What is Specialty Coffee? Is There a Significant Flavor Difference Between Commercial and Specialty Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee - Commercial Coffee and Specialty Coffee

As a term of art, specialty coffee was first proposed by Erna Knustsen, known as the godmother of specialty coffee, in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal in 1974. She emphasized that only the most favorable microclimate and soil conditions can cultivate coffee with a unique flavor, aiming to distinguish it from the bulk commercial coffee traded on the New York futures market.

In 1972, Knustsen and Donald N. Schoenholt, along with four others, co-founded the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), which turned specialty coffee into a global term. Knustsen consistently opposed the industry's blind pursuit of consistency and monotony through inexpensive blend beans, which ignores the unique terroir revealed by the different soils of coffee origins. Terroir, the way soil, variety, climate, and water create different coffee flavors, is the soul of specialty coffee. Without distinctive terroir, coffee cannot be considered specialty; it becomes ordinary commercial beans or unremarkable canned coffee, whether whole beans or powder.

Specialty coffee does not simply mean premium coffee within the category, although it does taste better than ordinary coffee. It refers specifically to green beans that have been rated by professional tasters, called cuppers, and exceed a certain standard, such as 85 points. Only those qualify as specialty coffee, and they must be traceable to the plantation, processing plant, batch, altitude, and processing method, with all of that information transparent.

Ms. Knustsen was the first to propose the concept of specialty coffee, emphasizing the relationship between the upstream growing environment and coffee quality. Today the Specialty Coffee Association of America has redefined the concept:

Choose the most suitable varieties, planted at the altitude, climate, and soil conditions most conducive to flavor development. Process them carefully with washed and natural methods, select flawless premium green beans, and deliver them to customers with zero defects in transit. Through the masterful skill of roasters, bring out the richest terroir, then use recognized extraction methods to brew delicious coffee.

By this definition, specialty coffee includes not only the core factor of the growing environment but also three critical processing stages: green bean processing, roasting, and extraction. In short, specialty coffee should be a trinity of good green beans, good roasting, and good extraction: high-quality coffee.

Commercial beans generally refers to green beans bought in large quantities from a single region, processed with few steps and a short time using natural methods to give high yields. Commercial coffee beans are usually lower quality with high defect rates, but their advantage is a low price. In terms of price, specialty coffee beans cost several times more than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans offers greater profit margins.

Knowledge Point: In terms of flavor, coffee made from commercial beans is significantly inferior to coffee made from specialty beans. Commercial beans are typically chosen for blending and, once blended, can be used to make espresso drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos.

In Brief: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment dedicated to sharing knowledge about coffee with everyone. We share without reservation only to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also hold three low-discount coffee events each month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price. This has been our mission for six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want to taste what traceable specialty coffee actually delivers, start with an entry-level single origin. FrontStreet Washed Gedeb G1 Cooperative shows jasmine florals, lemon and citrus acidity, and berry notes over a clean, tea-like body, an easy first step into Ethiopian coffee. For a sun-dried contrast, FrontStreet Sun-Dried Huakui from Sidamo brings tropical fruit and fermentation aroma with honeyed sweetness and a long finish. Both are transparent, single-origin lots, exactly the kind of coffee the definition above describes, and both are simple to brew as a pour-over.