As it happens for the description of a batch, also the evaluation of the physical characteristics of coffee and of its defects is variable, depending on its origin, or on the organization that codifies it.

In Brazil, C.O.B. is used (Official Brazilian Classification): but this is valid only for their national market, because the official classifications are based on the New York parameters.

Deformed beans: abnormal shapes, lightly swelled with decentralized cut. Causes: grow defects, physiologic matters.

Parchment beans: the beans are completely or partially covered by the dry endocarp. Causes: for natural coffee defective decortications, for washed coffee friction shelling not correctly regulated.

Dry beans: light beans, reddish-brownish surface with a dryer appearance than the safe beans, sometimes lightly wrinkled. Causes: Fermentation of the mature cherries cropped too late and/or left to long in contact with the ground.

Broken beans: fragments of beans. Causes: unsuitable drying process and bad adjustment of the decorticator and of the fan during the process of coffee benefit.

Worm-holed beans: beans perforated by insects, beans with one or more 0,5-1,5 mm diameter holes. Causes: beans attacked by an insect scientifically called Hypothenemus Hampey, known as "broca" or "caruncho"; in Italian they are usually called worm-holes beans.

Green unripe beans: wrinkled surface of grey-greenish colour, also of darker tones until brown or black. Also the "Quakers" are unripe of light greenish colour with some pale yellow and they have a lower density than the safe beans. Causes: berries cropped yet unripe.

Black bean: exterior surface completely or partially black. Sometimes wrinkled surface. Some beans have the inside completely black, some others have a greyish or brown compact mass. Causes: late fruit crop and/or left too long in contact with the ground.

Shell: beans with shell shape. Deformation of the bean appearing as a shape similar to a shell or an ear with very thin walls. Causes: genetic-physiologic matters.

Stones or earth clot: stones or earth clot of different sizes, volcanic or not. Causes: lacking manual ventilation during the crop, mechanical removal of stones, not very efficient during the benefit. The grinded can be seriously damaged.

Different wood: woods of different shapes and sizes. Causes: lacking manual ventilation during the crop, mechanical ventilation not efficient during the benefit.

TABLES
New York

The reference tables are the ones of Le Havre for the Robusta, and the ones of New York for the Arabicas.

In New York three different standard are used, depending if a Brazilian coffee, a good quality Colombian or a different Arabica is being examined.

The defects tables used in New York refer to samples of 36 cubic inches (approx. 0,59 litres).

Washed Arabica

The imperfections table is the same both for Colombians and for the other washed Arabica; but the descriptions of the standard types are different:
"Usual Good Quality" Colombian Excelso: coffee of current crop, maximum 13 imperfections.
"Washed Arabica": maximum 8 imperfection, at least 50% over grade 15, maximum 5% under grade 14.

DEFECTS TABLE
1 black bean	1 defect
1 fermented bean	1 defect
1 cherry	1 defect
5 shells	1 defect
5 broken beans	1 defect
2/5 beans partially black or fermented	1 defect
5 bianconi	1 defect
3 stones or small woods	1 defect
1 stone or medium wood	1 defect
1 stone or big wood, depending on size	2/3 defects
2/3 peels. depending on size	1 defect
2/3 parchment beans, depending on size	1 defect

WASHED ARABICA
IMPERFECTIONS TABLE
1 black bean	1 defect
1 fermented bean	1 defect
1 cherry	1 defect
3 cherries	1 defect
5 broken beans	1 defect
2 half black bean	1 defect
5 unripe beans	1 defect
5 bianconi	1 defect
2/3 stones of little woods	1 defects
1 medium wood	1 defect
1 stone or big wood, depending on size	2/3 defects
2 peels	1 defect
1 medium stone	1 defect
2 parchment beans	1 defect
10 worm-holes beans	1 defect

TIPE BASED ON IMPERFECTIONS
2	6 defects
2/3	10 defects
3	13 defects
3/4	21 defects
4	30 defects
4/5	45 defects
5	60 defects
5/6	90 defects
6	120 defects
6/7	180 defects
7	240 defects

BEAN DIMENSION COMPARED TO THE SCREEN
LARGE BEAN	grade 18
BOLD TO LARGE BEAN	grade 17 and 18
BOLD BEAN	grade 17
GOOD TO BOLD BEAN	grade 16 and 17
GOOD BEAN	grade 15 and 16
MEDIUM TO GOOD BEAN	grade 16 minimum 20%
	grade 15 minimum 50%
	grade 14 maximum 20%
MEDIUM BEAN	grade 15 minimum 20%
	grade 14 minimum 50%
	grade 13 maximum 20%
SMALL TO MEDIUM BEAN	grade 13 and 14
SMALL BEAN	grade 12 and 13

LE HAVRE

The defects are counted on samples of 300 grams and the correspondent descriptions changes depending on the origin:

DEFECTS TABLES
1 damaged bean	2 defects
1 stone or big wood or peel	2 defects
1 stone or medium wood or peel	1 defect
2-3 stone or small wood or peel	1 defect
1 black bean	1 defect
1 cherry	1 defect
2 half black beans	1 defect
2 fermented beans	1 defect
2 parchment beans	1 defect
3 shells	1 defect
3 unripe beans	1 defect
5 quakers	1 defect
5 broken beans	1 defect
10 worm-holed beans	1 defect
5 dry beans	1 defect
5 undesiderable beans	1 defect

THE GRADE

The classification tables considered up to now show, besides the defects present in a batch, also the dimension of the beans, the GRADE. To determinate the grade some drilled sifters are used, with pre-fixed diameters to show the dimension of the beans that is different if it is Arabica or Robusta coffee.
For Arabica the used sifters are rectangular with the following dimensions:
cm 19 x cm. 28,5. There are also screen frames for Caracolito with special elliptic holes.
For Robusta the used grader frames are squared with 20 cm for each side. The grid are mm. 1 thick, while the diameter of the hole is calculated in millimetres multiplying the grade for 1/64 of inch.
The following is the Le Havre comparison table between the Robusta grade and the diameter in millimetres of the sifter holes

GRADE	DIAMETER IN MM
20	8
19	7,5
18	7
17	6,75
16	6.3
15	6
14	5,6
13	5
12	4,75
10	4