Specialty Coffee Brand Recommendations: What is Specialty Coffee? The Difference Between Specialty Coffee and Single-Origin Coffee

Understanding Specialty Coffee

A coffee bean travels a meticulous journey — cultivation, harvesting, processing, and roasting — before a barista brews the final cup that reaches the consumer. Every step along the way follows carefully established standards. Coffees that not only carry distinctive, recognizable origin flavors but also score above 80 points in professional cupping evaluations are what we call specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Single-Origin Coffee Selection

FrontStreet Coffee currently offers a wide range of single-origin coffees, all within the specialty category. Sourced from specialty estates across the world's growing regions, each carries its own flavor signature. Whether you prefer the layered complexity of bright, acidic notes or a rich, full-bodied mouthfeel, you'll find a coffee on our menu that matches your taste.

If you're new to specialty coffee, or simply eager to explore new flavors, our baristas are happy to offer personalized recommendations beyond the menu descriptions and help you find the perfect single-origin coffee for your palate.

Beyond enjoying barista-brewed coffee on site, you can also take FrontStreet Coffee's specialty beans home or to the office. Our baristas love sharing their brewing knowledge and experience — and if you don't own a grinder, FrontStreet Coffee provides a grinding service so you can still enjoy fresh coffee whenever you like.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you're grinding at home, a few beans deserve a spot on your shelf. The FrontStreet Coffee Natural Red Cherry Yirgacheffe, from the origin that pioneered all-red-cherry natural processing and roasted medium-light, smells of ripe fruit with a clear fermented note and berry sweetness; as the cup cools you get citrus acidity, a creamy smoothness, and a finish of ripe-grape juiciness. The FrontStreet Coffee Strawberry Candy Gesha Blend combines washed Panama Gesha with a honey-processed Costa Rican coffee; medium roasted, it layers caramel, raisins, dried fruit, and an intensely sweet rose fragrance.

The FrontStreet Coffee Musicians Series Mozart, a raisin honey-processed Costa Rican whose slow drying fermentation delivers Kyoho-grape sweetness plus pineapple and osmanthus aromatics, is medium-light roasted to highlight raisin, rose, and winey fermented notes. The FrontStreet Coffee Fazenda Rainha Yellow Bourbon from Brazil is the all-rounder — equally at home in pour-over, French press, moka pot, or espresso machine — with nuts, cream, cane sugar, and gentle fruit acidity at medium roast. And the FrontStreet Coffee 2013 Yunnan Typica, grown by FrontStreet Coffee itself in Lincang, Yunnan since 2013 and naturally processed, shows outstanding dried-fruit sweetness with plum, yellow sugar, and chocolate.