What Is Specialty Coffee?

What Is Specialty Coffee? 

Specialty coffee is coffee that is grown, processed, roasted, and brewed with a focus on quality and flavor. Unlike commodity coffee, specialty coffee highlights the unique characteristics of different coffee varieties and the work of the farmers who grow them.

Coffee is the seed of a fruit called a coffee cherry. It grows on trees in tropical regions around the world, in an area often called the coffee belt. Within this region, farmers grow many different coffee varieties. Each variety has its own flavor potential depending on the genetics of the plant, the climate where it is grown, and how the coffee is processed after harvest.

Specialty coffee producers aim to bring out the best qualities of each coffee. When grown and processed carefully, some coffees can have natural flavors like fruit, flowers, chocolate, or honey. These flavors come from the coffee itself, not from added flavorings.

Because of this, specialty coffee is less about creating a “standard coffee flavor” and more about discovering the natural characteristics of each coffee.