Specialty Coffee: Understanding and Determining Quality
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages globally, with millions of people enjoying it daily. As coffee drinking has evolved, so too has the quality of coffee grown.
Today, specialty coffee has become the benchmark for the most exceptional quality beans available. This article discusses specialty coffee’s definition, characteristics, ethical and sustainable sourcing, and the correlation between defects and cup quality.
We also explore coffee grading, the standardized grading process, and green coffee beans.
Understanding Specialty Coffee
Definition and Characteristics
Specialty coffee is the highest quality of coffee beans available worldwide, grown in specific climates that ensure their unique characteristics are met. Specialty coffee beans are grown at a higher elevation, typically above 4,500 feet, resulting in a much harder bean.
The term “specialty” used to describe coffee refers to the whole production process, from beans’ cultivation to final product preparation. What makes specialty coffee unique is the proprietary characteristics it imbues.
These characteristics can range from fruity, acidic, sweet, to chocolatey and smoky, depending on the type of bean and where it is grown.
Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing
The growing demand for growers of high-quality specialty coffee beans has led to an increase in ethical and sustainable sourcing practices. These practices enhance the coffee quality while at the same time ensuring that coffee farmers receive fair pay.
Most specialty coffee dealers source their beans directly from smallholder farmers, often paying well above the prevailing prices. Ethical and sustainable sourcing also involves implementing environmentally friendly growing and harvesting practices.
Determining Coffee Grade
Correlation between Defects and Cup Quality
The quality of coffee beans is often determined by the defects present in the beans. Beans with minimal or no defects tend to have higher quality, translating to a better cup of coffee.
Defects can be physical, such as broken or split beans, insect damage, uneven size, or shape. Cup quality is a term used to describe the various characteristics of brewed coffee, including aroma, flavor, body, and finish, among others.
The correlation between defects and cup quality holds that beans with fewer defects have better cup quality.
Standardized Grading Process
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is the world’s authority on specialty coffee grades and uses the standardized grading process to evaluate green coffee beans. Green coffee beans are raw coffee beans that are assessed for quality before roasting.
The SCA uses a scale of 0-100, where a score of above 80 denotes that a coffee bean is of specialty grade. Beans scored below this mark are known as commercial-grade beans and are typically used for supermarket-quality coffee.
Grading of green coffee beans includes a visual evaluation, taking into account the bean’s size, shape, moisture content, and color. The SCA also evaluates taste, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste.
Green Coffee Beans
Green coffee beans are raw coffee beans that have not undergone the roasting process. Specialty coffee roasters use high-quality green beans that meet specific quality criteria to ensure that the final product meets the highest quality standards.
Roasting coffee beans results in various colors, aromas, and tastes, depending on the roasting process’s duration and temperature. Roasting also brings out the coffee beans’ unique characteristics, including the acidity level, nutty or chocolatey flavors, and aroma.
Conclusion
Specialty coffee is a term used to describe the highest quality of coffee beans available worldwide and is grown in specific climates that ensure their unique characteristics. Ethical and sustainable sourcing practices have spurred the specialty coffee culture’s growth, with most dealers sourcing beans directly from smallholder farmers.
The quality of coffee beans is often determined by the defects present, with beans with minimal or no defects offering higher quality and translating to a better cup of coffee. The SCA uses a standard grading process to evaluate green coffee beans, including a visual evaluation of the bean’s size, shape, moisture content, color, taste, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste.
Green coffee beans are raw coffee beans that have not undergone the roasting process and are critical to ensuring high-quality specialty coffee. Roasting coffee beans brings out unique characteristics, including the acidity level, nutty or chocolatey flavors, and aroma.
With this knowledge, coffee enthusiasts can make informed decisions when purchasing coffee and enjoy the perfect cup of coffee every time. Grading
Green Coffee Beans: Understanding the Different Grades of Coffee
The grading of coffee beans is an essential process that ensures high-quality beans are used in the beverage-making process.
Coffee grading involves assessing various characteristics of the beans, including size, shape, moisture content, color, taste, acidity, and aftertaste. In this article, we explore green coffee bean grading in detail, covering screening, primary and secondary defects, and cupping.
We will also look at the different grades of coffee, including specialty grade, premium grade, exchange grade, below standard grade, and off-grade.
Screening
Screening is the first step in green coffee bean grading. In this step, beans are sorted into different sizes to ensure that the output is uniform.
Size variation can negatively impact the roasting process, resulting in inconsistent flavor profiles.
Primary Defects
Primary defects refer to defects that can be seen with the naked eye. The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has an official Defect Handbook that outlines the primary defects.
The most common primary defects include broken, insect-damaged, black or sour beans, and hulls.
Secondary Defects
After screening and sorting the beans based on size and removing primary defects, the next step in green coffee bean grading is identifying secondary defects. Secondary defects are defects that cannot be seen with the naked eye and are only visible through careful sampling and analysis, with a large sample size needed to identify these defects accurately.
In general, secondary defects impact the coffee’s flavor profile less severely than primary defects. However, if the number of secondary defects is excessive, this can have a substantial effect on the coffee’s quality.
