Topic III: Specialty coffee
You've probably heard a lot about specialty coffee lately and maybe you're not 100% clear on what that means.
To go to the grain (never better said) the specialty coffee It is a category of high-quality coffee, which is grown, harvested, processed, roasted and served with great attention to detail and quality at every stage.
Specialty coffee always takes care of the entire chain, from the farmer who grows the plant until the roasted coffee arrives at your home (photo: Own archive)
Who decides what is specialty coffee and what is not?
In order to be able to assess it objectively, an association called the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has set technical criteria. Specialty coffee is coffee that has virtually no defects in the bean. and which has obtained more than 80 points out of 100 from certified tasters (called Q-Graders).
This score is obtained after an analysis of these three main areas by the tasters:
- Green Coffee Analysis: The uniformity of the grains, the type and number of defects they have is analyzed. In a sample of 350 grams, there can be no black grain, no sourness, with the dried cherry, fungi, foreign matter or severe brocades. On the other hand, only 5 grains with slight defects are allowed (large splits, immature, wrinkled, with parchment or shell, discolored...).
- Analysis of roasted coffee: Once the beans have been roasted, the amount of immature beans, easily recognized by their lighter color, is analysed.
- Sensory analysis by means of a blind tasting: Certified tasters evaluate different aspects such as aroma, taste, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, uniformity, cleanliness in the cup, sweetness and defects.
Our beans are of the highest quality, and we ensure that they all come out at the optimal degree of roast
Traceability in specialty coffee
Traceability is also very important in specialty coffees. Unlike commercial coffees (which are often blends of different origins), in the case of specialty coffees you can know which region they come from (often even which farm and which farmer) and this adds value to the entire chain.
On our website you will find the following information about all our coffees:
- Origin: country and region
- Optionally the producer, farm, cooperative or farmer.
- Grain variety
- Cultivation height
- Type of processing (natural, washed or honey)
- Tasting notes
- You can also see the roasting date on our envelopes
In our envelopes you will find information such as the type of processing and the tasting notes
Our coffees
All the coffees we have at Bean Aroma are specialty coffees. Both for its quality and for its sustainability and the benefits it brings throughout the entire production chain. From the farmer who grows the plant, through the harvesters, the one who processes it, the one who stores it, the one who sells it green, the roaster (in this case, us) and until it arrives at your home and you prepare it to your liking.
To contribute to this chain of quality and sustainability, at Bean Aroma we roast the coffee taking into account the coffee machine where it will be used. Always with 100% renewable energy and taking care of every detail.
If you want to know a little more about specialty coffee you can consult it through this enllaç.