What is specialty coffee

The Specialty Coffee Association describes specialty coffee as a coffee or coffee experience recognized for distinctive attributes and higher value in the market. In language long used across the industry, specialty coffee is also often associated with a minimum score of 80 out of 100 on sensory evaluation.

But the score doesn’t tell the whole story on its own. A coffee can be interesting for its clarity, sweetness, processing, variety, producer, freshness, traceability, or how well it fits your taste.

Specialty coffee starts with selection. The producer picks, processes, and dries lots with care, and the buyer looks for coffees with clear potential in the cup.

The difference shows up in a few simple things:

• the lot has a more clearly identifiable origin and producer;
• the green beans have fewer defects;
• processing is controlled more carefully;
• roasting follows the coffee’s taste, not just the color of the beans;
• tasting notes describe what you can taste in the cup, not added flavors.

The score is a professional tool, not an absolute guarantee that you’ll like a coffee. A score above 80 usually indicates specialty coffee, and coffees above 85 tend to be more complex or expressive.

For the customer, the score is useful as a guide. Still, if you don’t know what profile you like, an 86-point coffee isn’t automatically the better choice over an 84-point one. One might be more comfortable, another more fruity, another more floral or more experimental.

Roasting doesn’t create quality out of nothing. You can’t turn a weak coffee into an excellent one just through roasting. But you can lose the character of a good coffee if you roast it carelessly.

An honest roast lets the coffee show what it already has: sweetness, acidity, body, clarity, and aroma. That’s why at OVRIDE we choose coffees for their profile in the cup and roast them to bring out the producer’s work.

If you’re just starting out, you don’t need to memorize countries, varieties, and processes. Start with taste.

Ask yourself:

• I want something sweet and balanced;
• I want something fruity and bright;
• I want a comfortable everyday coffee;
• I want an experimental coffee, with very clear fruit;
• I want a rare or special experience.

Choose by cup profile

Specialty shouldn’t turn coffee into an exam. Technical terms are only useful if they help you choose better.

Origin, variety, and processing can explain why a coffee has a certain profile, but the experience starts with the cup. If you like what you’re drinking and understand why, you’re already on the right track.