A buyer ordering W240 is ordering a number: roughly 240 kernels to the pound. What that number doesn't tell them is what the kernel actually looks like once it arrives — and that gap is where most of the confusion around cashew grading comes from.

What the W-number is actually counting

The "W" stands for whole, and the number after it is industry shorthand for kernel size — specifically, how many whole kernels make up a pound. Fewer, bigger kernels get a lower number and a higher price: W180 kernels are noticeably larger than W320, which are larger again than the smaller counts further up the range. Our own factory grades across five sizes, W180 through W400, with W210 and W240 sitting in between — each suited to a different use, from showpiece kernels for gifting down to everyday cooking and repacking stock.

Why two bags of the same grade can still look different

Where it gets less obvious is that two bags labelled the exact same size can still look noticeably different from each other — one smooth, bright and evenly coloured, the other a shade duller with a bit more surface texture. Same count, same taste, same moisture — just a different finish. That's a separate axis from size, and it's a genuinely hard one to get right: process a batch too hard and the moisture drops but the colour browns; go easier and the colour holds but moisture creeps up. Getting both a low moisture reading and a consistently bright, smooth kernel out of the same batch takes real attention, batch by batch — it isn't a setting a factory fixes once and forgets. It's a big part of why two cashews at the identical W-number don't always cost the same.

What's actually negotiable

Verifying the kernel count against the stated grade is normal due diligence — any serious buyer does it. What genuinely varies between suppliers, and what's reasonable to negotiate on, is price and finish — not the count itself. A W240 is a W240; the better question to ask a supplier is what finish you're getting for the price quoted.

Picking the right grade for what you're actually doing

Which one matters more depends on what the cashews are for. For gifting, premium retail, or anywhere the kernel itself is the product on display, finish is worth paying attention to — any inconsistency shows up immediately on a plate or in a box. For cashews going into sweets, roasting, flavouring, or repacking — anywhere the kernel disappears into a bigger recipe — finish barely matters at all. Taste and moisture are doing all the work there, and that's usually where a buyer can save real money without giving up anything they'd actually notice.

Ask a supplier for the finish alongside the grade number, and most will tell you plainly which tier a batch falls into — because on the size number alone, "W240" doesn't say much at all.