Define "Specialty"
The term "Specialty" is used everday in our industry to describe many different things.
What does it really mean?
What does it mean to you?
What does it really mean?
What does it mean to you?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by gwilym on
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I agree with def
my biggest concern about the term is how the average member of the public defines it.
do they take their benchmark from coffee marketed by certain multinationals or by their local coffee havens
(mine being Monmouth & Climpsons, London. certainly not the all night garage opposite turnmills)
point being - its hard enough try and change peoples preconceptions of what coffee is without having to change their preconceptions of what speciality coffee is
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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on
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As long as the focus is the coffee and not the flavorings or drink build, I think we'll be okay.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Gruska on
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Gran Crus only applies to coffees of the SHB (strictly hard been) variety. The other countries you mentioned also grow great coffee, but they do not have the right set of variables to grow SHB coffee, so are not included as gran crus growing regions. Its sort of a technicality, because the SHG (strictly high grown) coffees of africa, or the best of Mexican Chiapas grown coffee are certainly on par in flavor with SHB coffees. I don't know when the last time brazil or columbia produced a decent coffee was though. Too much corruption in those markets.
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You said,
Most specialty coffees come from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Ethiopia.
And I'm guessing you've just never had the pleasure of experiencing a grad cru Kenyan.
SHB is a designation of altitude. I'm pretty sure it's more nationally diverse than you give credit to.
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I apologize, my intent was to say most, if not all, gran crus coffees come from those regions.
Its possible that I'm misinformed, but SHB means the beans were grown at over 4000 feet under canopy or in a region with cloud cover more than 75% of the years. The designation refers to the density of the bean, and only a lack of sunlight extending the growth cycle of the bean can result in a SHB coffee. Kenyan coffees are not given SHB ratings. Their fine coffees are SHG (strictly high grown.)
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Permalink Reply by Spencer on
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I have always held that quality is defined by the buyer and not the seller.
This is good, considering the vast opportunities for single-origin coffees and our understanding of blending.
Is there a distinct difference between how we as industry professionals define specialty, and how the consumer defines the term specialty? If there is a great difference, is that healthy for the industry?
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Permalink Reply by Peter Tam on
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As I had read from somewhere, it refers to two parts; one is the high grades coffee of those different origins; and the other is the famous coffee drink, espresso.
It does not matter with roast and other processing, only green beans.
If it is only 2% of the whole production of the world, it will be something for few people only, not for the mass of customers. I do not quite like it, anyway.
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Permalink Reply by Rich Westerfield on
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Great question Spencer. My gut reaction is that if you interviewed 100 random people on a sidewalk in an average town and ask them to define "specialty coffee", you'd get 50 that don't drink coffee for supposed "health" reasons (but would drink ridiculous sugared chai drinks if offered one), 25 that never heard of the term, 15 that would say "Starbucks", 5 that would say "flavored latte" and perhaps 3 or 4 that would say "100% arabica".
Which leaves the 1-2% most of us here really want to talk with and serve.
So I guess I'm saying there's a big divide between how we define "specialty coffee" vs. our customers. And that's probably not good.
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Rich
First - Congratualtion to you, your team and Belle at the MARBC!
Second - you hiot the nail on the head, "So I guess I'm saying there's a big divide between how we define "specialty coffee" vs. our customers. And that's probably not good."
Exactly!
We throw around the term "Specialty" far to often and with too many different meanings until the word has become meaningless.
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Comparing to decaf, those normal non-decaf coffee is "regular". It is not necessarily "specialty" or not. For specialty coffee, it can be normal or decaf, either (now maybe it should be water processed).
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Yeah, I know what you're saying.
I think it's a cultural context that's just lost between us. It's quite often that a customer will ask for "regular coffee" in such a way as to ask for the "standard" coffee. The problem is there is no "standard" coffee.
For many people, there are only two kinds, as you've suggested. For some others, there are three kinds. "Regular", "Decaf", and "Frou Frou". They just want the "regular" stuff.
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