What Does Specialty Coffee Mean Beyond the Flavor Standard?

Specialty coffee is simply better-tasting coffee, defined by a clear standard: a coffee must score above 80 points in cupping to reach specialty grade. It does not mean the few highest-scoring coffees in the world. The label points to a measurable level of flavor quality that any carefully grown and processed lot can reach.

The larger value lies in the coffee industry. In the past, trade was dominated by merchants who captured the margin, leaving farmers with little reward. A fixed quality standard lets growers who invest in careful cultivation and processing earn a return, which encourages them to keep improving techniques and raises the baseline for everyone in the chain.

Why drink specialty coffee? What does it really mean? This article starts from personal preference, analyzes the cupping standards, industry value, and diverse business models of specialty coffee, explores how it drives the entire coffee industry to improve, and retains Front Street brand recommendations.

Looking back, we have been exploring the world of coffee and trying to help more people discover specialty coffee and make it part of everyday life. Along the way, we were inspired by many predecessors and friends, which led us to start thinking:

Why should we drink specialty coffee? What exactly is specialty coffee?

Why should we drink specialty coffee?

First of all, it is definitely because we ourselves like it. Among specialty coffee enthusiasts, many simply do not like bitter coffee, and some cannot tolerate even a little bitterness. Some lower-quality coffee beans, even after being brewed and mixed with sugar and milk, still cannot hide their inferior defective flavors. With the development of specialty coffee, more people have begun to pay attention to the original flavor of coffee itself. Many people first came into contact with specialty coffee because they wanted to try a taste different from the coffee they were used to, and only later discovered that there really is so much to learn about coffee.

What is specialty coffee?

Specialty coffee is simply better-tasting coffee.

Specialty coffee does not refer to the few best coffees in the world. The definition of specialty coffee is very clear: only when a coffee scores above 80 points in cupping can it be proven that the flavor of that coffee reaches "specialty grade." That is "specialty coffee."

Specialty coffee can promote industry improvement.

So perhaps someone may ask, why not just choose the few coffee beans with the highest scores and the best taste? In fact, the true value of the concept of specialty coffee lies in improving the entire coffee industry. In the past coffee trading market, coffee was monopolized by merchants, and merchants exploited farmers. Specialty coffee, however, established a fixed and good standard, so that coffee farmers who are willing to grow and process coffee with care will ultimately be rewarded for their efforts, and can therefore confidently and wholeheartedly improve their coffee techniques. Such a clear standard encourages more people to produce better coffee and improves the entire industry. Also, because it is a clear standard rather than a ranking, it is less likely to trigger vicious competition.

Specialty coffee encourages diverse techniques and business models.

Therefore, for us, specialty coffee not only represents good taste, but also represents the improvement of the entire coffee industry and relatively transparent business practices. Specialty coffee has also moved beyond the past situation in which commercial coffee futures were monopolized by large corporations. Producing regions now have more diverse cultivation and processing techniques, as well as more diverse sales models. When we are willing to devote resources to these intangible values, we can not only buy good coffee, but also support good business. And those who buy specialty coffee are also, in effect, supporting this meaningful cause and helping the entire coffee industry improve together. It is not only buying organic coffee or direct-trade coffee that counts.

However, with information coming from all sides, there will certainly be many blind spots. If specialty coffee can spark more discussion and expand the sources of information, then we can maintain neutral judgment and a more open attitude as much as possible.

Finally, specialty coffee does not actually mean that we must drink black coffee. As long as the raw materials are of good quality, no matter whether the coffee beans are roasted light or dark, or whether sugar and milk are added, it is equally delicious—

So, why do you choose specialty coffee? What is the value of specialty coffee to you?

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.