Coffee Culture & History
Culture · Discovery
Specialty coffee: what it really means
·7 min read
The term 'specialty coffee' is everywhere — in roasters' windows, on packaging, in trendy cafés in major cities. But what does it actually mean, and why does it change the entire cup experience?
80+
Minimum SCA score
3 %
Of world production
100
Maximum SCA points
10
Evaluation criteria
01
The SCA score: where does it come from?
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) developed a standardised evaluation protocol in the 1980s. A panel of certified Q-Graders assesses each batch across ten criteria: aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, uniformity, clean cup, sweetness, and overall score. The maximum is 100. A coffee must exceed 80 to qualify as 'specialty'. Between 80 and 84: very good. Between 85 and 89: excellent. 90 and above: exceptional — representing less than 1% of world production.
Key takeaway
A specialty coffee scores ≥ 80/100 on SCA evaluation. Only 3% of global production reaches this threshold.
"A coffee scored 90+ is as rare as a classified grand cru. It's an experience, not a commodity."
— Coffee-Note
02
From farm to cup: a transparent chain
What distinguishes specialty coffee from everyday coffee is, above all, traceability. You know where your coffee comes from: the country, the region, the farm, sometimes the producer by name. This transparency isn't trivial — it guarantees that quality has been preserved at every stage, from picking to roasting. In a standard (commodity) coffee, multiple origins are blended to hit volume and cost targets, with no effort to preserve the specific aromas of each terroir.
Cupping session — professional coffee evaluation
03
Why it costs more — and why it's worth it
A bag of specialty coffee costs between €15 and €40 per 250g — five to fifteen times the price of supermarket coffee. This difference is explained by the entire chain: the producer is paid a fair price (often 2 to 4 times the commodity market price), the farm invests in careful processing (controlled fermentation, slow drying on raised beds), roasting is artisanal in small batches, and freshness is guaranteed — the best roasters print the roast date on the bag. That extra cost goes directly to quality, not to an intermediary's margin.
Did you know?
In the coffee industry, the term 'specialty' implies a batch has been evaluated by a certified Q-Grader — a professional trained over several months under the SCA protocol.
04
How to recognise it in a shop
On the packaging of a true specialty coffee, you'll find the roast date (not just the expiry date), the country name and often the region, the processing method (washed, natural, honey), and sometimes the SCA score or the producer's name. The absence of this information is a warning sign. A good specialty roaster is proud of this data — they don't hide it. In the shop, don't hesitate to ask: 'Can you tell me about the producer?' The answer will tell you everything.
Specialty coffee beans — traceability and origin
05
Where to start to truly appreciate it
The best way to enter the world of specialty coffee: start with an accessible, expressive origin. Ethiopia Yirgacheffe for its floral complexity, Colombia for its sweet balance, Kenya AA for its frank acidity. Brew it as a V60 or filter — these methods reveal aromas that espresso can sometimes crush. And above all, note your impressions. Not to make things complicated, but because taste memory is built through repetition. That's exactly why Coffee-Note was created.
Ready to rate your next coffee?
Coffee-Note guides you step by step to record aromas, texture, acidity and much more.
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