Dry Fruits & Nuts — Line 03
Cashews
W180 to W450 whites, splits and pieces — processed on the Kerala, Goa and Karnataka coasts, where cashew shelling has been a craft for four hundred years.
About the grade
The number is the count, not the quality.
Cashew grading confuses more buyers than any other line we sell. W180 means roughly 180 kernels to the pound — so the lower the number, the bigger the nut. It says nothing about flavour or freshness. A W450 from a good processor will out-taste a tired W240 every time.
Which is why we push buyers toward splits and pieces wherever the application allows. If the cashew is going to be chopped, milled into butter, blitzed into a dairy alternative or hidden inside a coated snack, you are paying a large premium for a shape nobody will see. Moving from W320 wholes to large white pieces is one of the easiest cost savings on this page.
Grades
The grade chart.
| Grade | Kernels per lb | Description | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| W180 | 170–180 | “King of cashews” — largest whole white | Luxury gifting, premium retail |
| W210 | 200–210 | Large whole white | Gifting, premium snacking |
| W240 | 220–240 | Attractive whole white, the retail workhorse | Retail packs, roasted and salted lines |
| W320 | 300–320 | Most widely traded grade worldwide | General retail, catering, snacking |
| W450 | 400–450 | Smallest whole white, excellent value | Catering, bakery, inclusions |
| Splits & buttsSW, JH, LWP, SWP | — | Broken kernels of the same quality | Cashew butter, dairy alternatives, milling, coatings |
Processing
Steam-roasted and hand-shelled at source. Vacuum-packed at the factory to hold moisture and prevent breakage in transit.
Testing
Aflatoxin, moisture, microbiology, foreign matter and pesticide residue screening, with a Certificate of Analysis on every consignment.
Packing
10 kg vacuum tins and 25 kg cartons. Nitrogen flush, retail pouches and private-label packing available.
Buying notes
Reading a cashew quotation properly.
Cashew grading looks opaque from outside and is actually simple once you know that the letter describes the shape and the number describes the size. W means whole white kernel; the number is how many kernels make a pound, so W180 is a large kernel and W450 is a small one. S is splits, LWP and SWP are large and small white pieces. Everything else in a quotation is a variation on those two facts.
Buy the grade the application needs
W180 and W210 are display grades — gifting, premium retail, anywhere the nut is seen whole. W240 and W320 are the workhorses of snacking and food service. W450 and the pieces grades cost substantially less and are the correct choice for anything that will be chopped, roasted into a paste, blended into dairy or baked, because the consumer cannot tell a broken W450 from a broken W180 once it is in a product.
Scorched and dessert grades
Kernels that darkened during roasting are graded separately as scorched, and they eat perfectly well. They are considerably cheaper and entirely suitable for cashew butter, confectionery fillings and anything where colour is not on show. A supplier who does not offer them is either not grading properly or is selling them to you as white.
Cashews go stale faster than buyers expect
Cashew kernels are high in unsaturated fat and will oxidise noticeably within months in warm ambient storage. Vacuum packing or nitrogen flush is not an upgrade on this line, it is the difference between a repeat customer and a complaint. Buy for your actual turnover rather than for the price break on a quantity you will still be holding in six months.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
What do the cashew grades W180, W240 and W320 mean?
The letter W means whole white kernel and the number is the count of kernels per pound. W180 is therefore a large kernel and W450 a small one. S denotes splits, while LWP and SWP are large and small white pieces. Lower numbers mean bigger nuts and higher prices.
Which cashew grade should I buy?
W180 and W210 for gifting and premium retail where the whole nut is visible. W240 and W320 for general snacking and food service. W450, splits and pieces for anything that will be chopped, blended, baked or turned into butter, because the size premium is invisible in the finished product.
What are scorched cashews?
Kernels that darkened during roasting. They are graded and priced separately, they eat perfectly well, and they are the sensible choice for cashew butter, fillings, confectionery and any application where colour is not on display. They typically cost meaningfully less than the equivalent white grade.
How should cashews be stored?
Cool, dry and sealed. Cashews are high in unsaturated fat and will oxidise and taste stale within months in a warm ambient warehouse. We ship vacuum packed and recommend nitrogen flush on any line with slow turnover — on a premium-priced nut sold on flavour it pays for itself immediately.
Are cashews tested for aflatoxin?
Yes, on every lot at origin, with the certificate tied to the delivered consignment, alongside pesticide residue, moisture, microbiology and foreign-matter screening. Nuts are a higher-risk category and we test before shipment rather than after arrival.
What is the minimum order?
One pallet per line. On a first order we will accept a mixed pallet across two or more lines so you can trial several products without committing a full pallet to each.
What testing is done before shipment?
Aflatoxin, pesticide residue, moisture, microbiology and foreign-matter screening as standard, certified against the lot you are buying. We test at origin before the goods ship rather than after they land, because a failed consignment sitting at a UK port costs far more than the testing ever did.
Who handles importing and customs?
Aarleez Ltd is the importer of record. We clear GB import controls and quote delivered duty paid to your address in sterling, so the number you accept is the number you pay. Ex-warehouse collection is available if you would rather run your own leg.
Can you pack under our own brand?
Yes. Retail-ready and private-label packing is available from origin, including nitrogen flush where shelf life matters. Send your artwork and pack format and we will quote the packed price rather than a bulk price plus a vague conversion cost.
Also in the range
The rest of the dry fruit range.
Next step
Not sure which grade you need?
Tell us what the cashew is going into and we will tell you the cheapest grade that will do the job properly — then quote it.