What is speciality coffee?

What is speciality coffee?

Speciality coffee is a word you will find used by the best coffee shops in town, that have their Oatly Barista at the ready and their San Jorge beans ready to be turned into an espresso. While it may taste delicious, what exactly is speciality coffee and what sets it apart from regular coffee?

 

What is speciality coffee?

Speciality coffee is a word given to the highest grade of coffee beans in the world. A major aspect of speciality coffee is how it is sourced, it's supply chain and ethics, with many speciality coffees being of 'single-origin' or single estate. 

Coffee beans have a ranking system, called the Q scale. If the beans score above 80, it is classified as 'speciality coffee'. The beans are evaluated at every stage of the process, from green bean to espresso, with points being docked for defects.

 

What are coffee defects?

Coffee defects are beans that are sour, black or brown (before roasting!), not-ready, damaged by insects or beans that are broken.

Beans that are sour and black or brown occur during the fermentation process and are guilty for bad tasting coffee.

Beans that are immature occur when the fruit that contain the beans is not ripe, and this creates the sensation of a dry mouth.

 

Why single origin coffee?

Single origin coffee is a coffee whose beans all originate from one place, where these beans have an exceptional flavour and produced in special micro-climates.

Find a variety of ethically sourced blends and single origin coffee here at Terra Zero with San Jorge coffee. There is no better way to learn about coffee than to try it yourself, so find your favourite bean and enjoy.