Re: Specialty Coffee.... What exactly is it....
Great topic Phil!
Per SCAA (because AASCA dont create these types of standards) the grading of "specialty coffee" is:
Specialty Grade Green Coffee
Specialty green coffee beans have no more than 5 full defects in 300 grams of coffee. No primary defects are allowed. A maximum of 5% above or below screen size indicated is tolerated. Specialty coffee must possess at least one distinctive attribute in the body, flavor, aroma, or acidity. Must be free of faults and taints. No quakers are permitted. Moisture content is between 9-13%.
And while thats a good starting point for the grading its far from perfect.
For example, the secondary defect of "Insect Damage" being 2-5 beans in a 300g sample is crazy for an organic coffee. Less than 5 secondary defects would if it has 25 insect damaged beans in 300g its no longer specialty grade. Often I joke that "organic" translates to "full of worm holes". Does that stop it from being a specialty coffee? I dont think so.
Another example of the SCAA grading problem is that a 300 gram sample of coffee could contain all of this muck:
1 Large Stone, 1 Medium Stone, 1 Large Stick, 4 Medium Sticks, 1 Parchment, 1 Hull/Husk, 4 Broken/Chipped, 1 Insect Damage, 1 Partial Black, 1 Partial Sour, 4 Floaters, 4 Shells, 1 Water Damage
...and still pass specialty coffee grade even though it looked like floor sweepings.
Is Jamaican Blue Mountain Specialty coffee? For sure.
Is the Yemen Bani Ismail Specialty coffee? Not according to the above but I think it is.
Can a roaster produce specialty coffee from something that does not meet the specialty coffee grade? Sure.
I think the term specialty coffee is often tossed around by anyone that can identify the source of their coffee.
I do like some of the replies in this thread that view specialty coffee as a mind-set, a level of care, a desire to get the best from a bean.
Its a little fluffy but maybe that is what true specialty coffee is?
Great topic Phil!
Per SCAA (because AASCA dont create these types of standards) the grading of "specialty coffee" is:
Specialty Grade Green Coffee
Specialty green coffee beans have no more than 5 full defects in 300 grams of coffee. No primary defects are allowed. A maximum of 5% above or below screen size indicated is tolerated. Specialty coffee must possess at least one distinctive attribute in the body, flavor, aroma, or acidity. Must be free of faults and taints. No quakers are permitted. Moisture content is between 9-13%.
| Primary Defect | Num. = equal 1 full defect. |
| Full Black | 1 |
| Full Sour | 1 |
| Pod-Cherry | 1 |
| Large Stones | 2 |
| Medium Stones | 5 |
| Large Sticks | 2 |
| Medium Sticks | 5 |
| Secondary Defect | Num. = equal 1 full defect. |
| Parchment | 2-3 |
| Hull/Husk | 2-3 |
| Broken/Chipped | 5 |
| Insect Damage | 2-5 |
| Partial Black | 2-3 |
| Partial Sour | 2-3 |
| Floater | 5 |
| Shell | 5 |
| Small Stones | 1 |
| Small sticks | 1 |
| Water Damage | 2-5 |
For example, the secondary defect of "Insect Damage" being 2-5 beans in a 300g sample is crazy for an organic coffee. Less than 5 secondary defects would if it has 25 insect damaged beans in 300g its no longer specialty grade. Often I joke that "organic" translates to "full of worm holes". Does that stop it from being a specialty coffee? I dont think so.
Another example of the SCAA grading problem is that a 300 gram sample of coffee could contain all of this muck:
1 Large Stone, 1 Medium Stone, 1 Large Stick, 4 Medium Sticks, 1 Parchment, 1 Hull/Husk, 4 Broken/Chipped, 1 Insect Damage, 1 Partial Black, 1 Partial Sour, 4 Floaters, 4 Shells, 1 Water Damage
...and still pass specialty coffee grade even though it looked like floor sweepings.
Is Jamaican Blue Mountain Specialty coffee? For sure.
Is the Yemen Bani Ismail Specialty coffee? Not according to the above but I think it is.
Can a roaster produce specialty coffee from something that does not meet the specialty coffee grade? Sure.
I think the term specialty coffee is often tossed around by anyone that can identify the source of their coffee.
I do like some of the replies in this thread that view specialty coffee as a mind-set, a level of care, a desire to get the best from a bean.
Its a little fluffy but maybe that is what true specialty coffee is?


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