Specialty coffee is, today, one of the most used and often misunderstood terms in the coffee world. It appears on menus, packaging, and social media, but it doesn't always correspond to the reality of what's in the cup.

Specialty coffee is a set of practices involving product, ethics, knowledge, and service. In other words, it's about measurable quality, but also about respect: for the coffee, for those who produce it, and for those who drink it.

The role of the SCA - Specialty Coffee Association

According to Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) A specialty coffee is one that scores 80 or more points in a sensory evaluation conducted by certified tasters.Q Graders).

But this score is just the starting point. A coffee can have quality at the origin and lose it along the way if the roast, service, or equipment maintenance are not up to par. Specialty coffee doesn't just live on the score, but rather on consistency throughout the entire chain.

Traceability: knowing where it comes from (and why)

Traceability is one of the pillars of specialty coffee. This means being able to clearly and transparently identify:

• The country and region of origin
• the producer or the farm (it's not always possible)
• the specific lot
• the variety
• the fermentation process

This is not just a detail to impress the consumer, but essential information to guarantee quality, consistency, and responsibility.

When we know who produced the coffee and how it was processed, we can:

• pay fair prices to the producer
• value sustainable agricultural practices
• avoid vague speeches and greenwashing

Traceability is transparency and the creation of a relationship with the producer and, in turn, with the product. It is increasingly an ethical choice.

And the roasting?

Roasting is the moment when coffee develops its flavors, and the roaster is the interpreter. Their role is not to “impose” a flavor, but to reveal what that coffee has best.

In a very simple way:

• Very dark roasts tend to homogenize flavors, mask nuances, and often serve to hide defects and ensure a uniform flavor from a particular batch for years. It will always have a more burnt, bitter profile, and sometimes even smoky and tar-like notes.
• Medium and light roasts allow one to perceive origin, variety, acidity, sweetness, and complexity. The lighter the roast, the more acidity will be noticed.

This does not mean there is one single right roast or that a coffee must be very lightly roasted to be considered specialty. The roast should respect the coffee and also the consumer's preferences.

So what is specialty coffee?

Specialty coffee isn't just about the quality of the bean, but rather a combination of technical and sensory points, both in the coffee bean itself and in how it reaches the consumer – whether served in a coffee shop or in a bag.

From a technical point of view, we speak of:

• absence of defects
• consistency
• good extraction
• freshness, with a clear and recent roast date

From a sensory point of view, we seek:

• balance
• Clarity of flavors
• natural sweetness
• A pleasant and memorable experience

Old coffee, with no roast date or pre-ground, hardly delivers quality, even if it started as an excellent lot at origin.

Equipment

Although the price of coffee equipment, as a general rule, translates into better quality (whether it's tuning possibilities, extraction customization, consistency, etc.), it is not essential to have high-end equipment to respect coffee and be able to consider that the cup served (whether in a coffee shop or at home) can still be called “specialty.”.

What should we take into account then?

• mills on demand (that is, the coffee is ground at the moment it will be used)
• Clean and calibrated mills
• clean espresso machines
• water quality

Caring for equipment is a way of showing respect for the product and the work of everyone in the upstream supply chain. Great coffee can be ruined by a lack of maintenance and cleaning, and this is not acceptable in a specialty context.

Customer experience

For Tasteology, a coffee shop can only be considered specialty when it has specialty service. Even if the coffee used scores 80+, the roast respects the coffee, and the equipment is well-maintained,

This implies, beyond coffee:

• baristas with training and the ability to work with coffee
• All employees who have contact with customers can explain the coffees being served.
• Tableware that allows for the quality tasting of coffee
• consistency in extraction
• Watch out for the equipment
• customer service and hospitality

The relationship and respect for the product and even the producer cannot end at the roasting stage – it must go all the way to the consumer. A wonderful coffee served without being properly presented to the consumer is not respecting the entire chain nor allowing it to be consumed with the due quality.

It is from this vision – informed, demanding, and passionate – that we work every day at Tasteology: connecting producers, roasters, baristas, and consumers, always with the goal of presenting the best coffee, the best experience, and greater awareness.

Specialty coffee isn't marketing, it's commitment.