soluble ash  ................................ ............................... 8 
D.1 Reagents  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 8 
D.2 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 8 
Annex  E (normative)  Determination of petroleum ether extract  ................................ ................................ 9 
E.1 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 9 
E.2 Reagent  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 9 
E.3 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 9 
E.4 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 9 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  10 
 DEAS 105:2019  
iv © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development  of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encount ered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representati ves of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are dis cussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards. XXXXXX.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of t he East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 002, Coffee, tea, cocoa and 
related pro ducts.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition ( EAS 105:2008 ), which has been technically 
revised.  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 130:2 019 
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  1 
 Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard  specifies the requirements and methods of sampling and test for roasted 
coffee beans and roas ted ground coffee. This standard applies to decaffeinated roasted ground coffee.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document. For date d references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
AOAC 2000.09, Ochratoxin A in roasted coffee, Immunoaffinity Column HPLC Method  
AOAC 999.10, Lead, Cadmi um, Zinc, Copper, and Iron in Foods  
CODEX STAN 192, General Standard for Food Additives  
EAS 130, Green coffee beans — Specification  
EAS 38, General Standard for the Labelling of Pre -packaged Foods  
EAS 39, Hygiene in the food and drink manufacturing industr y — Code of practice  
ISO 11294, Roasted ground coffee — Determination of moisture content -- Method by determination of loss in 
mass at 103 degrees C (Routine method)  
ISO 20481, Coffee and coffee products — Determination of the caffeine content using high performance liquid 
chromatography (HPLC) — Reference method  
ISO 21527 -2, Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
yeasts and moulds — Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or equal to 0.95  
ISO 3509, Coffee and coffee products — Vocabulary  
ISO 4832 , Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — Horizontal method for the enumeration of 
coliforms — Colony -count technique  
ISO 4833 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizonta l method for the enumeration of microorganisms — 
Part1: Colony count at 30 degrees C by the pour plate technique  
ISO 6579 -1, Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and 
serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  
ISO 6670, Instant coffee — Sampling method for bulk units with liners  
  
2 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in  ISO 3509  and the following apply.  
3.1  
roasted coffee beans  
product ob tained by roasting green coffee  
3.2  
roasted ground coffee  
product obtained by grinding roasted coffee beans  
3.3 
decaffeinated coffee  
coffee from which caffeine has been removed by extraction  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
4.1.1  Roasted coffee be ans and roasted ground coffee shall be made from Green coffee complying DEAS 
130 
4.1.2  Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall be free from :  
a) extraneous and foreign matter;  
b) foreign odour;  
c) fungal infestation; and  
d) living insects, moulds, dead in sects, insect fragments and rodent contamination visible to the naked 
eye. 
4.2 Specific requirements  
Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall comply with specific requirements given in Table 1 
when tested in accordance with test methods specifi ed therein.  
Table 1  — Specific requirements for roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee  
S/N Characteristic  Requirement  Test method  
i.  Moisture, % by mass, max.  5.0 ISO 11294  
ii.  Total ash, % by mass  2.0 – 5.0 Annex A  
iii.  Acid insoluble ash, % by mass, m ax 1.0 Annex B  
iv.  Water soluble matter, % by mass  25 – 32 Annex C  
v.  Alkalinity of water soluble ash in millilitres of 
0.1 N hydrochloric acid per gram of material  3.5 – 7.0 Annex D  
vi.  Caffeine, % by mass, min.  0.8 ISO 20481  
0.1 max. for decaffeinated  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 ground coffee  
vii.  Petroleum ether extract, % by mass, min.  8.5 Annex E  
 
4.3 Particle size  
Roasted ground coffee may comply with particle size requirements in Table 2.  
Table 2 — Particle size of roasted ground coffee  
Type  % by weight retained on 
710-microns sie ve % by weight retained on 
500-microns sieve  % by weight retained 
on 355 -microns sieve  
Fine 10 15 50 
Medium  20 20 30 
Coarse  30 25 15 
5 Food additives  
Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee may contain only permitted food additives stated in CO DEX 
STAN 192.  
6 Hygiene  
6.1 Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall be processed, packaged, stored and distributed 
under hygienic conditions in accordance with EAS 39.  
6.2 Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall not exceed the mic robiological limits in Table 3.  
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for roasted coffee and roasted ground coffee  
S/N  Microorganism   Limit   Test method  
i.  Total plate count , cfu/ g, max   103 ISO 4833 -1 
ii.  Coliforms cfu/ g max.   <10 ISO 4832  
iii.  Salmonella spp  per 25 g  max.   Absent  ISO 6579 -1 
iv.  Yeast and moulds cfu/ g, max   102  ISO 21527 -2 
 
7 Contaminants  
7.1 Heavy metals  
Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall not exceed the maximum limits of heavy metals in 
table 4.  
 
  
4 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Table 4 — Heavy metals limit s 
S/N  
  Heavy metal .  Limits(mg/kg) max  Test method  
i.  Lead  0.5 AOAC 999.10  
ii.  Cadmium  0.1 
 
