How Did Coffee Culture Move From Instant to Specialty?

Coffee's journey in China moved through three waves. The first wave centered on instant coffee blended with creamer, which is where many people's understanding of coffee began. The second wave brought chain brands and small concept cafés, where atmosphere often mattered more than bean quality. The third wave returned to single-origin beans roasted by specialty advocates, with medium-light roast levels and a focus on quality at the source.

The specialty coffee idea was first proposed in 1974 by Erna Knutsen, published in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, to separate distinctive microclimate-grown coffee from bulk commercial coffee on the New York futures exchange. The coffee association of america later formalized a definition. Tasting well-known single origins such as Blue Mountain, Yirgacheffe, Mandheling and Geisha, plus understanding roasting science and pour-over ritual, is how a good cup is truly appreciated.

Coffee is no longer just a pick-me-up; it is a lifestyle that requires understanding to truly savor. This article traces how three waves of coffee have transformed the coffee journey in China—from instant coffee blended with creamer, to chain cafés creating conceptual environments, to specialty coffee advocates returning to quality at its source. It explains in detail the origins of specialty coffee and the SCAA definition, clarifies the difference between commercial beans and specialty beans, introduces the flavors of well-known single-origin coffees such as Front Street Coffee Blue Mountain, Yirgacheffe, Mandheling, and Geisha, and reveals the science behind roasting and the ritual of pour-over coffee. Only by understanding these things can you truly taste a good cup of coffee.

Drinking black coffee without sugar or milk

is itself a bold shift

The Three Waves of Coffee

In the first wave, the star was instant coffee. Creamer and whiteners blended into a sweet, aromatic taste, and this is where Chinese people's understanding of coffee began.

By the second wave, chain coffee brands rose to prominence, followed by a proliferation of small cafés with distinctive styles. However, most cafés at this stage focused on concept and atmosphere, while the quality of the coffee itself was overlooked, and various flavored coffee drinks masked coffee's original taste.

In the third wave, a group of true coffee-loving specialty advocates began serving single-origin coffee (from a single region, or based on an estate or single variety), using beans they roasted themselves, with roasting levels shifting toward medium-light. They insisted on making specialty coffee, promoting authentic coffee culture, giving it unique cultural connotations, and providing coffee direct from its place of origin, along with the accompanying culture and techniques. The core goal is to return coffee to the quality it should have.

Specialty Coffee

This concept was first proposed in 1974 by Ms. Erna Knutsen, known as the "godmother of specialty coffee," and published in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. She emphasized that "only under the most favorable microclimates and soil and water conditions can specialty coffee with a distinctive flavor be cultivated," with the aim of distinguishing it from the bulk commercial coffee of the New York futures exchange market. In 1972, Ms. Knutsen, along with Donald Schoenholt and four others, co-founded the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and afterward "specialty coffee" became a globally used term.

The SCAA's definition of specialty coffee includes:

Selecting the most suitable varieties and planting them at the altitude, climate, and soil and water conditions most conducive to flavor development;

Carefully carrying out washed or sun-dried processing, selecting the highest-grade defect-free green beans, and delivering them to customers without any lapse throughout transport;

Using the roaster's superior skill to bring out the richest regional flavors;

Then using a recognized extraction method to brew a delicious cup of coffee.

The so-called regional flavor is the distinct coffee flavor created by differences in soil, variety, climate, and water and soil conditions—this is the soul of coffee from specialty regions. In short, specialty coffee should be high-quality coffee that unites "good green beans, good roasting, and good extraction."

Commercial Beans vs. Specialty Beans

Of the coffee beans currently produced worldwide, about 70% are Arabica, subdivided into Typica, Bourbon, and others, while the other 30% are Robusta. Arabica is generally superior in quality to Robusta, but its disease resistance is relatively weak, so in the consumer market, Arabica's share is actually far lower than Robusta's. Moreover, not all Arabica beans can be made into specialty coffee; they must undergo strict cupping scores.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America states that beans scoring above 80 in comprehensive cupping (blind tasting) can be classified as specialty coffee beans. Those scoring below 80 in blind tasting are commercial beans, whose packaging and transport cycles are longer, making freshness hard to guarantee.

