4 criteria to evaluate Specialty Coffee

Specialty Coffee is a term that has been around for almost 4 decades and contains many elements throughout the coffee supply chain. What are the criteria to evaluate Specialty Coffee?

Nowadays, Specialty Coffee is more popular

What is Specialty Coffee?

Specialty coffee is high quality coffee that is rated 80 points or more on the SCA scale. Taste is the point to distinguish Specialty coffee from others. Specialty Coffee has many layers of flavors: fruity, caramel, and a little sour. This diversity made a masterpiece of Specialty coffee.

4 criteria to evaluate Specialty Coffee

There are 4 basic criteria to evaluate Specialty Coffee. If coffee has 4 criteria, it is Specialty Coffee.

Coffee is grown from a potential farm

The cup of coffee reflects the formation and development of the coffee bean. Soil and climate are one of the most important factors affecting the quality of coffee beans. In the Specialty coffee industry, the term “Single Origin” refers to a type of coffee originating from a certain farm, processed in a separate batch, roasted independently so it is not mixed with other types of coffee. other. Some farms also obtained certificates such as Organic certificate, Forest Farm certificate,…

Good seed source

Different seed sources will create coffees with completely different flavors. Purebred coffee varieties, with little crossbreeding, will often have low yields but produce good quality beans with much better flavor than high yielding varieties. Seeds must have a color from green to blue (with a moisture level of 11-12.5% and the smell must be clean, free from mold, fermentation and other unpleasant odors).

Harvesting process

The coffee must be hand-picked to ensure its optimum ripeness. Human breath exposure is an important factor that distinguishes specialty coffee from other mass-produced coffees.

Potential farm is important

Standard roasting process

Specialty coffee roasters don’t just cook and burn coffee. To be able to roast Specialty, they need an in-depth knowledge of heat transfer physics, food chemistry technology and precise taste skills. In addition, they also have to apply modern technology and physical and chemical theories to coffee roasting batches to ensure the highest quality coffee batches.

Aroma

The taste of Specialty coffee is very different from regular coffee. Through Cupping, experts will rely on the following criteria to assess whether this is a Specialty standard coffee:

– Fragrance: before tasting, experts will conduct a scent assessment by smelling. During the cupping process, the judges score the aroma part through both aspects that are “Dry aroma” (scent of dry coffee) and “Wet aroma” wet aroma when the coffee is boiled with boiling water and ” suck” in the mouth.

– Flavors: There are up to 800 different flavor groups of Specialty coffee. These flavors come from: 

+ From the coffee farm, the soil and weather of the place…

+ From the hard work of the farmers when they have to pick each ripe eggplant, filter out the green ones, and the bad quality fruit is mixed in.

+ From the stage of preliminarily processing coffee, meticulous

+ From the art of the coffee roaster, applying the knowledge of physics, chemistry, and new technology to push the typical flavors of coffee out.

+ From Barista, the creator of unique and suitable ways to make the coffee taste shine.

Potential farm is important

– Aftertaste: not only the taste but also the flavor left in the taste buds after swallowing coffee. The aftertaste of the original coffee will be the sweet taste from the growing area
Acidity: is one of the factors to evaluate specialty coffee. The taste in Specialty coffee is slightly sour, subtle, not causing the unpleasant and harsh feeling like regular coffee.

– Thickness: Different from flavor and aroma, thickness is perceived by touch. Roast level and extraction method will affect the perception of thickness.

– The balance: it is coffee with sour, sweet, salty, and bitter flavors that blend and support each other to satisfy the palate.

– Taste cleanliness: a cup of coffee is considered clean when there are no strange odors or tastes (flavors not found in coffee – according to SCA).

– Sweetness: The natural sweetness in coffee is a characteristic usually found only in high-quality coffees. However, most of the sugar in the coffee bean disappears during the roasting process. We perceive sweetness thanks to aroma compounds
The CEO of Specialty Coffee Association – Mr. Ric Rhinehart commented that: “A coffee that meets all quality standards and adds value to the lives and livelihoods of all participants in the supply chain is truly a Specialty Coffee.”

Specialty coffee flavor not only brings the adventurous journey of the taste buds, but also tells the long story. Good coffee is coffee with aroma and sweetness, the perfect balance between sweetness and acidity. It is coffee with pristine characteristics from the growing area.

At 43 Factory Coffee Roaster, barista is the guide for the authentic taste experience. Please come with us if you love the original aroma of coffee.