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

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Commercial Coffee and Specialty Coffee

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As a proper noun, "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 unique flavored specialty coffee," 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), making "specialty coffee" a global term. Knustsen consistently opposed the coffee industry's blind pursuit of flavor consistency and monotony through inexpensive formula beans, ignoring the unique "terroir" revealed by the different soils of coffee origins. Terroir—referring to how soil, variety, climate, and water conditions create different coffee flavors—is the soul of specialty coffee. Without unique terroir, coffee cannot be considered specialty but becomes ordinary commercial beans or unremarkable canned coffee (large bags of coffee beans or powder).

Specialty coffee does not refer to premium coffee within the coffee category, although it indeed tastes better than ordinary coffee. It specifically refers to green coffee beans that have been rated by professional tasters (cuppers) and exceed a certain standard (such as 85 points). Only these can be called specialty coffee, and they must be traceable to the plantation, processing plant, batch, altitude, processing method, and other transparent information.

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

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

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

Commercial beans generally refer to green beans purchased in large quantities from the same producing region, processed using natural methods with few steps and short time, resulting in high yield. Generally, commercial coffee beans are of lower quality with high defect rates, but their advantage is low price. In terms of price, specialty coffee beans are several times more expensive than commercial beans. From a cost perspective, choosing commercial beans offers greater profit margins.

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

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. Additionally, we hold three low-discount coffee events each month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to allow more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price—this has been our mission for six years!

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