What is Specialty Coffee? An Article on the Standards for Identifying Specialty Coffee

Introduction to Specialty Coffee

Several hundred years ago, since coffee beans were transplanted from northeastern Africa to Arabia, they have played multiple important roles throughout history. Today, as one of the world's three major beverages, coffee is now produced in more than 50 countries. According to estimates by the German World Population Foundation, of the global population of 7.2 billion people, nearly one-third drink coffee daily. Tens of millions of coffee enthusiasts consume at least 500 billion cups annually. Such an enormous market scale has led to a dazzling array of coffee varieties and consumption methods. Consequently, during the third wave of coffee revolution, the term "specialty coffee" emerged. Today, we will guide you to understand what exactly defines "specialty coffee."

The Definition of Specialty Coffee

What is specialty coffee? In reality, there is no very precise definition, but the widely recognized origin lies with Ms. Erna Knutsen of Knutsen Coffee Ltd. in America, who proposed the term at an international coffee conference held in France in 1978. Her definition of "specialty coffee" was remarkably simple and clear: "Special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles" – coffee beans cultivated under special climatic and geographical conditions that produce unique flavors, truly concise yet comprehensive.

Subsequently, according to the definition of "specialty coffee" on the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) website, a cup of specialty coffee refers not merely to the brewed coffee served to consumers, but rather emphasizes the entire process that produces this cup of coffee. This process involves farmers' cultivation, green coffee buyers' strict selection of beans, roasters who roast the green beans, baristas who brew the coffee, and finally consumers who taste the flavors – all are crucial roles in creating a cup of specialty coffee.

In the past, some people focused on extraction methods and tools when tasting coffee, while others emphasized roast types. Currently, the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) aims to inform consumers that high-quality coffee requires quality standards at every stage – from cultivation, harvesting, processing methods, roasting, to extraction – to be considered "specialty coffee." Therefore, a coffee that can trace its bean's production history and that consumers find delicious while meeting their cost-performance expectations can be called specialty coffee! Below, we will explore the various segments in the "specialty coffee" industry chain.

The Specialty Coffee Supply Chain

Coffee Farmers

Coffee farmers represent the very source of coffee. Among coffee growers, high-quality coffee originates from generations spent improving cultivation methods and techniques to grow the highest quality coffee. For farmers, cultivating high-quality coffee with emphasis on quality over quantity, and trading with quality-focused buyers, ensures higher profits and sustainable production.

Green Coffee Buyers

Coffee buyers can be assisted by certified and reputable green coffee quality assessors (Q-graders, commonly known as cuppers) who systematically taste and identify coffee quality through cupping. These professionals have undergone unified standard training and possess professional coffee evaluation abilities, similar to sommeliers. Through cupping, Q-graders can assess coffee scores and determine whether it qualifies as specialty coffee. They can also provide flavor descriptions based on cupping results, which green coffee buyers can then convey to roasters and coffee shops.

Coffee Roasters

Coffee roasting represents a crucial stage in presenting coffee flavor. Roasters need extensive knowledge and experience to develop professional roasting standards. They must maintain certain levels of monitoring and documentation during the roasting process to ensure final results achieve expected quality and flavor standards, and can appropriately reproduce this level of quality in subsequent roasts.

Baristas

Professional baristas not only possess expertise in coffee extraction techniques and operations but also typically have deep understanding of coffee bean origins and how to showcase their flavors during extraction. If specialty coffee beans are not extracted correctly, they may lose the flavors they should display; baristas can ensure each coffee bean achieves its optimal flavor.

Consumers

Consumers represent the final link in the specialty coffee supply chain. It is precisely because consumers actively seek high-quality specialty coffee that more high-quality specialty coffees can be produced. When you take time to find quality specialty coffee shops or roasters, you can also spend time discussing with baristas and learning how they create the best-flavored coffee by hand, thereby learning to appreciate coffee. This represents the ultimate value and significance of promoting specialty coffee.

Methods to Identify Specialty Coffee

Although there is no very clear certification or definition for specialty coffee, there is consensus among countries. Based on the more common specialty coffees found in the market, there are several relatively simple and important identification methods:

Clear Traceability

Clear traceability means the production history must be clear, allowing tracing of which country, region, and specific coffee farm produced the coffee beans. Ideally, one should be able to find the names of the company, washing station, large estate, farm owner, or manager. The clearer the coffee's production history, the more guaranteed its quality, the more reasonable its price, and the more transparent and complete the process from producer to retailer.

Cupping

Cupping is aroma evaluation and identification, similar to wine and tea tasting methods. The coffee industry uses cupping to measure and control coffee bean quality, with results typically expressed as scores. From exporters to importers, roasters to brewers, the entire industry practices cupping. Licensed professional cuppers can use the same evaluation standards to seek, taste, and select high-quality coffee beans worldwide. There are even green coffee quality competitions in producing countries, where cupping evaluation committees with years of experience from various countries can conduct further national or international-level assessments of coffee quality. Additionally, more frontline coffee farmers and processing facility managers are joining the ranks of cuppers, pursuing consistent excellent quality.

Clear Packaging Labels

When purchasing, general consumers without extensive specialty coffee buying experience can initially judge by packaging labels. Many coffees are sold with exquisite packaging but provide pitifully little product information. The more relevant information you can find on the product packaging, the greater your chance of buying high-quality coffee. For example: roasting and packaging dates, coffee variety and origin, processing method, blend or single origin, roast level or flavor characteristics, coffee taste profile, production history, etc. Of course, beyond satisfying the right to information, consumers can also deduce the flavor and quality of their coffee based on these clues.

Although specialty coffee lacks very strict definition standards, judging from the various indicators mentioned above, similar to tasting a fine wine, whether vineyards or coffee farms, climate within limited ranges affects growth and produces subtly different end products. For example, latitude, proximity to sea, lakes or rivers, farm direction or slope, whether located exactly on monsoon wind paths, day-night temperature differences, rainfall and sunlight amounts – such subtle natural environmental differences all affect the unique flavors bestowed by the land. According to Erna Knutsen's observation, not all coffee has the same flavor, and that which is distinctive and tastes excellent is specialty coffee. May all coffee enthusiasts be able to select their own ideal specialty coffee.

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