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The size really matters. It has long become a catchphrase in the case whole bean coffee is 100 percent fair.
After the coffee crop is harvested, the beans are sorted by size. To denote the size of the coffee bean, a special term called "chest" was coined. Screening, as you can easily guess, means sorting grains by size.
The size of the grain is determined in a rather simple way. Collected coffee is sifted through special sieves - chests. The holes in the upper sieve are the largest, and in the lower, respectively, the smallest.
Of course, it is practically impossible for a person without special knowledge and training to use a non-traditional unit of grain size measurement. But if you are at least a little good at math and want to turn to an electronic encyclopedia, you will quickly find out that one square is equal to 64th of an inch, or approximately 0,04 centimeters. Then it's even easier. Chest 18 will be equal to 0,71 centimeters, chest 17 - respectively, 0,04 centimeters less. The largest chest is 20, the smallest is 8.
A common rule for everyone is that only green coffee beans are measured. After roasting, they can increase to 50%, which is why it will not be possible to get a real picture. But the designation of grain size varies on different continents and in different countries. Many manufacturers do not agree with the generally accepted classification, but use symbols or whole words for designation. So, for example, on coffee from Colombia, you will certainly find the word Supremo. Grains of the same size, grown in Africa or India, will be denoted by the letters AA.
What does the size of coffee beans depend on? The most obvious answer is ego diversity. But not only! Climate and the conditions in which coffee is grown have a significant impact on size.
Several main patterns can be identified:
1. The higher the coffee plantation is, the smaller the grains will be. But the taste of coffee grown "in heaven" will be much brighter, all else being equal.
2. In the dry season, small grains are found in the harvested coffee crop more often than large ones.
Of course, it is incorrect to judge the taste of coffee based only on the size of the grains. Many mistakenly believe that large grains make a tastier and more aromatic drink. This delusion, by the way, often prompts sellers to sell large coffee beans at an inflated price. In fact, often small beans of the same type of coffee are superior in taste to large ones. This is indirectly confirmed by the Q-grading evaluation system, which does not take into account the size of the coffee beans at all.
Since there is no direct relationship between the size of the grain and the taste of coffee, why then sort the harvested crop? It's all about roasting. Small grains are easier to fry, large ones are much more difficult. It is possible to dry out the upper part, but not to fry the inside. Roasting unsorted grains is an even more complicated process. Chemical reactions occurring at different times can lead to an unexpected result. On the one hand, there is a chance to get coffee that has a truly multifaceted taste, on the other hand, it will completely spoil the entire harvested crop.
It is not surprising that not everyone can control the roasting process of unsorted grains. In order to achieve a high-quality bite, it is necessary to delicately speed up or slow down the different stages of roasting.
If we are talking about commercial batches of coffee, then careful sorting is indispensable. The point here is not even about the taste of the coffee itself, but that it must remain stable from one batch to the next.
