The concept of specialty coffee was first proposed by Ms. Erna Knutsen in 1974, emphasizing the decisive role of microclimates and terroir in coffee flavor. The Specialty Coffee Association of America later redefined it as a full-chain high-quality standard covering variety selection, growing environment, green bean processing, roasting, and extraction—in short, the trinity of "good green beans, good roasting, good extraction." Meanwhile, the coffee industry has gone through three waves: the first wave, represented by instant coffees such as Nescafé and Maxwell House, introduced Chinese consumers to coffee but also entrenched the stereotype that "coffee is bitter"; the second wave, driven by Italian-style coffee brands such as Starbucks and Costa, built the "third place" for socializing and identity; the third wave is a revolution returning to quality, whose advocates insist on providing specialty coffee directly from the place of origin, with strict standards for bean sourcing, roasting, preparation, and even the choice of cups. Front Street Coffee is a representative brand that upholds the specialty philosophy in this wave.
Coffee Waves
Ms. Knutsen was the first to propose the concept of specialty coffee, with emphasis on the relationship between the upstream growing environment and coffee quality. Today, the Specialty Coffee Association of America has redefined the concept of specialty coffee: carefully select the most suitable varieties, plant them at the altitude, climate, and terroir most conducive to the development of coffee flavor. Carefully process by washed and natural methods, select the highest-grade flawless green beans, and deliver them to customers without a single defect in transit. Through the superb craftsmanship of the roaster, bring out the richest regional flavors, and then use recognized extraction methods to brew delicious coffee. According to this definition, the connotation of specialty coffee includes not only the growing environment, the most core factor, but also three most critical processing stages: green bean processing, roasting, and extraction (brewing). In short, specialty coffee should be high-quality coffee that is the trinity of "good green beans, good roasting, good extraction." As a proper term, it was first proposed in 1974 by Ms. Erna Knustsen, known as the "godmother of specialty coffee," in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, highlighting that "only in the most favorable microclimates and terroir can coffee with unique flavor be cultivated," aiming to distinguish it from the bulk commercial coffee of the New York futures exchange market. In 1972, Ms. Knutsen, together with Donald N. Schoenholt and four others, co-founded the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and only then did the term "specialty coffee" become a global term.
The first wave of the coffee boom arose from instant coffee, represented by "Nescafé" and "Maxwell House." "It tastes great" and "Good to the last drop" were almost the opening lines of coffee enlightenment education in mainland China. At that time, Chinese people newly exposed to coffee were resistant to the black coffee popular in European and American markets, so Nescafé launched its 1+2 mixed coffee that eliminated bitterness and demonstrated how to prepare it in advertisements. In the sweet taste blended with creamer, Chinese people's coffee journey began.
But while it drove Chinese people's familiarity with and understanding of the word coffee, it also planted no small hidden danger: in the impression of most Chinese people, coffee was "Nescafé," coffee was "bitter," and coffee should be mixed with "creamer." The second wave of the coffee boom gradually took shape after instant coffee, driven in Europe and America by Italian-style coffee represented by Starbucks and Costa. In China, the first appearance of the second wave was, building on the first wave, a concept-type café that emerged as Chinese people and the Chinese market gradually deepened their understanding of coffee, imitating the coffee shops of the second wave in Europe and America.
At the same time, Starbucks, the representative of the second wave of the coffee boom in Europe and America, also developed and expanded explosively in China. The "third place" Starbucks built globally became the reason people were infatuated with it. "In such a space, people's relationships are free and equal; there is no hierarchical consciousness of the workplace, nor the shackles of various roles in the family, and people can release their true selves." Compared with the small cafés of various forms before, Starbucks constructed a perfect space for socializing and displaying identity. For the first batch of senior white-collar workers who patronized Starbucks, Starbucks became a kind of "standard issue" for identity: high income, good taste, and international alignment. The third wave of the coffee boom can be called a revolution. Precisely because the market is now flooded with a large number of products that fail to restore coffee's own quality, confusing the public's correct understanding of coffee, a group of advocates truly passionate about coffee and specialty coffee emerged. They insist on providing specialty coffee, spreading authentic coffee culture, with a distinctive cultural meaning, offering coffee directly from the place of origin and its own culture and techniques, so they are relatively able to attract people who truly love coffee.
This kind of café has strict standards in everything from green bean sourcing, coffee bean roasting, and coffee preparation to even the selection of coffee cups, with the aim of returning coffee to its true quality. The heads of such cafés are often people who have a deep attachment to and understanding of specialty coffee and possess technical knowledge including coffee bean roasting, coffee cupping, and coffee preparation. It should be noted here that cupping coffee requires artistic sensibility, but making coffee requires rigorous scientific methods, including the shelf life of coffee beans, the water temperature for brewing coffee, the pouring method and timing, and so on, often accurate to 1 degree Celsius and several seconds.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
