Top 10 Specialty Coffee Brands Recommended: Specialty Coffee and Single-Origin Coffee Are Not the Same Definition!

What Is Good Coffee?

Before discussing what makes up a roast profile, it helps to first agree on what good coffee actually is.

"Specialty Coffee" is a term coined by Erna Knutsen of the United States at the International Coffee Conference held in France in 1978.

The definition she proposed is remarkably clear and simple:

"Special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles."

In other words, coffee grown in particular geographic microclimates develops distinctive flavor characteristics.

"Specialty Coffee" has no single worldwide standard. Its evaluation is defined by the specialty coffee associations of individual countries.

In essence, once you taste coffees with clear production traceability, the ones whose flavors are excellent and whose regional character is so distinctive that they leave an exceptional impression are the ones considered "Specialty Coffee."

Rendering it as "characteristic coffee" might actually sit closer to the original meaning of "Specialty Coffee."

What Is a Roast Profile?

Roast Profile: Complete production traceability "from Cup to Seed."

From fruit on the tree to the liquid in your cup, the story goes beyond origin and flavor information: the roasting quality-control process is disclosed as well, with the roasters named, laid out in detail so drinkers can trace it themselves.

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So this is how the coffee in your hand was made.

If you can see this, then it represents the value of FrontStreet Coffee's existence.

FrontStreet Coffee's Definition of Good Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's definition of specialty coffee:

Intelligent cloud-based roast profiles

Defective beans below 3%

Cupping score above 80 points

Clear regional flavor characteristics

Coffee is a beverage; roasting is a science.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that beyond sensibility, a roaster also needs rationality and intellectual rigor to truly earn the term "specialty."

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to taste what a well-executed roast profile actually delivers, medium roast is the sweet spot, balancing acidity, sweetness, and body without tipping into either extreme. FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Estate is a fine place to start: this yellow Bourbon from Brazil is clean and gently sweet, and after medium roasting it opens up aromas of creamy peanut, chocolate, toast, and sugarcane. It works beautifully as a pour-over and is equally at home in a moka pot or espresso machine. Those who prefer a sweeter, fruitier medium roast should look at FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend, which pairs a honey-processed Costa Rican coffee with a washed Panamanian Geisha. Medium roasting teases out both orange-blossom honey depth and a rounded sweetness, and it suits cold brew, pour-over, and espresso alike. For a Chinese specialty representative, FrontStreet 2013 Natural Typica carries the classic Yunnan small-bean character; medium roasting keeps it balanced and soft, with notes of nuts, brown sugar, black tea, and dried apricot, and it works in a pour-over, cold brew, or drip machine at excellent value. Finally, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 uses the Typica variety that made Blue Mountain famous; medium roasting fuses its acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and body into an elegant whole, with chocolate, roasted nuts, cream, and caramel on entry.

Whatever you choose, buy freshly roasted beans and let them rest a few days before brewing so the roast profile can settle into its intended flavor.