7.2 Mycotoxin  
When tested in accordance with AOAC 2000.09, Ochratoxin A in roasted coffee beans and roasted ground 
coffee shall not exceed 5 µg/kg.  
7.3 Pesticide r esidues  
Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall not conta in levels of pesticide residues  in excess of 
limits established by Codex Alimentarius C ommission . 
8 Packaging  
Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall be packaged in food gr ade containers which safeguard 
the quality of the product.  
9 Labelling  
The labelling of the coffee shall comply with EAS 38. In addition, the following information shall be legibly and 
indelibly marked on the container:  
a) name of the product as roasted coffe e beans or roasted ground coffee;  
b) declaration of decaffeinated coffee;  
c) name, location and physical address of the manufacturer;  
d) country of origin;  
e) declaration of food additives, if used;  
f) date of manufacture;  
g) expiry date;  
h) declaration of particle size;  
i) instructions for storage and use;  
j) net content; and  
k) batch/lot number.  
10 Sampling  
Sampling of roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee shall be done in accordance with ISO 6670.   
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of total ash  
A.1 Procedure  
Weigh accurate ly about 5 g of the material in a platinum dish. Heat at 100 ºC ± 2 ºC until water is expelled and 
then heat slowly over a flame until swelling ceases. Ignite in a muffle furnace at 550 ºC ± 10 ºC until grey ash 
results. Cool the dish in a desiccator and w eigh. Repeat this process of heating for 30 min, cooling in a 
desiccator, and weighing until the difference between two successive weighing is less than one milligram. 
Record the lowest mass.  
NOTE  Preserve the dish containing this ash for the determination  of acid insoluble ash.  
A.2 Calculation  
Total ash (on dry  basis) =
massby    cent per  
) (100 )1()2( 000 10
H m mm m
   
where,  
m2 is the mas s in g of the dish with the ash  
m is the mass in g of the empty dish  
m1 is the mass in g of the dish wi th the material (coffee powder)  
H is the pe rcentage of moisture.  
 
 
  
6 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of acid insoluble ash  
B.1 Reagent  
Dilute hydrochloric acid, approximately 5 N, prepared from concentrated hydrochloric acid.  
B.2 Procedure  
B.2.1  Add 25 mL of dilute hydrochloric acid to the ash contained in the dish  
B.2.2  Cover the dish with a watch -glass and heat it on a water -bath for 10 min  
B.2.3  Allow to cool and filter the contents of the dish through Whatman filter paper No. 42 or its equival ent. 
B.2.4  Wash the filter paper till the washings are free from the acid.   
B.2.5  Return the filter paper and the residue to the dish.  Keep it in an electric air -oven maintained at 135 ºC 
± 2 ºC for about 3 h.  Ignite in a muffle furnace, cooling and wei ghing at half -hour intervals until the difference 
in weight between the two successive weighing at half -hour intervals until the difference in weight between the 
two successive weighi ng is less than one milligram.  
B.2.6  Record the lowest mass.  
B.3 Calcula tion 
Calculate the acid insoluble as (on dry basis) as follows:  
) (100 ) () ( 000 10
12
M W WW W
  basis dryon  insoluble acid
 
where,  
W2 is the mass in g  of dish with acid insoluble as  
W is the mass in g of empty dish  
W1 is the mass in g of dish with the material  
M is the percentage of moisture  
 
 
 
  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex  C 
(normative)  
 
Determination of  water soluble matter  
C.1 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 2 g of the material in a 500 -mL Erlenmeyer flask and add 200 mL of water and reflux 
over a low flame for one hour. Cool and filter through a Whatman filter paper No. 1 or its equivalent, wash 
three times with 10 mL to 15 mL of water finally make up to 250 mL in a graduated flask.  Shake well and 
pipette a 50 mL aliquot in a tared dish and evaporation, dry for  one hour in an oven at 100 ºC ± 2 ºC, cool in a 
desiccator and weigh.  Repeat this process of heating for 30 min, cooling in a desiccator and weighing until 
the loss in mass between two successive weighing is less than one milligram.  Record the lowest ma ss. 
C.2 Calculation  
Water soluble matter (on dry basis) = 
) () (
H mmm

100500001 2  
where,  
m2 is the mass in g of the dish with the dried water soluble matter,  
m1 is the mass in g of the empty dish,  
H is the percentage of moisture as determined in Annex F, a nd 
m is the mass in g of the material in Erlenmeyer flask.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
8 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  D 
(normative)  
 
Determination of alkalinity of soluble ash  
D.1 Reagents  
Standard hydrochloric acid, dissolve 0.5 g of methyl oran ge in 500 mL of distilled water.  Filter, if necessary.  
D.2 Procedure  
D.2.1  Titrate the filtrate obtained in Clause B.1 with standard hydrochloric acid, using the methyl orange 
indicator. Note the volume in millilitres of the acid used.  
D.2.2  Calculate th e quantity of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid required to neutralize the water soluble ash from one 
gram of the dry material.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  9 
 Annex  E 
(normative)  
 
Determination of petroleum ether extract  
E.1 Apparatus  
Soxhlet extraction apparatus  
E.2 Reagent  
Petroleum ether, distilling below 60 ºC.  
E.3 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 10 g of the material in a suitable thimble and dry for 2 h at 100 ºC ± 2 ºC.  Place the 
thimble in the soxhlet extraction apparatus and extract with the solvent for about 16 h.  Dry  the extract 
contained in the Soxhlet flask, the empty weight of which has been previously determined, at 95 ºC to 100 ºC 
for an hour. Cool in a desiccator and weigh. Continue the alternate drying and weighing at 30 min intervals 
until the loss in weight b etween two successive weighings is not more than one milligram.  Record the lowest 
weight.  
E.4 Calculation  
Petrole um ether extract (on dry basis):  
% by weight  =  
) () (
M WWW

100100002 1  
where  
W1 is the mass in g of Soxhlet flask w ith the petroleum ether e xtract  
W2 is the mass in g of Soxhlet flask, clean and dry  
W is the mass in g  of the material taken for test  
M is the percentage of moisture.  
 
 
 
 
  
10 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] EAS 105:2008 , Roasted coffee beans and roasted ground coffee , Green coffee beans — Specificat ion 
 DEAS 130:2019    
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved