If you like fresh coffee and wish to discover the range of flavours that can be found by
exploring the coffee beans supplied from small producers in distinct
geographical locations then speciality coffee could be for you.
Speciality coffee beans are generally only available in
small batches as they are a single harvest of a particular varietal of coffee
beans from a distinct geographical location. So quite literally with regards to
speciality coffee when its gone its gone (unless the next coffee harvest is as
good).
Specialty coffee is the US
English version and Speciality coffee is the UK English usage. You will see
either used interchangeably by coffee, food and beverage writers and bloggers.
The term
Speciality coffee refers to the whole process of coffee bean
production from farmer and the farm through the handling of the coffee cherries
and their preparation prior to shipping through to final roasting and how the
coffee is extracted from the final roasted coffee beans.
The term
Specialty coffee was apparently first used by "Erna Knutsen in a 1974 issue of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal"
.
Having judged the beans that provided the best flavour, she used the term for
the coffees which were produced in distinct geographical locations.
According to
the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), coffee beans that achieve a
quality or "Q" score of 80 or above on a 100-point scale are graded
"specialty".
Speciality coffee
is then further categorised as one of three grades. A coffee bean scoring
between 80 and 84.99 is deemed Very Good. Then a coffee bean scoring 85 to
89.99 is deemed Excellent and finally a coffee bean scoring over 95 to 100 is deemed Outstanding.
Using the
Coffee Quality Institute's tasting or "cupping" form the fresh coffee
is brewed, tasted and then assessed on ten quality scores before some of the
scores are combined into the final seven. The final seven scores are then
transferred onto a matrix or web plan to give an overall picture of the
qualities of the speciality coffee.
The
qualities of the freshly prepared speciality coffees are assessed on Fragrance
(of the dry coffee just after the coffee beans have been freshly ground), Aroma
(of the brewed freshly coffee beans after hot water has been added), Flavour
(flavor), Acidity, Body, Uniformity, Aftertaste, Clean cup, Overall, Balance
and Sweetness. The coffee taster takes notes of the underlying flavours that
are present during the assessment. These underlying flavours are later referred
to as "tasting notes" and give an indication of the delicate flavours
that underpin the particular speciality coffee beans. The taster also records
the level of coffee roast and recommended brewing methods.
Whilst we as
the finished coffee consumer and dare I say coffee connoisseur are able to
experience the range of coffees available from speciality coffee producers. The
coffee producers themselves have strong socio-economic and environmental
reasons to submit their coffee harvests to the rigour of speciality coffee
assessment.
Although the
process to speciality coffee certification is more arduous it is worth it for
the smaller scale coffee producer because if their coffee beans make the
speciality grade they can command a premium price for their coffee bean harvest.
Recognising
the financial benefits of supporting coffee bean growers who operate in some of
the worlds poorest economies has attracted the attention of global
philanthropists including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As the coffee
experience expands worldwide more speciality coffees will come through and
enhance our experience of drinking coffee and I for one look forward to the
next batch.
