Hand-brewed freshly ground coffee is not the same as specialty coffee

Many coffee shops now offer the concept of freshly ground specialty coffee. Compared with coffee brewed from coffee powder, freshly ground specialty coffee does have a stronger aroma and a mellower taste. However, is freshly ground hand-brewed coffee the real specialty coffee?

Not necessarily! The taste and aroma of coffee are certainly important factors in considering specialty coffee, but in addition, there are many other conditions that specialty coffee should meet, and it is definitely not something that can be judged by just one sip of coffee.

The so-called boutique coffee refers not only to the quality of the coffee itself, but also includes the healthy and sustainable development of the entire industry chain.

Good green beans + good roasting + good extraction

The so-called specialty coffee is actually relative to ordinary coffee. The concept of specialty coffee was first proposed by Ms. Knudsen in the magazine "Coffee and Tea Monthly" in the United States. Ms. Knudsen was a buyer for a coffee company in San Francisco at the time. At that time, the coffee industry had very loose control over the quality of raw coffee beans. Many coffee merchants would mix a large amount of Robusta beans with mixed beans to obtain greater profits, resulting in generally low coffee quality. For this reason, Ms. Knudsen proposed the concept of specialty coffee, aiming to improve the coffee quality of the entire industry.

Knudsen believes that different coffee producing areas have different soils and waters, which will present a unique "regional flavor". That is, different soils, varieties, climates, and soils and waters create different coffee flavors, which is the soul of boutique coffee. If the unique regional flavor is missing, it can only be regarded as ordinary coffee.

If we must define specialty coffee, then the definition of specialty coffee by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA, now merged with the European Specialty Coffee Association SCAE to form SCA) is quite pertinent: carefully select the most suitable varieties, planted at the altitude, climate and soil environment that are most conducive to the development of coffee flavor. Carefully wash and sun-dry, select the most flawless and high-grade raw beans, and deliver them to customers without any defects during the transportation process. With the superb skills of the roaster, the richest regional flavor is brought out, and then the delicious coffee is brewed using the recognized extraction method.

In short, specialty coffee should be high-quality coffee with "good green beans + good roasting + good extraction". This can also be summarized by the "4321" theory.

A win-win approach to sustainable development

In fact, there is a slight difference between specialty coffee and ordinary coffee, which many people do not understand.

Looking back at history, we will find that the previous coffee industry mainly relied on exploiting coffee farmers to obtain high profits, and then blended inferior coffee with other coffees (also a profit-seeking practice) to achieve taste requirements.

Specialty coffee advocates that all participants in the coffee industry chain can obtain legitimate benefits, rather than exploitation. This business philosophy allows the coffee industry to develop healthily and encourages each link to find ways to continuously improve quality. This approach actually allows participants in each link to obtain greater benefits and is also a way of sustainable development.

Criteria for judging specialty coffee

At present, there is no clear international standard for judging specialty coffee. We can refer to the standards of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the evaluation standards of producing countries. The details are as follows:

Specialty Coffee Association of America Standards

1. Rich dry aroma. Dry aroma refers to the aroma of coffee after roasting or grinding.

2. It has a rich wet aroma. Wet aroma refers to the aroma of coffee extract.

3. Rich in acidity. The combination of rich acidity and sugar can increase the sweetness of the coffee liquid.

4. Rich body. Body refers to the concentration and thickness of the coffee liquid.

5. Have a rich aftertaste. Aftertaste is the evaluation of the flavor after drinking or spitting out.

6. Rich flavor. The flavor refers to the aroma and taste of the coffee liquid felt on the upper palate of the mouth.

7. Taste balance. Refers to the balance and combination of various flavors of coffee.

Producing country evaluation criteria

1. Variety. The Arabica variety Typica or Bourbon is preferred.

2. Whether the altitude, topography, climate and soil of the planting site or farm are clear. Generally speaking, coffee grown at high altitudes is of higher quality, and fertile volcanic soil is preferred.

3. The harvesting and refining methods used. Generally speaking, manual harvesting and water-washing refining are preferred.

4. The coffee has been identified by a coffee quality appraiser (Q-Grader) with a cupping score of 80 or above.

So, next time someone says that hand-brewed freshly ground coffee = specialty coffee, you can forward this article to them. Maybe he brewed a commercial bean with a rough flavor; or a "dead specialty bean" that has been roasted for more than half a year, and the original good flavor has gone; or maybe he brewed a handful of "defective beans" to tease you 🙂