By visually looking at green coffee beans you can learn a lot on how the coffee was processed. I generally will have a tray of green and roasted samples out when cupping (left). Scoop up a handful of green coffee and breath deeply into it and notice the aroma, note any off odors. Looks at the colors of the green coffee, does it look blue-green, green or faded.
Combing through them, I will seperate out any defects (right). The SCAA standard for speciality grade is 5 defects for 350 grams of coffee. Defects can range from processing defects, insect infestation to chips or discolored beans. No one wants a defect in their cup, if a bean is bad enough it will certainly be detectable. Andi Trindle recently wrote a 4 part article in Roast magazine on defects.
One common defect that I have come across is Quakers. They are unripened cherries that have been picked and processed. They are less dense and will float in water. Visually you will not be able to notice them in the green stage. Once roasted they will not fully develop and look very pale in color, not enough sugars in the beans to caramelize. They tend to have sharp, astringent quality to them.
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