The Definition of Specialty
Coffee
by Don Holly, Administrative
Director, SCAA
My understanding of the origin
of the term "specialty coffee"
is that it was first coined by
Erna Knutsen, of Knutsen Coffee
Ltd., in a speech to the
delegates of an international
coffee conference in Montreuil,
France, in 1978. In essence, the
concept was quite simple:
special geographic microclimates
produce beans with unique flavor
profiles, which she referred to
as "specialty coffees."
Underlying this idea of coffee
appellations, was the
fundamental premise that
specialty coffee beans would
always be well prepared, freshly
roasted, and properly brewed.
This was the craft of the
specialty coffee industry that
had been slowly evolving during
the twenty-year period preceding
her speech. The Specialty Coffee
Association of America (SCAA)
continues to define specialty in
this context. Our job is to
continue to promote this
definition through the actions
of our membership.
The definition of specialty
coffee should begin at the
origin of coffee, the planting
of a particular varietal into a
particular growing region of the
world. Some varieties of Arabica
are clearly capable of producing
specialty coffee. There are
others that probably never will.
The traditional cultivars of
typica and bourbon, and the more
recent variety of catuai, and
other closely related varieties,
are the most obvious producers
of specialty coffees. Strains
with robusta in their heritage
always seem to fall far short in
flavor profile. But the
definition cannot stop there. A
poorly grown, harvested or
processed typica or bourbon can
still be awful in the cup. The
concept of specialty must
include the care given to the
plant through harvest and
preparation for export.
Likewise, there are regions that
have proven their ability to
grow great coffees due to
altitude, latitude, soil and
other attributes. Other regions
have not demonstrated such
ability.
The Green Coffee Classification
Chart produced by SCAA Executive
Director, Ted Lingle, years ago
clearly defines specialty coffee
in the green bean phase: a
coffee that has no defects and
has a distinctive character in
the cup. The grade just below
specialty, labeled as "premium,"
helps to clarify the issue even
further. The premium grade also
has no primary defects, but does
not necessarily evidence
distinctive character. This
clarification, more than any
other, helps start the
definition for specialty on the
right note. It is not only that
the coffee doesn't taste bad; to
be considered specialty it must
be notably good.
The next phase is roasting, and
here is where there is a lot of
opportunity in our industry to
continually define specialty.
The SCAA Roast Color
Classification System developed
with noted industry scientist
Carl Staub gave us a valuable
measure for controlling roast
development. Still, every coffee
in combination with every
roaster has a potential to
express itself in a way that
will be most satisfying for
every customer. Bringing out a
coffee's distinctive character
is the roastmaster's challenge
and if they come close to
succeeding then it is still
specialty if it started out in
the green form as specialty. A
roaster cannot take a coffee
beyond the potential it
contained when it came off the
tree and was processed; but they
can certainly fail to bring it
close.
In roasted coffee, most agree
freshness is part of the
definition for specialty. The
consensus breaks down in
attempting to develop guidelines
for freshness. At SCAA, we are
concerned that there are no
established technical standards
for evaluating this facet of
coffee quality. While our Retail
Roaster members focus on the
issue of time-maintaining a 3 to
7 day window is optimum for best
results-many of our Wholesale
Roaster members contend that
today's packaging technology
greatly expands this period of
time into weeks or even months.
Beyond the issue of "who is
right" in this debate lies the
more compelling question of "how
do we decide." In order to find
consensus on the first question,
we have to reach agreement on
the second. It is true that good
coffee, well-roasted, and
packaged in conditions that
prevent oxidation, will brew up
a flavorful cup of coffee. The
scientific question is whether
the packaging can retain the
aromatic properties of the
coffee that helped make it
"special". My experience as a
Retail Roaster suggests that
"while the tongue may tell, only
the nose knows for certain."
Therefore, if the coffee is not
highly aromatic then it no
longer deserves to be called
"specialty." The important job
for SCAA is to quantify this
aspect of quality into a good
technical standard. This won't
be an easy task.
Then there is the brewing phase.
There are many ways in which you
can extract the most flavorful
soluble materials of roasted
coffee into water, and they are
best-organized into methods of
how the water moves. Steeping
methods like the French Press
give a different flavor of
beverage than drip methods or
espresso, even when you use the
same coffee. All are capable of
brewing beverages that can
qualify as specialty coffee, but
only if done correctly. The
right recipe of coffee to water,
the right grind suited to the
method and the coffee's physical
characteristics, the proper
water temperature and contact
time, a good preparation of the
coffee "bed" or "cake" are all
fundamentals that must be
satisfied to produce a specialty
cup of coffee. For example, I
believe that it takes at least
100 hours, or the preparation of
at least 1,000 shots of
espresso, under demanding
tutelage, before anyone should
consider themselves anything
more than a trainee-barista. It
takes several hours of trial and
testing before any combination
of brewer and grinder is fit to
brew a Golden Cup.
Unfortunately, many coffee
companies do not allocate enough
investment in training and
quality control to meet the
standards for brewing specialty
coffee.
There are some great stories and
marvelous promotions out there
in our industry from people
claiming that they have the
"best" coffee, and that they
work hard to produce specialty
coffee. It does take a lot of
work to produce specialty, and
it is not always tangibly clear
(especially to the managing
accountants and financial
investors) that the customers
can tell the difference. There
is sometimes a tendency to rely
more upon telling a good story
and creating a good promotion
than putting out all of the
effort that is required to offer
specialty coffee consistently.
But, it is my opinion that those
who will succeed in the long
term, building a loyal clientele
and generating a healthy and
sustainable return on investment
for their company, are going to
be the ones who are spending
more attention and resources on
training and quality control
than they are on marketing.
Check the financial statements.
If expenditures on advertising
and marketing are greater than
on training and quality control,
what is being sold? I would
suggest that it is probably not
specialty coffee.
Specialty coffee is, in the end,
defined in the cup. It takes
many steps to deliver that cup
into the customers' hands. Each
of those steps can uphold the
classification of specialty if
quality has been maintained
throughout all the preceding
steps. Given all of the effort
that it takes to produce
specialty coffee, and given how
pleasurable such a cup can be,
we should all jealously guard
our definition for it, protect
its meaning and credibility, and
only use the word specialty when
it is worth it.
This Article May be Reprinted in
Part or in Whole with
Attribution to Author and the
Specialty Coffee Association of
America