Coffee History Development and Personal Stories: The Godmother of Specialty Coffee - Erna Knutsen

In fact, when something or a certain field stagnates, the emergence of an important figure can set the gears in motion again, or even completely break through the current bottleneck. They drive different nodes at different times and in different events. Without them, these "gears" might still not be back on track today.

In the coffee world, there are also such phenomenal figures, such as Angelo Moriondo, the inventor of the espresso machine that allows people to drink espresso every day; or Mrs. Melitta, who made drip coffee cleaner; and the protagonist of FrontStreet Coffee's article today, the heavyweight godmother of the specialty coffee world, Erna Knutsen.

What is Specialty Coffee?

Many people think that specialty coffee is a professional term within the industry, referring to a certain type of coffee name. In fact, that's not the case. "Specialty Coffee" is actually a concept, translated from "Specialty Coffee."

In 1974, Ms. Erna Knutsen first proposed the concept of "Specialty Coffee" in the monthly publication "Tea & Coffee Trade Journal": "Special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles." This translates to: Coffee beans with unique flavor profiles produced by special geographical conditions and microclimates.

Strictly speaking, specialty coffee at that time did not have a very clear definition. It wasn't until 2009 that the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) established more scientific and objective conditions for green coffee beans based on this concept - namely, that cupping scores under SCAA standards must not be lower than 80 points. This gave specialty coffee a quantifiable attribute definition. It can be said that every delicious single-origin coffee we enjoy today is thanks to this lady's efforts, and the reason she mentioned this theory is entirely because of her profound love for coffee.

Who is Erna Knutsen?

Ms. Erna Knutsen was born in 1922 in the Arctic Circle of Norway and moved to New York, USA with her family at the age of five. Whenever her mother ground coffee beans at home, she would be deeply attracted by the enticing aroma of coffee, which gave the young her a profound memory of fresh coffee. However, when she was young, she did not first enter the coffee industry but chose other industries to make a living.

Erna Knutsen (1921-2018).

It wasn't until 1968, when she was in her early 40s, that she entered a coffee trading company called "B.C. Ireland" as both a secretary and purchasing agent, officially stepping into the coffee field. Unfortunately, this was in the 1960s and 1970s, when America was not as free and equal as it is today. Discrimination (racial, gender) was common in all industries, and the coffee industry was no exception. It was generally believed that this was not something women should be involved in, and Erna was restricted from entering the cupping room and observing the sample roasting process. Therefore, in her early days in the coffee circle, she did not have the opportunity to fully showcase her talents.

Her Rise to Fame

Until one day, by chance, she tasted Mandheling, which was being introduced to America for the first time. She was deeply shocked by Mandheling's unique flavor, so she made a decisive move and purchased an entire container of Mandheling green beans, selling them all as promised within over a month. Because the cupping reports she provided had extremely high flavor accuracy, she not only won unanimous praise from customers and made a name for herself in the industry, but also successfully broke through her career bottleneck, no longer having her talents go unrecognized due to discrimination.

Ms. Knutsen not only had extraordinary olfactory and taste discrimination abilities, but her flavor memory was also exceptionally remarkable. To introduce more consumers to higher-quality Arabica coffee, she began systematically learning coffee cupping to enhance her professional skills. At that time, she began to develop a strong interest in various imported coffees from different origins, constantly exploring and studying, but soon, she discovered the drawbacks within.

She noticed that regardless of the production area or supplier, the quality of the beans they supplied did not have any consistency. The previous batch of coffee had excellent flavor, but the next batch turned into a completely opposite taste. After tracing back to the source, she learned that the root of the problem lay in the trading prices of coffee beans.

The Birth of Specialty Coffee

At that time, to purchase coffee beans directly from farmers, one had to go through "twists and turns" of layers of middlemen. To earn enough price differences, middlemen would continuously suppress the purchase price of coffee cherries. Coffee beans painstakingly grown by farmers could only be purchased at extremely low prices. When income was not proportional to effort, farmers had to付出 more to maintain basic income. Therefore, in this background environment, farmers were no longer limited to picking red, ripe coffee fruits during harvest. As long as they grew during the harvest season, regardless of whether they were raw or good or bad, they would all be harvested! After all, "donkeys and horses," "big, small, thin, fat," "old, weak, sick, and disabled" were all the same price, so "why should I pursue quality?"

Therefore, to solve the root of the problem, Ms. Erna Knutsen published the concept of "Specialty Coffee" in a monthly publication in 1974. In the years following its publication, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to spreading this concept, helping others understand through sharing what form a cup of coffee takes from seed to cup. Her passion for coffee won her many honors, and because of coffee, she visited various production areas, befriending growers from different countries, origins, and estates. In this way, she also gained a quite prestigious position in the coffee market.

By 1982, as one of the organizers, she helped establish the "Specialty Coffee Association of America" (SCAA). Since the initial number of people was small, she also served as an initial member and served two terms on the board of directors. She not only served as a director of the "Pacific Coast Coffee Association" but was also the only woman invited to attend the "International Coffee Seminar."

In 1985, Ms. Knutsen officially founded her own coffee trading company, Knutsen Coffee, Ltd., specializing in purchasing specialty-grade and above green beans from around the world, spanning dozens of countries and production areas. By 1988, at the age of 65, she had achieved both fame and fortune. In the following years, she successively received many awards:

In 1991, she received the first Outstanding Contribution to the Coffee Industry Award presented by SCAA; in 1994, she received the Tea & Coffee Magazine Woman of the Year Award; in 1999, SCAA presented her with the Best International Specialty Coffee Promotion Award; in 2002, she received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award presented by SCAA;

In 2014, she again received the title of Founder of the Specialty Coffee Industry presented by SCAA, which was also the year she announced her retirement at the age of 93. Ms. Knutsen was honored at the SCAA opening ceremony.

It can be seen that her promotion of specialty coffee, like that of great figures in other industries, is a truly remarkable approach. At the end of the article, FrontStreet Coffee also quotes a sentence from Ms. Knutsen in an interview as the conclusion:

"Coffee gives me the wonderful life"

"Coffee makes this life without regrets."

- END -

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) No. 10 Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473