DEAS 130: 2019  
ICS 67.140.20  
HS 0901.11.00  
 
© EA C 2019                                                                                                                               Second Edition  
2019   
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Green coffee beans — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 130:2019  
ii © EAC 2019  – All rights reser ved 
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Violators may be pr osecuted . DEAS 130:2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...2 
4.1 General requirements ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 2 
4.2 Green Coffee Bean sizes  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 2 
4.2.1  Arabica coffee ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...2 
4.2.2  Robusta coffee  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .2 
4.3 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 3 
5 Pesticide residues  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 3 
6 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 3 
7 Packaging, storage and transport  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...4 
8 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 4 
Annex  A (normative)  Defects in Green coffee beans  ................................ ................................ ................. 5 
A.1 Defects and value of faults for each defect  ................................ ................................ ..................... 5 
Annex  B (normative)  Cup quality test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 6 
B.1 Cup qualit y................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 6 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 7 
 DEAS 130:2019  
iv © EAC 2019  – All rights reser ved 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products an d services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East Africa n Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives 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 S tandards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed 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 the 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 products.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC s hall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition ( EAS 130:1999 ), which has been technically revised.  EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 130:2019  
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  1 
 Green coffee beans — Specification  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies requirements, methods of sampling and test for green coffee 
beans. This standard applies to both Arabica ( Coffea Arabica ) and Robusta ( Coffea canephora ) coffee beans  
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 dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ISO 10470, Green coffee — Defect reference chart  
ISO 3509, Coffee and coffee products — Vocabulary  
ISO 4072, Green coffee in bags — Sampling   
ISO 4149, Green coffee — Olfactory and visual examination and determination of foreign matter and defects  
ISO 4150 , Green coffee — Size analysis — Manual sieving  
ISO 6667 , Green coffee -- Determination of proportion of insect -damaged beans  
ISO 6668, Green coffee — Preparation of samples for use in sensory analysis  
ISO 6673, Green coffee — Determination of loss in ma ss at 105 degrees C  
ISO 8455, Green coffee in bags — Guide to storage and transport  
ISO 9116, Green coffee — Guidelines on methods of specification  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in  ISO 3509  and the following apply.  
3.1  
green coffee beans  
naked coffee beans before any further processing  
3.2  
arabica coffee  
coffee of the botanical species Coffea arabica  L. 
3.3 
robusta coffee  
coffee of the botanical species Coffea canephora   
2 © EAC 2019  – All rights reser ved 
  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Gene ral requirements  
When tested in accordance with ISO 4149, green coffee beans shall:  
a) have a characteristic appearance and colour;  
b) be free from foreign odour;  
c) be practically free from extraneous and foreign matter; and  
d) free from infestation due to insect, fungus and rodent.  
4.2 Green Coffee Bean sizes  
4.2.1  Arabica coffee  
When analysed in accordance with ISO 4150, green coffee bean sizes shall be as specified in Table 1.  
Table 1 — Arabica coffee size and tolerance levels  
Screen size  Symbols of gr ades  Bean size tolerance %  
1/64 inch   mm 
20 8 AA  
 
 
5 19  7.5 
18.5  7.25 A 
18  7 
17  6.75 
16  6.5 B 
15  6 
14  5.5  
C  
10 13  5.25 
12  5 
≤11  4.5 Under grade   
NOTE  Peaberry (PB) shall be retained on slotted screen size of 12 a nd above with bean size tolerance level of 5%.  
 
4.2.2  Robusta coffee  
The Robusta coffee may be graded based on bean sizes, the level of defects and cupping score as indicated 
in Table 2.  
 
  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 Table 2 — Grades of Robusta coffee based on coffee bean sizes  
Scre en size  Grades  Bean size tolerance %  
1/64 inch   mm 
20  8.00  
1  
5 
 
 19  7.50 
18  7.10 
17  6.70 2 
16  6.30 
15  6.00 3 
14  5.60 
13  5.00 4 
12  4.75 
< 12  < 4.75  5 >5 
 
4.3 Specific requirements  
Green coffee beans shall comply with the specific requirements given in Table 3 when tested in accordance 
with test methods specified therein.  
Table 3  — specific requirements for green coffee  beans  
S/N Characteristic  Limit (for commercial 
grade)  Test method  
i.  Moisture content % m/m , max  12.5 ISO 6673  
ii.  Insect damage % m/m, max  10 ISO 6667  
iii.  Broken beans % m/m, max  5 ISO 4149  
iv.  Foreign matter % m/m (max)  1 ISO 6668  
v.  Number of full defects (max)  Arabica - 86 Annex A  
Robusta -150 
vi.  Number of primary defects (max)  5 Annex A  
vii.  Cup quality po ints (min)  50 Annex B  
 
5 Pesticide residues  
Green coffee beans shall not contain levels of pesticide residues, in e xcess of limits established by Codex 
Alimentarius C ommission.  
6 Labelling  
The lot or consignment of green coffee beans shall be provided wit h the information as stipulated in ISO 9116 
green coffee bags shall be labelled as follows:  
a) name of the product as “green coffee beans”;  
b) country of origin;   
4 © EAC 2019  – All rights reser ved 
 c) plantation of origin;  
d) year of harvest;  
e) type;  
f) grade; and  
g) net weight.  
7 Packaging, storage and transpo rt 
7.1 Green coffee beans shall be packaged in suitable materials which do not affect the product, or it shall 
be put into bulk containers capable of protecting the product from damage, deterioration and contamination.  
7.2 Storage and transport of green co ffee beans shall be done in accordance with ISO 8455.  
8 Sampling  
Sampling of green coffee beans shall be done in accordance with ISO 4072.  
  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Defects in Green coffee beans  
A.1 Defects and value of faults for each defect  
Table A.1 and Ta ble A.2 show the value of faults stipulated for primary and secondary defects respectively.  
Table A.1 — Primary Defects  
Primary defects  Full defects e quivalent  
Full Black   1 
Full sour  1  
Pod/Cherry  1  
Fungus damage  1  
Foreign matter  1  
Severe i nsect damage  5  
 
Table A.2 — Secondary Defects  
Secondary defects  Full defects equivalent  
Partial black  3 
Partial sour  3  
Parchment  5  
Floaters  5  
Immature  5  
Withered  5  
Shell  5  
Broken Chipped/Cut  5  
Hull/Husk  5  
Slight insect damage   10  
 
 
 
  
6 © EAC 2019  – All rights reser ved 
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Cup quality  test 
B.1 Cup quality  
B.1.1  The sample for sensory analysis shall be prepared in accordance with ISO 6668  
B.1.2  The process of evaluating cup quality is a systemat ic, sensory approach. It scores up to 60% points.  
B.1.3  Experienced coffee liquorers/Cuppers shall assess the actual quality of coffee after roasting and 
brewing a sample of the coffee already graded by size.  
B.1.4  The liquour score shall be obtained by sc oring the following parameters/10 points:  
a) Fragrant/aroma  
b) Flavor  
c) After taste  
d) Balance  
e) Acidity  
f) Body  
g) Uniformity  
h) Cleanliness  
i) sweetness  
j) overall  
B.1.5  Green coffee shall comply with the  Cup quality requirements in Table B.1  
Table B.1 — Cup quality of Green coffee beans  
Grades  Score%  
Specialty  85 -100 
Premium  75-84 
Commercial  40-74 
Off grade  <40 
 
 
 
  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  7 
 Bibliography  
[1] EAS 130:1999, Green coffee beans – Specification  DEAS 130:2019    
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved