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The Specialty Coffee Confusion When you buy specialty coffee, you can be con-
fident that the beans have been grown in ideal
Now is perhaps a good moment to explain what spe-
cialty coffee is and what it isn’t. In the most basic terms, conditions and processed using best practices.
specialty coffee is a type of coffee that has been graded 80
points or higher on a 100-point scale by a professional cof-
fee taster. To give you some perspective, the average coffee
scores around 65 points. So, what’s the big deal with spe-
1.
cialty coffee? Isn’t all coffee made from high-quality beans?
The answer is no. In fact, most of the coffee that is
consumed worldwide is what’s known as commodity coffee.
This type of coffee is mass-produced and typically scores
below 80 points on the quality scale. It is also usually grown
in regions where labor is cheap and environmental regula-
tions are lax. Commodity coffee is typically sold in bulk and
traded on the international commodities market. In contrast,
specialty coffee is produced in smaller batches and often
costs more to grow and produce. The beans are also typical-
ly sourced from specific regions that are known for produc- 2.
ing high-quality coffee. Specialty coffee growers often have
Barista School in to invest more in their farms in order to meet the higher
Bucharest, Romania
standards required by specialty coffee buyers.
With that said, it is important to remember that spe- 3.
cialty coffee is not a guaranteed indicator of quality. Just
because a coffee is specialty grade does not mean that it
will taste good. There are many factors that can affect the
taste of coffee, including the roast level, brewing method, 4.
5.
water quality, and more. However, what specialty coffee
does guarantee is a certain level of quality control. When
you buy specialty coffee, you can be confident that the
beans have been grown in ideal conditions and processed
using best practices.
You might have also seen the phrase “bean to cup”
or “farm to cup” before. This is often used to describe
the journey that specialty coffee takes from the growers
to your cup.
The idea behind “bean to cup” is that the quality of the
coffee can be maintained at each stage of the process, from
7.
growing and harvesting the beans, to roasting and brewing
them. This is in contrast to commodity coffee, which often
6.
takes a more mass-produced approach and is less focused
on quality control.
Silvia Constantin is the co-owner of Romania’s Barista
School and National Coordinator of Romania’s Specialty
Coffee Association (SCA) Chapter. She comments on how
many people still don’t know what specialty coffee is, “I am
always surprised by the lack of knowledge, confusion, and
misunderstandings that surround specialty coffee, thus
decreasing its value. I believe both specialty roasters and
specialty coffee shops need to play their part in educating
consumers,” she says.

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