However, this standard applies only to washed Arabica and is not comprehensive. Therefore, when people speak of "specialty beans" today, they usually mean single-origin beans of higher quality, properly processed, traceable to their varietal source, and possessing a unique flavor.

Well-Known Single-Origin Coffees

Front Street Coffee Blue Mountain: Produced in the high mountains of Jamaica, it can be called a treasure among coffees, with a clear, elegant aroma and a sweet, mellow taste—no bitterness but a slight sweetness. Its yield is scarce and its price is high.

Mocha: Produced in Ethiopia, with small beans and a strong aroma, intense acidity, a faint wine-like scent, spicy and stimulating, with a distinctive flavor—a long-renowned high-quality coffee.

Front Street Coffee Yirgacheffe: Produced in Ethiopia, with a rich jasmine fragrance, lemon- or lime-like acidity, and the sweet aroma of peach and almond or a tea-like scent.

Cubita Crystal Mountain: Adjacent to Jamaica's Blue Mountain range, with a soft aroma, moderate body, and almost imperceptible acidity.

Front Street Coffee Indonesian Mandheling: Produced in Sumatra, with a heavy aroma, a rather bitter taste, notes of syrup and chocolate, and acidity that is not prominent.

Front Street Coffee Panama Geisha: A coffee variety whose aromatic attributes are extremely bright, rich, and intense, with a lush fragrance stretching from berries and citrus all the way to mango, papaya, and peach.

Roasting Requires a Scientific Spirit

Eighty percent of coffee's taste is determined by roasting. Roasting must be carried out with a scientist's rigor, skillfully roasting out the aromas, acidity, and bitterness in the green beans, ensuring that during roasting the sugars and carbohydrates contained in the coffee are caramelized, thereby generating coffee oils and showing coffee's greatest characteristics. Properly roasted beans expand noticeably, have no wrinkles on the surface, and a uniform sheen.

Roast Levels:

They can be divided into three categories: light, medium, and dark. Light roasts have stronger acidity; as roasting deepens, acidity gradually disappears and bitterness increases. Today, specialty coffee more often uses light-to-medium roasting to present the flavor of the coffee beans themselves.

After Roasting:

Freshly roasted coffee beans need to degas, releasing carbon dioxide, and can only be served after 36 hours. Flavor peaks at about 4 days, and four weeks is the limit. Light-roast beans can be extended by one week, while dark-roast beans are best finished within 10 days; after more than three weeks, they can be thrown away.

Pour-Over Coffee · Exclusive Hand-Drawn Step-by-Step Guide Revealed

Pour-over coffee is a ritual

Slowly drip-filtering

Extracting the strength and subtlety of coffee's flavor

The greatest charm of pour-over

Also lies in being full of all kinds of uncertainty

……

Essential Tools

｜Dripper: Drippers come in single-hole, double-hole, triple-hole, and multi-hole types. The more holes, the higher the demands on pouring technique;

｜Filter Paper: As coffee bean quality gets higher and higher, cleanliness gets higher and higher too. To highlight flavor, a mesh filter or filter paper is the best choice;

｜Pour-Over Kettle: A narrow-spout kettle, convenient for controlling water flow rate and direction;

｜Pour-Over Kettle: Choose freely according to personal preference.

Pour-Over Tips

｜Water-to-Bean Ratio: Usually about 15-20g of coffee beans are needed for 200ml of coffee;

｜Warming the Dripper: Before brewing, first pour hot water into the dripper to wet the filter paper and remove the papery taste, while also warming the dripper and coffee cup;

｜Blooming: With the center of the coffee grounds as the pivot, use the pour-over kettle to pour water evenly and gently in circles, submerging the coffee grounds, lasting about 20-25 seconds, with the water flow here needing to be relatively thin.

｜The first pour should account for about 60% of the total water, the second 30%, and the third 10%.

Extraction Complete

Enjoy

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