You may have encountered the term "specialty coffee" before, most often on menus and bags of beans but what do we really understand it to mean? Is it a hype, or something definitive? In short: the latter and when you find out what you've been drinking, you'll never view it in the same way again.
Specialty coffee is described by the SCA as being of a quality that meets a score of 80 and over when a panel of trained tasters, known as Q Graders, score coffee on a 100 point scale. The tasters evaluate coffee on aroma taste aftertaste acidity body and balance.
Only 3% of the coffee grown globally is graded as of a specialty quality. How Does it Compare to Your Regular Coffee?
Commercial (supermarket) coffee is generally put together from lower quality, higher yield beans that are often roasted very dark to hide flaws, and stored on shelves for months. Specialty coffee can be tracked back to a single farm, region or co-op, has been harvested when mature, finished properly and roasted in such a way as to embrace its natural flavours and sold to you in a fresh form.
Why does it taste better? Because all process is designed around taste (not cost). Farmers get paid much better for their speciality coffee, which allows them to focus on quality. The result can be a truly complex coffee with authentic taste notes of fruit chocolate caramel or floral which can all be enjoyed without adding anything.
Getting Started For those unfamiliar with the world of specialty coffee, go for a medium roast from a friendly source like Peru or Guatemala. Medium roasts tend to be well-rounded and soft, providing a mild first step into the world of specialty. Later on, try the exotic depths of a natural Ethiopian. All of the beans we sell are the best available; available on the market; when you buy from Global Coffee Haven, you are buying all of the good stuff.