What is Specialty Coffee? What does Small Batch mean?

After the cherry of a coffee plant is picked, it goes through a depulping and drying process to produce “green coffee”. It’s then graded for defects and moisture level using the Specialty Coffee Association’s classification system. Then the green coffee goes through a Cupping process where they are graded on the following attributes – fragrance and aroma, body/mouthfeel, acidity, flavors/tasting notes, aftertaste, and defects. These scores determine a coffee’s quality.

Unlike Commodity coffee, Specialty coffee is a top-tier, high quality coffee. To ensure farmers can continue to produce such high-quality coffee, we pay a premium price. Specialty coffee is generally roasted by hand, meaning small batches of Specialty green beans are introduced to a quality roasting drum and the rise of temperature over time is controlled by hand. We adjust temperature, gas flow, airflow and drop time manually by sight and sound to get the very best flavor from a particular bean. Our roast master designed a disciplined small batch process giving you the true art and science of coffee.

Specialty coffee is traded between roasters and farmers (or through specialty importers) and is priced higher than commodity coffee. Specialty coffee typically comes from small lots owned by dedicated farmers who devote a lot of time and attention to their craft and caring for their farm.