Common Coffee Bean Abbreviations Explained

Ever looked at a bag of green coffee beans and wondered what all those cryptic letters—like EP, SHB, or FW—actually mean? If you’re sourcing beans or just curious about what’s printed on the label, these abbreviations can seem like a foreign language at first glance.

Here’s the quick answer: these are standard industry codes that tell you how the coffee was processed, graded, or certified. For example, EP means ‘European Preparation’ and refers to a stricter hand-sorting standard, while SHB stands for ‘Strictly Hard Bean,’ indicating high-altitude-grown, denser beans commonly found in Costa Rica.

What These Common Abbreviations Actually Mean

When examining green coffee labels, you’ll often see a mix of country names and shorthand codes. While the country tells you the origin, the codes reveal critical details about the beans’ processing, grade, or certification. Here’s a breakdown of the most frequently seen abbreviations:

Processing & Preparation Methods

These terms refer to how the coffee fruit was turned into a green bean, or how the beans were sorted post-harvest:

• DP (Dry Process): Also called natural process; coffee cherries are dried with the fruit still on the seed before hulling.
• FW (Fully Washed): Coffee processed by removing the skin and pulp, then fermenting and washing to remove the mucilage before drying.
• PE (Peaberry): A rare mutation where a single rounded bean forms inside the coffee cherry instead of two flat beans.

Grading & Preparation Standards

Different regions have their own standards for sorting and grading coffee beans. These determine bean size, density, and defect levels:

• EP (European Preparation): Extra hand-sorting to meet stricter European buyer defect tolerance, regardless of official grade (e.g., Costa Rica SHB EP or HB EP). Not tied to grade level, but implies lower defect counts.
• American Preparation: Similar to EP but follows U.S. sorting tolerances.
• JP (Japanese Preparation): Even more rigorous manual sorting than EP, for the Japanese market.
• SHB (Strictly Hard Bean): A grade used mainly in Central America (e.g., Costa Rica) indicating beans grown at high altitudes (above 1,200m), resulting in harder, denser beans.
• SHG (Strictly High Grown): Similar to SHB, used in other Central American countries like Nicaragua, also based on altitude.
• TP (Triple Picked): Indonesian grade (common in Sumatra), indicating beans that have been hand-sorted three times to remove defects (Grade 1 + extra sorting).
• Double Picked: Similar to TP, but with two rounds of sorting.

Certifications & Processing Types

These abbreviations indicate sustainability, organic status, or alternative processing methods for decaffeination:

• FTO (Fair Trade & Organic): Certified both fair trade and organic.
• ORG (Organic): Coffee grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, meeting organic farming standards.
• RFA (Rainforest Alliance): Certification focused on environmental sustainability, worker welfare, and ecosystem protection.
• UTZ: A certification program for sustainable farming, covering social, environmental, and economic criteria.
• SWP (Swiss Water Process): A chemical-free decaffeination method that uses water processing to remove caffeine.
• FW (Fully Washed): Also refers to a common wet-processing method, as noted above.

Quick Reference on Common Terms

To sum up a few key terms quickly:

• EP = European standard for lower defect coffee via additional hand sorting (e.g. Costa Rica SHB EP).
• SHB = High-altitude beans (Central America), denser due to growing conditions.
• PE = Peaberry, a naturally occurring single round bean per cherry.
• FW = Fully Washed process or European-style defect sorting.
• ORG/FTO/UTZ/RFA = Various sustainability and organic certifications.
• SWP = Swiss Water decaf method.
• TP = Triple hand-sorted Indonesian beans.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does EP mean on green coffee beans?

EP stands for European Preparation. It means the coffee has undergone additional hand sorting to meet stricter European defect tolerance standards, usually resulting in a lower number of defective beans. It is commonly seen on beans from Central and South America, such as Costa Rica SHB EP, and does not relate to the coffee grade directly.

What is SHB coffee?

SHB stands for Strictly Hard Bean, a grade given to coffee grown at higher altitudes—typically above 1,200 meters—mainly in Central America like Costa Rica. These beans are denser and often have more complex cup profiles due to slower maturation at elevation.

Does PE mean the coffee is better?

PE stands for Peaberry, which occurs when a coffee cherry produces a single round bean instead of two flat ones. Peaberries are not necessarily better, but they are rarer and often have distinct cup characteristics. They are sorted out during processing and sold separately.

What is the difference between EP and American Preparation?

EP (European Preparation) and American Preparation both refer to the level of hand sorting done to remove defective beans, but EP follows stricter European standards, typically resulting in fewer defects than the U.S. standard. Both are separate from official coffee grade classifications.

What is SWP decaffeination?

SWP stands for Swiss Water Process, a chemical-free method of decaffeinating coffee using water to extract caffeine while preserving the bean’s flavour compounds. It’s one of the most common non-chemical decaf processes.

What does FTO stand for in coffee?

FTO means Fair Trade & Organic. This certification indicates the coffee is both produced under fair labour conditions and grown without synthetic chemicals, meeting standards for both fair trade and organic farming.

Recommended FrontStreet Coffee for Green Bean Buyers

For those exploring single-origin green beans, FrontStreet Coffee’s Ethiopia Yirgacheffe offers bright citrus and floral notes ideal for washed-process enthusiasts, while their Colombia Huila presents balanced caramel and almond tones typical of SHB-grade beans. Both showcase the importance of processing and altitude—key concepts tied to abbreviations like FW, SHB, and EP. Freshly roasted within 5 days · Orders placed before 17:00 ship the same day · Next-day delivery across most of Guangdong Province.