SPECIALTY COFFEE 101

What does specialty coffee even mean, anyways?

Does specialty coffee just mean expensive or nice?

In the coffee industry, there are actually much more scrupulous guidelines when it comes to what you can and can’t say about your coffee. There are industry-wide coffee standards set forth. These standards and terms give the producers and importers a common language of quality when it comes to importing/exporting and discussing their product. These terms can also inform the consumer about their coffee purchases.

So let’s get down to what specialty coffee is, and what sets it apart from the rest!

When it comes to coffee, there are “grades”. Coffee is graded by professionals who study and work very hard in order to be able to evaluate coffees and determine their quality level. This grading actually begins with the green coffee, where it is evaluated for potential defects and to ensure consistent sizing, and is given a grade from 1-10, with 1 being the best quality.

After the green coffee is graded, it’s then roasted and graded a secondary time during a coffee cupping. Coffees receive a grade between 0-100 during this process by a certified Q Grader. Both of the scores during these two grading processes determine a coffee’s quality.

Specialty coffee receives a Grade 1 during green grading process, and a score of 80 or above during the cupping process.

These are incredibly difficult standards to reach. Specialty coffee requires the producers/farmers to give their coffee much more time and care than commodity coffee. For that reason, it drives the price up, and we ensure that we pay a premium price for our specialty coffee, as it values the hard work of the producer and enables them to keep producing such high quality coffees.

Specialty coffee has the highest possible standards of quality, and also values the work of the producers. When you purchase coffee from Otto Coffee Club, you can rest assured that your coffee is of the highest quality and directly benefits the coffee producers!