FEATURE
Tag Archives: Specialty Coffee
Specialty Coffee & Cupping Concepts
November 8, 2018
Specialty coffee quality is assessed through both physical grading and sensory cupping. Specialty-grade beans should have no primary defects, only a limited number of full defects, consistent screen sizing and a distinct quality in taste, acidity, body or aroma.
Overall impression
The overall score reflects the cupper’s personal assessment of the coffee. Body, acidity and sweetness may be strong, yet particular flavor associations can still affect individual preference.
Uniformity and clean cup
Uniformity describes whether acidity, body and other attributes remain stable across repeated evaluations. Clean cup concerns consistency among all cups in the sample. Together, these measures help identify false positives and evaluate the coffee, the preparation method and the cupper.
Sweetness and balance
Sweetness makes acidity pleasant, as in a sweet tangerine. Balance describes the harmony among aroma, body, acidity, sweetness and flavor.
Aroma
Aroma is evaluated at three stages: the dry grounds, the wet crust after hot water is added and the opened crust before tasting. Aromas are identified using a shared sensory reference such as a coffee taster’s flavor wheel, then scored for intensity.
Acidity, body and flavor
Acidity describes the sensory response produced by soluble coffee compounds. Body expresses how heavy or substantial the coffee feels in the mouth. Flavor connects the complete sensory impression to standard descriptors, moving from broad families to specific notes—for example, fruity to citrus to orange, or floral to black tea and rose.
Aftertaste
Aftertaste is evaluated by asking which flavors remain, how intense they are and how long they stay pleasant and consistent.
Roast color
The Agtron scale is presented as a reference for roast-color classification. Lower values represent darker coffee, while higher values indicate lighter coffee because more light is reflected from the bean or grounds.
Specialty Coffee Information
September 16, 2018
Specialty coffee is distinguished through physical grading and sensory evaluation. The article describes coffee scoring at least 80 points on a 100-point cupping scale as specialty coffee and treats the designation as applying to the journey from farmer to cup.
Specialty-grade green coffee
The source describes specialty-grade beans as having no primary defects, very few full defects, consistent screen size and at least one distinctive attribute in taste, acidity, body or aroma.
Factors associated with quality
- Variety: examples include Java, Bourbon and Maragogype.
- Altitude and density: altitude classifications vary by producing country and latitude.
- Growing conditions: rainfall or irrigation, sunlight, soil preparation and nutrients influence plant development and bean characteristics.
- Processing and preparation: washed, natural and semi-washed methods contribute to how lots are classified.
The archive explains that terms such as SHB, SHG and HG refer to classifications including Strictly Hard Bean, Strictly High Grown and High Grown. Their altitude thresholds are not identical across origins.
Grading and classification
Green coffee may be classified by density, variety, region, altitude, process, screen size, permitted colors and shapes, and the number of defects in a sample.
| Primary defect | Occurrences counted as one full defect |
|---|---|
| Full black | 1 |
| Full sour | 1 |
| Pod or cherry | 1 |
| Large stones | 2 |
| Medium stones | 5 |
| Large sticks | 2 |
| Medium sticks | 5 |
| Secondary defect | Occurrences counted as one full defect |
|---|---|
| Parchment | 2–3 |
| Hull or husk | 2–3 |
| Broken or chipped beans | 5 |
| Insect damage | 2–5 |
| Partial black | 2–3 |
| Partial sour | 2–3 |
| Floater | 5 |
| Shell | 5 |
| Small stones | 1 |
| Small sticks | 1 |
| Water damage | 2–5 |
Examples of origin-specific classifications
- El Salvador SHG EP: Strictly High Grown coffee associated with higher elevations; European Preparation imposes limits on defects.
- Ethiopia Jimma 5: natural Arabica from the Jimma region, classified through screen size, defect count and cup quality.
- Guatemala SHB EP Huehuetenango: Strictly Hard Bean coffee with preparation requirements involving elevation, screen size and defect allowance.
- India Arabica Plantation A: washed Arabica classified by screen size, with separate systems for natural coffee and Robusta.
Growing and drinking specialty coffee
Growing specialty coffee means selecting suitable varieties and cultivating them under favorable conditions. Drinking specialty coffee means consuming coffee that satisfies both sensory scoring and physical defect requirements.
Premium coffee
The article uses “premium coffee” for selected green beans chosen for a desired profile, often emphasizing floral or fruity notes and higher cupping scores. It also applies the term to highly ranked coffees sold through competitions or auctions.
Coffee & Cacao Businessman
January 18, 2019
A brief archive entry identifies Alejandro David Bolaños as a coffee and cacao businessman based in Matagalpa, Nicaragua.