The Difference Between Specialty Coffee and Commercial Coffee_What Are the Standards for Classifying Specialty vs Commercial?

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What is Specialty Coffee?

Unless you're extremely skilled in coffee or deeply passionate about it, most people don't explore the differences between specialty coffee and commercial coffee. The term "specialty coffee" sounds sophisticated, while "commercial coffee" sounds like common goods. But, but, but—does the coffee world really distinguish between grades based on specialty and commercial coffee? Let FrontStreet Coffee explain the main differences between specialty and commercial coffee, and then we can discuss what makes coffee good or not.

First, let's talk about what specialty coffee is.

If you observe carefully, you'll find that the term "specialty coffee" appears most often among pour-over coffee enthusiasts who are relatively new to the field. Why? FrontStreet Coffee believes this is mainly because when you've been involved with coffee for a long time, you increasingly realize that specialty coffee doesn't actually have a completely fixed definition.

When describing a coffee as excellent, experienced professionals are more likely to describe it in terms of its origin, batch, processing method, freshness, unique flavors, and mouthfeel, rather than saying "because this is specialty coffee, it tastes good."

The reason is roughly this: origin, batch, processing method, and roasting approach are objective evaluation criteria, but once it comes to taste, it becomes subjective—everyone has different preferences. Some people are accustomed to certain flavors while others dislike them. Therefore, opinions often diverge on whether a coffee is good. If you're not a professional but just an enthusiast, as long as you think it tastes good, that's fine—don't get caught up in whether it qualifies as specialty coffee.

Oh, by the way, FrontStreet Coffee wants to remind everyone about "good tasting"—it's a two-sided issue. Some good taste comes from genuine, natural ingredients, while other good taste comes from various additives. If you have some health awareness, you'll understand what I mean.

Differences Between Specialty and Commercial Coffee

Now let's discuss the differences between specialty coffee and other everyday coffees.

To a large extent, the existence of the term "specialty coffee" is mainly to distinguish it from commercial coffee. The coffee sold in various chain coffee shops on the street, the (inexpensive) packaged coffee powder/beans with lots of foreign text that you buy online, and the instant coffee you buy in supermarkets are all considered commercial coffee.

Compared to "specialty coffee," the characteristics of commercial coffee are:

1. Cultivation: No emphasis on how the growing environment affects flavor. Large-scale cultivation in plains and basins yields higher production but results in single, unremarkable flavors.

2. Harvesting: Machine-based, rough batch harvesting without distinguishing between mature and semi-mature green and red fruits. All are picked together, easily damaging the fruit skin.

3. Processing: Mostly uses the natural processing method, which has lower costs and can handle large quantities of beans at once.

4. Storage: No grading is performed; beans are directly packed into burlap bags awaiting transport.

5. Roasting: Mostly uses dark roasting, creating burnt and bitter flavors that facilitate storage and reduce costs associated with coffee beans.

6. Extraction: Often uses dark roasting to create espresso blends in commercial chain coffee shops. After extracting extremely bitter coffee bases, they add creamer and artificial sweeteners to mask the bitterness and add other flavors.

The above process might sound tedious to read, so let me give a simple example: beef.

Traceable, high-quality pastures raise numbered, healthy, active cattle that produce traceable quality steak from specific animals and specific parts—this can be called specialty steak.

Factories purchase large quantities of free-range cattle from various regions, process them collectively regardless of batch, and create processed canned beef with various strange seasonings and even preservatives to make it taste better—this can be called commercial beef.

The difference between "specialty" coffee and commercial coffee follows roughly the same principle.

Why These Differences Matter

Finally, let's talk about what's the use of knowing these differences.

FrontStreet Coffee believes there's no need to get caught up in whether what you're drinking is "specialty coffee" or commercial coffee. As long as you think it tastes good and, from an ingredient perspective, it doesn't harm your health, it's acceptable.

Of course, if you understand the differences between these two types of coffee just mentioned, you'll have basic coffee appreciation skills and can roughly judge whether a cup of coffee is good or not yourself. For example, if attention is paid to bean selection, roasting, preparation, and flavor, and you can fully feel pleasure when drinking it, then it's a good coffee—no need for so-called "experts" to tell you what good coffee is.

Additionally, next time you want to tell friends that the coffee you're drinking is excellent, try describing its origin, variety, and flavor characteristics. For example: "I like that low-caffeine Costa Rican one, it has a subtle roasted walnut and popcorn aroma," or "I like that Honduras Lychee Lan bean, it has a fresh lychee fragrance and honey-like sweetness." Rather than saying "I drank a cup of specialty coffee, it was so good," which would be exposed by those who understand coffee.

Regarding specialty coffee, if you must dig deeper and research it, you can search online for keywords like SCAA, SCAE, and SCAJ. They are the Specialty Coffee Associations of America, Europe, and Japan respectively. From market and commercial perspectives, they have more detailed descriptions of specialty coffee, but this doesn't have much to do with most coffee enthusiasts, hahaha.

As for how general "non-specialty" coffee shops should choose coffee beans, from the coffee market perspective, coffee beans are mainly divided into two categories: commercial beans and specialty coffee beans. In terms of price, specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans naturally offers greater profit margins, but the taste of coffee from commercial beans is much inferior to that from specialty coffee beans. They can be used for making lattes, cappuccinos, and other espresso-based drinks. How to choose and purchase is a matter of personal preference and wisdom.

Important Notice :

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