FEATURE
Specialty Coffee
Specialty coffee is distinguished by both its physical condition—grading and classification—and its sensory qualities as evaluated through cupping. Under the standard cited by the page, coffee scoring at least 80 points on a 100-point scale is considered specialty coffee.
Specialty-grade coffee beans
Specialty-grade beans should have no primary defects, only a limited number of full defects and a consistent screen size. They should also exhibit a distinctive quality in taste, acidity, body or aroma.
- No Category 1 defects
- No more than five Category 2 defects
- A maximum of 5% above or below the specified screen-size range
- A recognizable positive sensory attribute
Factors associated with coffee quality
The page identifies several influences on bean density and cup characteristics:
- Variety: Examples include Java, Bourbon and Maragogype.
- Altitude and location: Altitude classifications vary by country and latitude. The page gives 1,200 metres in Costa Rica and 1,000 metres in northern Nicaragua as illustrative SHB thresholds.
- Growing conditions: Rainfall or irrigation, sunlight, photosynthesis, soil preparation and nutrients affect seed development.
- Soil composition: Soil and leaf analysis can reveal nutrient deficiencies that require correction.
- Water and light: Both contribute to fruit growth, photosynthesis and maturation.
SHB means Strictly Hard Bean, SHG means Strictly High Grown and HG means High Grown.
Green-coffee grading and classification
Terminology differs among producing countries, and descriptions such as “European preparation” do not always represent identical standards. Green coffee may be classified by:
- Density
- Variety and region
- Altitude
- Processing method, including washed, natural and semi-washed coffee
- Screen size
- Permitted colors and shapes
- Defects found in a green-coffee sample
Laboratories and dry mills use grading equipment—including density, size and optical sorting systems—to isolate the quality requested by a buyer and separate the remaining grades from a production batch.
Primary defects
| Defect | Occurrences equal to one full defect |
|---|---|
| Full black bean | 1 |
| Full sour bean | 1 |
| Pod or dried cherry | 1 |
| Large stones | 2 |
| Medium stones | 5 |
| Large sticks | 2 |
| Medium sticks | 5 |
Secondary defects
| Defect | Occurrences equal to one full defect |
|---|---|
| Parchment | 2–3 |
| Hull or husk | 2–3 |
| Broken or chipped beans | 5 |
| Insect damage | 2–5 |
| Partial black beans | 2–3 |
| Partial sour beans | 2–3 |
| Floaters | 5 |
| Shells | 5 |
| Small stones | 1 |
| Small sticks | 1 |
| Water damage | 2–5 |
Examples of country classifications
- El Salvador SHG EP: Strictly High Grown coffee from above 1,200 metres, with European-preparation defect limits.
- Ethiopia Jimma 5: Sun-dried arabica from the Jimma region; Type 5 belongs to a scale based on screen size, defect count and cup quality.
- Guatemala SHB EP Huehuetenango: Strictly Hard Bean coffee from above 1,400 metres, with preparation standards covering screen size and permitted defects.
- India Arabica Plantation A: Washed arabica classified at screen 17; additional classifications apply to natural coffee and robusta.
Growing and drinking specialty coffee
Growing specialty coffee involves selecting varieties suited to the desired cup experience and cultivating and harvesting them under favorable conditions. Drinking specialty coffee means consuming coffee that meets the sensory threshold of more than 80 points while remaining within the permitted physical-defect limits.
Premium coffee
The page describes premium coffee as the best portion of a particular specialty-coffee lot, selected for its cup profile. Such profiles may emphasize floral or fruity notes and are presented as typically scoring at least 85 points. The term may also refer to highly ranked coffees sold through competitions or open auctions.