What Is Specialty Coffee?

You've probably seen the words specialty coffee appearing on bags, café menus and websites, but what does it actually mean?

And perhaps more importantly, does it genuinely make a difference when you're standing in your kitchen at 7am wanting a decent coffee?

We think it does.

Specialty coffee starts with quality

Specialty coffee is about far more than putting coffee into attractive packaging and giving it an interesting description.

Quality starts at origin.

The variety of coffee, where and how it is grown, when the cherries are harvested, how they're processed and dried, how the green coffee is stored and transported, and finally how it's roasted all influence what ends up in your cup.

What does an SCA coffee score mean?

You may have noticed scores such as 84, 86 or 88 on some of our coffees.

These relate to professional evaluation of coffee quality.

Historically, 80 points and above on the 100-point SCA scale has been widely used as the threshold associated with specialty-grade Arabica coffee. The specialty-coffee industry is continuing to develop how coffee quality is assessed, but those scores remain a useful piece of information when you're looking at many coffees currently on the market.

Higher scores don't automatically mean you'll personally prefer one coffee to another.

An 88-point floral coffee might be technically exceptional, while you might much rather drink a chocolatey 84-point coffee every morning.

And that's perfectly okay.

Why do specialty coffees taste so different?

This is one of our favourite things about coffee.

One coffee might taste chocolatey, nutty and rich, while another can be fruity, floral, bright or incredibly sweet.

Origin, variety, altitude and processing method all play a part.

Roasting then gives us the opportunity to develop those characteristics rather than simply roasting every coffee until they taste the same.

Single origin or blend?

Neither is automatically better.

A single-origin coffee gives you the opportunity to explore the character of coffee from a particular place, producer or lot.

A blend lets a roaster combine different coffees to create a particular flavour profile, perhaps sweetness from one origin, body from another and chocolate notes from a third.

We roast and sell both because sometimes you want to explore something unusual and sometimes you just want a beautifully balanced flat white.

Is specialty coffee only for coffee experts?

Absolutely not.

You don't need to know the variety, altitude and processing method of every bean before you're allowed to enjoy it.

If you're interested in all of that, brilliant, we'll happily talk coffee with you.

If you'd simply like something smooth, chocolatey and lovely in your Sage machine, that's brilliant too.

Our job is to help you find a coffee you'll enjoy.

How do I choose?

Start with flavours you already know you like.

If you enjoy traditional chocolate, caramel and nut flavours, look for coffees with those characteristics.

If you like brighter, fruitier coffee, explore some of our lighter and more distinctive single origins.

And if you have absolutely no idea, ask us. That's one of the advantages of buying coffee from an actual roastery.

Specialty coffee shouldn't make coffee more intimidating.

It should make it more interesting.