The SCAA’s Defect Handbook outlines specific defect types that fall under the secondary defects category. Some of the most common secondary defects include shells, stones, husks, and fermentation.
Cupping
Cupping is a process for evaluating the flavor profile of coffee beans. During cupping, tasters sample the coffee and assess its acidity, aroma, body, and taste, among other factors.
Cupping is an essential part of the grading process as it enables a detailed analysis of the coffee’s flavor profile, allowing the coffee roaster to identify the intended taste.
Different Grades of Coffee
Specialty Grade
Specialty grade coffee is the highest grade of coffee, with zero defects and an intended flavor profile. Specialty grade coffee meets all the SCAA’s quality standards and is generally considered the most expensive grade, given its superior quality.
Premium Grade
Premium grade coffee falls just below specialty grade coffee, with up to eight defects per 300-gram sample. Premium grade coffee must come from the same source as specialty grade coffee and is allowed a slightly higher tolerance for defects.
Exchange Grade
Exchange grade coffee is a commercial-grade coffee with a higher tolerance for bean size variation. Exchange grade coffee is often used to make generic coffee blends sold in supermarkets and coffee shops.
Below Standard Grade
Below standard grade coffee has between 24-86 defects per sample, and it is typically not used for higher-end coffee blends. Instead, they serve as a filler in commercial coffee blends.
Off-Grade
Off-grade coffee features more than 86 defects per sample, and it often has a sour and bitter flavor. Off-grade coffee is typically used for instant coffee or disposed of outright.
Conclusion
Coffee bean grading is an essential process in ensuring high-quality coffee beans are used to make superior quality coffee. The process entails screening beans for size variation, identifying primary and secondary defects, and assessing the coffee’s flavor profile through cupping.
Different grades of coffee are available in the market, and consumers have the option to select from specialty, premium, exchange grade, below standard grade, and off-grade coffee. With this knowledge, it is now possible to make an informed decision when purchasing coffee.
The Importance of Quality Coffee: Benefits and Health Risks
Coffee ranks as one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages. Given the popularity of coffee, it’s essential to understand the importance of quality coffee and the benefits it provides.
This article examines the benefits of specialty coffee, the health risks of consuming defective, and pesticide-grown coffee.
Benefits of Specialty Coffee
Specialty coffee boasts various benefits, from a better taste to improved physical and mental health. Some of the benefits of specialty coffee include:
1.
Superior Taste
Specialty coffee boasts a more refined taste compared to regular coffee. Its high-quality beans are grown in specific climates that ensure they have unique characteristics and intended flavor profiles.
2. Increased Energy and Focus
Specialty coffee also has higher caffeine content than regular coffee, which can increase energy levels and enhance focus and cognitive function.
3. Antioxidant Properties
Specialty coffee contains high levels of antioxidants, which counteract cell damage caused by free radicals.
Antioxidants also decrease inflammation, reduce the risk of certain diseases, and may also improve overall cell health. 4.
Reduced Risk of Certain Diseases
Drinking specialty coffee may lower the risk of several diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and some types of cancer.
Health Risks of Defective or Pesticide-Grown Coffee
Consuming substandard coffee can pose various health risks, from gastrointestinal problems to exposure to harmful chemicals. Some of the health risks associated with consuming defective or pesticide-grown coffee environments:
1.
Gastrointestinal Problems
Defective coffee often has mold, and ingesting mold can lead to gastrointestinal problems. Furthermore, consuming insect-damaged coffee, a primary defect, can expose the consumer to insect parts, leading to digestive problems.
2. Chemical Exposure
Pesticide use in coffee plantations often leads to the contamination of coffee beans with harmful chemicals.
Exposure to these chemicals through ingestion can lead to headaches, dizziness, and various neurological symptoms. 3.
Increased Cancer Risk
Exposure to pesticides has been linked to the increased risk of certain types of cancer, including bladder and breast cancer. 4.
Reproductive Health
Various pesticides used in coffee plantations contain endocrine disrupting chemicals that interfere with the regulation of hormones, leading to reproductive health problems.
Conclusion
The importance of quality coffee cannot be understated. Speciality coffee offers superior taste, increased energy and focus, antioxidant properties, and reduced risks of certain diseases.
On the other hand, consuming defective or pesticide-grown coffee poses several health risks, from gastrointestinal problems to chemical exposure and increased cancer risk. Therefore, it is vital to prioritize high-quality coffee made from environmentally sustainable practices to enjoy the many benefits that specialty coffee has to offer, from superior taste to improved physical and mental health.
In conclusion, the importance of quality coffee cannot be overstated. Specialty coffee offers a superior taste, increased energy and focus, and reduced risks of certain diseases.
However, consuming defective or pesticide-grown coffee can lead to health risks such as gastrointestinal problems, chemical exposure, and increased cancer risk. It is essential to prioritize high-quality coffee made from environmentally sustainable practices to enjoy the benefits that specialty coffee provides.
By choosing quality coffee, we not only enhance our coffee-drinking experience but also prioritize our health and well-being. So, the next time you reach for a cup of coffee, remember the importance of selecting a high-quality brew for a truly exceptional experience.