Coffee Grading vs Colored Stone Grading

(via Coffee Review) Retailers may also qualify coffee labels by grade name. Grading is a device for controlling the quality of an agricultural commodity so that buyer and seller can do business without personally examining every lot sold. Coffee grading terminology is, unfortunately, varied and obscure. Every coffee-growing country has its own set of terms, and few are distinguished by logical clarity. Kenya AA is an exception: Clearly AA is better than A or B. But though the Colombian terms excelso and supremo are both laudatory, one could hardly determine by reason alone that supremo is the highest grade of Colombian coffee, and excelso a more comprehensive grade consisting of a mixture of supremo and the less desirable extra grade. Although we may be aware that altitude is a prime grading factor in Central American coffees, one could hardly guess without coaching that strictly hard bean refers to Guatemalan coffees grown at altitudes of 4,500 to 5,000 feet, and hard bean to those at 4,000 to 4,500 feet. The higher the altitude, the slower-maturing the bean, and the harder and denser its substance--hence hard bean.

Comparing colored stones with coffee: There are similarities. There are no internationally accepted systematic colored stone grading system in the world yet, with many people in the gem trade opposing to its introduction. Many in the gem industry overlook the advantages of having a systematic colored stone grading system. The benefits are increased consumer confidence and sales. In order to develop a colored stone grading system, one need to create a simple language useful for easy communication so that the relative value can be determined by the market + the consumers benefit from it because of its simplicity.

Colored gemstone dealers have their own grading system (s), and most use terms such as AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C and so on. Dealers may understand the gradation but consumers don't. There is also a link between the coffee beans sources and rock types. Like the origin of the coffee beans, rock types of gemstones does play a major role in understanding the color variances of high value stones such as diamonds, rubies (basalt vs marble hosted rocks), sapphires (basalt vs marble hosted rocks, emeralds (hydrothermal vs pegmatite vs metamorphic associations), tourmalines (pegmatite) and other colored stones. Though the concept may not be new to practising gemologists, its application via gem testing/grading laboratories could make a big difference, if used appropriately.