Specialty
The bean speaks for itself
- Origin
- A specific farm or cooperative
- Quality
- 80 points or more at cupping
- Roast
- Recent, tailored to the bean
- Flavour
- Its own notes: fruit, flowers, chocolate
- Producer
- Often negotiated directly with the producer
Home / Specialty coffee
What is specialty coffee?
Measured quality, traceable origin and a roast that respects the bean. Everything you need to know, explained without jargon.
Definition
specialty coffee
Three keys define it. Pick one and check it for yourself.
1 · Score
1.Coffee that scores 80 points or more out of 100 in the professional cupping of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
In addition, defects take points off: a cup with flaws scores lower. Move the slider and see what each score means.
The classic 100-point scale. The SCA has introduced a new method, the CVA, but this scale is still widely used in the coffee trade.
/100
Very good · already specialty coffee
Clean, sweet and with a recognisable character.
2 · Origin
2.Beans with a traceable origin: the farm, altitude, variety and process are known.
Tap each detail on the label and find out what it tells you. That way you will be able to read any bag.
Example label. It does not correspond to a real lot.
Origin coffee250 g · whole bean
Country and region
Where it was grown. The more specific, the better the traceability.
3 · Roast
3.Coffee roasted to show its own flavour, not to hide it.
Not to be confused with torrefacto: coffee roasted with sugar, very common in Spain, that darkens the bean and masks its flavour.
- Roast
- Without sugar, tailored to each bean.
- Appearance
- Brown and matt.
- Flavour
- Notes of the origin: fruit, flowers, chocolate.
What makes it different
Traceability
You know who grew it, where and how. It is the basis of trust and of a fairer price at origin.
Measured quality
Trained tasters score it with a common protocol. Only from 80 points is it considered specialty.
Freshness
It is roasted in small batches and is best enjoyed in the weeks after roasting.
From farm to cup
Eight stops on a single line. This is how coffee travels before it reaches your table.
- 01
Farm
Coffee grown at altitude, on farms with their own names.
- 02
Harvest
Only ripe cherries are picked, often by hand.
- 03
Process
Washed, honey or natural: the method shapes the flavour.
- 04
Green coffee
The beans travel in sacks and are cupped before buying.
- 05
Roast
A tailored profile for each origin, in small batches.
- 06
Grind
Just before brewing, adjusted to each method.
- 07
Extraction
Recipe, ratio and time: espresso, V60, Chemex or AeroPress.
- 08
Cup
Aroma, acidity, sweetness and body. End of the journey.
Roast your own bean
Move the slider and see how the bean and its flavour change with the roast level.
Green coffee
It smells of grass and grain.
Compare
Specialty, commercial and torrefacto
Three ways to get to your cup. Drag the photo and see the difference in the bean.
Commercial
Produced on a large scale
- Origin
- A blend of origins
- Quality
- No cupping score
- Roast
- Industrial, usually dark
- Flavour
- Usually flat and bitter
- Producer
- Linked to the commodity price
Torrefacto
Sugar masks the bean
- Origin
- A blend of origins
- Quality
- No cupping score
- Roast
- With sugar added at the end
- Flavour
- Bitter and burnt
- Producer
- Linked to the commodity price
Hover over a row to see it in all three coffees at once.
Tell them apart in 10 seconds
- Look at the labelA specific origin and roast date: a sign of specialty.
- Look at the beanBlack and shiny: usually torrefacto.
- Read the packIf the Spanish pack says "torrefacto", or "café de tueste natural (%) y café torrefacto (%)", it contains sugar-roasted coffee. Spanish law requires those words and the percentages for coffee mixed this way. "Mezcla" (mix) is often used for these mixes, but the percentages are what confirm it.
General trends, not specific brands. AI-generated images.
Glossary
The words of coffee, without jargon
10 terms
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OriginOrigin and process
Origin
Country, region and farm where the coffee was grown. The more specific, the better the traceability.
-
Origin and process
Variety
The type of coffee plant. Each variety brings a different profile.
-
WashedOrigin and process
Washed
The pulp is removed before the bean is dried. It gives clean cups and bright acidity.
-
NaturalOrigin and process
Natural
The bean is dried inside the cherry. More body and notes of ripe fruit.
-
HoneyOrigin and process
Honey
The skin is removed but part of the mucilage is left on. Sweetness and balance.
-
RoastRoast and brewing
Roast
Heat that transforms the green bean and develops aroma and flavour. Each origin calls for its own profile.
Try the roast simulator → -
RatioRoast and brewing
Ratio
The relationship between coffee and water. For example, 1:16 means 16 g of water for every gram of coffee.
Work out your ratio → -
ExtractionRoast and brewing
Extraction
How much flavour we take out of the ground coffee. Too little: it tastes sour. Too much: it tastes bitter.
See brewing methods → -
CuppingQuality
Cupping
Professional evaluation of coffee with a fixed protocol to score aroma, flavour, acidity and body.
See the points scale → -
Quality
SCA
Specialty Coffee Association, the association that defines the standards for specialty coffee.
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