Today we will discuss a topic that raises many questions around the world. It is about the ambiguous use of the term “specialty coffee“. This term is actively used by everyone and everything, and no one is responsible for its misuse. You can meet it on coffee packages in stores, on the menus of coffee shops, in general, everywhere.
But what is “specialty coffee” really? There are certain criteria by which we evaluate this product. Specialty coffee is coffee from one region, even one micro-region, processed by one method. It has a low variation in bean size, allows for a small number of defects per 100 grams of product, and has a positive flavor and aromatic properties.
A scale has been developed to describe coffee. The aroma, acidity, body, sweetness, identity and many other parameters are evaluated. For all these parameters, a coffee can score a maximum of 100 points. If a coffee scores 80 points or more, it is already considered a specialty coffee.
Coffee is evaluated by specialists – graders. This is a new profession, which appeared about 10-15 years ago. Now they are becoming more and more numerous, and it is quite a respected profession in the world of coffee. A person who has been accredited as a grader is an excellent taster and can describe coffee quite objectively.
The higher the coffee’s score, the higher its price. But that doesn’t mean the flavor will be better. After all, flavor is a subjective concept. I may like one coffee and another person may not. We choose coffee according to our taste preferences and expectations.
The price of coffee will increase exponentially. For example, an 80-point coffee can be found for $4-6 dollars, and an 88-89 point coffee can cost as much as $35-45 dollars for a pound of green, unroasted coffee. Sometimes you may hear the term “interclass.” These are coffees with 90 or higher scores. It is a unique coffee that is almost impossible to find in a store or coffee shop. This kind of coffee is very rare because it is very expensive. The price for it can range from 100 to 150 dollars.
Returning to the question about the positive taste and aromatic properties of coffee, I would like to add that coffee should have not only positive but also unique properties. For example, I often perceive chocolate, nutty, berry and fruit nuances in coffee. But they should be clear, not blurry. In the interclass, we taste the pure flavor. This is when each of us, without collusion, describes the same flavor.
The term “specialty coffee” is pretty fuzzy. In 2007-2008, we were all about bringing out the acidity from the coffee and picking certain varieties. We did a lot of work with Africa, Ethiopia in particular. But at some point, we started using more precise terms like Ethiopia Irgacheffe. Since 2010 a lot of people started to go to the plantations and started to realize that Irgacheff is a big region with its own micro-regions, each of which has its own interesting coffee.
Specialty coffees are coffees that not only have certain points according to the documents but also have positive taste and aromatic properties. If a coffee that scores 80 or higher on the documents is made with poor quality equipment or the barista did not adjust the grind, and this coffee is not freshly ground or freshly roasted, then this coffee will not be a specialty coffee for me.
So, a specialty coffee is a beverage that we have prepared from a high-potential bean on professional equipment by a professional barista or someone knowledgeable.
Leave a Reply